Moonlight shimmers

Change’e glides through the sky

With Jade Rabbit in her arms

Inspiration for the piece:

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is one of the largest holidays across Asia, sometimes called Chinese Thanksgiving. One of the oldest stories of this festival is that of Chang’e flying to the moon.

There are countless variations of the story of the moon goddess Chang’e and her heroic husband Houyi. For his bravery and skills as an archer, Houyi was given a drink of immortality for him and his wife. Chang’e drank her half of the immortality elixir and flew to the moon to live in peace forever with the Jade Rabbit (Yutu). Through tragic circumstances, (varying depending on the version of the story), the half for her husband was lost, and Houyi was stranded on earth to die as a mortal man.

About the Piece:

Acrylic on Canvas: 16×20