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Nonetheless, there are other legends with all of them holding the same reverence to the Rabbit God. Historical records show it first appeared at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and thrived in the middle of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Almost all the households, the royal family and common citizens alike, were offered sacrifice to Rabbit God during the Mid-autumn Festival.Of the figures we see today, Rabbit God sits on a variety of things.
"Rabbit God sits on different things ranging from Kylin, tiger, elephant, lotus, to peony. Lotus is typical to Kwan-yin, a Buddhist god, making Rabbit God a more sacred figure, while peony symbolizes wealth. Kylin and tiger are typical auspicious animals in Chinese culture, all embodying the good wishes of the people."
Since Rabbit God has been personalized throughout the ages, now there is also the Rabbit Goddess, who is supposed to be the spouse of Rabbit God.
"People treat Rabbit God as a person and so they created a wife for him. That is Rabbit Goddess."
For Beijingers, Rabbit God holds a special place in their hearts with many people still worship it each day. Every mid-autumn festival hundreds of different Rabbit God are exhibited in Dongyue Temple for people to offer their sacrifice as part of the moon festival traditions.
Due to folk art form is less popular than it once was, Hu Pengfei aims to make Tu'er Ye well known once again.
"Rabbit God is from the people, it should prevail in the people. My dream is to revive Rabbit God to the level of its popularity in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and spread the manufacturing technique to as many people as possible."
