Chapter 20 The gender of the eighth rabbit in the animal department

October 29, 2008 at 22:42 In a work published in the first half of the thirteenth century AD, the author puts rabbits, mussels, and buckwheat into the same genus.Because the mating and reproduction of these three creatures all depend on the fertilization function of the moon. The reason for this strange idea is largely because the ancients could not accurately distinguish the sex of rabbits.For a long time, rabbits were thought to have only females and no males.When Han Yu, a Tang Dynasty writer, wrote a biography for a man named Mao Ying, he reviewed the family history of this "descendant of the Rabbit God": the earliest Rabbit God in China was a woman named "Mingshi".As a personal assistant, she participated in the flood control campaign organized by the leader of the Xia tribe, Dayu.After Dayu quelled the floods in eastern China, she organized the restoration of production in the local area and nourished all things.Because of her outstanding achievements, Dayu's son Hou Qi established the Xia Kingdom and sealed her in the place "Youmao".The goddess Mingshi multiplied in Youmao and arrived at Maoying after seventy-two generations.

Historical records do not clearly record Mingshi's marital status.But judging from some relevant records, she is the first case in history that she became pregnant because of the moon. Wang Chong, a native of the Eastern Han Dynasty, once mentioned the reproductive characteristics of rabbits in his writings.Zhang Hua, a Jin native, also mentioned related situations in "Natural History".He even said that he once saw this process with his own eyes: a rabbit of unknown sex became pregnant because of seeing the moon, and after the pregnancy period ended, it gave birth to a baby rabbit through the mouth instead of the birth canal.

Zhang Han, a procurator of the Ming Dynasty, gave the most accurate description of the ambiguous relationship between the rabbit and the moon in his writings.He said that the rabbit was conceived by seeing the moon, because there was already a rabbit living in the moon.It was the only male rabbit in the world. The origin of "Moon Rabbit" can be traced back to a long time ago.Before Prince Siddhartha broke through all attachments and became a Buddha, he also experienced a long reincarnation in this dull world.He once reincarnated as a rabbit and became king of the species.The Rabbit King sacrificed himself in order to save a fellow that fell into the hunter's trap by mistake.To commemorate this merciful rabbit king.It was sent to the moon by the Dharma protector for worship.The rabbits of later generations, knowing that the male rabbit in the moon is the previous life of the Buddha, hope to reproduce its offspring.So after seeing the moon, the rabbits felt it and conceived automatically.I don't know how many years later, this became the only way for rabbits to reproduce.The night of the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th is the day when the moon is clearest and brightest. Rabbits always choose this day to gather in the deep mountains and forests to look up to the Rabbit King and get offspring.If the night is not clear enough and the moon is not clear enough, the number of rabbits will drop sharply next year.

Some people also questioned the bizarre claim that Rabbit Mochizuki was pregnant.Duan Chengshi, the most interesting writer in the Tang Dynasty, exposed the loopholes in this statement after careful observation.He seriously pointed out that there are actually nine holes in the buttocks of rabbits, which is the so-called "nine orifices in the buttocks".Each of the nine holes has a purpose: one for mating, one for giving birth, one for lice removal, one for digging holes, one for warding off unexpected raiders, one for spirits to enter and exit, and one for secreting sour mucus. .There are two more for excretion, one for day and one for night.

At the end of the article, he emphasized that although rabbits are naturally timid and always in a state of panic, they will not lose their gender because of this.