Chinese Rabbit

Rabbit / Hare Chinese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit! If you were born after Chinese New Years in 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951, or 1939, you're a Rabbit.
Not a Rabbit? See Chinese Zodiac and Animal Signs to calculate your sign.


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  1. Rabbit / Hare

  2. A sly rabbit has three openings to its den

  3. Year Of The Water Rabbit

  4. Year of the Water Rabbit

  5. Fire Rabbit

  6. Earth Rabbit

  7. Golden/Metal Rabbit

  8. Water Rabbit

  9. Wood Rabbit

10. Better to be Happy than Rich


Rabbit / Hare

Year of the Rabbit / Zodiac Sign

 tù
 usagi
 
Rabbit / Hare Scroll

兔 is the character for rabbit or hare in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.

If you were born in the year of the rabbit, you...

Are gentle and full of sympathy.
Love to help others.
Enjoy a quiet life.
Are a good worker.
Are, however, a bit of a pushover.


See also our Chinese Zodiac page.

A sly rabbit has three openings to its den

-or- The crafty rabbit has three different entrances to its lair

 jiǎo tù sān kū
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den Scroll

狡兔三窟 speaks to the cunning character of a sly rabbit. Such a rabbit will not have just one hole but rather a few entrances and exits from his liar.

About 2,250 years ago, a rich man told his assistant to go and buy something wonderful that he did not yet possess. He was a man that already had everything, so the assistant went to a local village that owed a great deal of money to the rich man. The assistant told the village elders that all debts were forgiven. All the villagers rejoiced and praised the rich man's name. The assistant returned to the rich man and told him he had purchased “benevolence” for him. The rich man was mildly amused but perhaps slightly confused by the action.

Sometime later, the rich man fell from the favor of the Emperor and was wiped out without a penny to his name. One day he was walking aimlessly and stumbled into the village where the debts had been forgiven. The villagers recognized the man and welcomed him with open arms, clothed, fed him, and gave him a place to live.

Without trying, the man had become like the sly and cunning rabbit. When his exit was blocked, he had another hole to emerge from - and was reborn. This story and idiom come from a book titled “The Amendment” - it's unclear whether this man actually existed or not. But the book did propel this idiom into common use in China.

Still today, this idiom about the rabbit is used in China when suggesting “backup plans,” alternate methods, and anyone with a good escape plan.

Year Of The Water Rabbit

 guǐ mǎo
 mizunotou / kibou
Year Of The Water Rabbit Scroll

癸卯 is the designation for the 40th year of the 60-year or sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1903, 1963, or 2023.

This is the year of the Water Rabbit. The characters here designate the year in a special way, but do not literally mean water and rabbit.


The 60 year cycle has 5 elements and 12 animals. As each cycles every year, the math works out to 5 x 12 = 60.

Year of the Water Rabbit

1903 1963 2023

 shuǐ tù nián
 mizu usagi toshi
Year of the Water Rabbit Scroll

水兔年 means water rabbit year.

This happens to be the combination in the 60-year cycle for the year 2023, starting on Feb 4th, 2023.

Fire Rabbit

The Year of the Fire Rabbit

 huǒ tù
Fire Rabbit Scroll

火兔 is Fire Rabbit in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1867, 1927, 1987, and 2047.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 丁卯.

Earth Rabbit

The Year of the Earth Rabbit

 tǔ tù
Earth Rabbit Scroll

土兔 is Earth Rabbit in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1879, 1939, 1999, and 2059.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 己卯.

Golden/Metal Rabbit

The Year of the Golden/Metal Rabbit

 jīn tù
Golden/Metal Rabbit Scroll

金兔 is Golden/Metal Rabbit in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1891, 1951, 2011, and 2071.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 辛卯.

Water Rabbit

The Year of the Water Rabbit

 shuǐ tù
Water Rabbit Scroll

水兔 is Water Rabbit in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1903, 1963, 2023, and 2083.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 癸卯.

Wood Rabbit

The Year of the Wood Rabbit

 mù tù
Wood Rabbit Scroll

木兔 is Wood Rabbit in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1915, 1975, 2035, and 2095.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 乙卯.

Better to be Happy than Rich

 ān pín lè dào
Better to be Happy than Rich Scroll

安貧樂道 means “It's better to be happy than rich” in Chinese.

Even if you are poor, you should still feel satisfied in your life...

...Satisfaction, happiness and the meaning of your life come from within yourself and not from money or riches of the world.

In Chinese, there are a lot of four-character proverbs which express some very old philosophies.
Though there are only four characters on this scroll, in Chinese, the meanings often surpass the dictionary definition of each character.

In this case, you should not set your expectations too high for the money or riches you wish to have. One who sets their expectations too high is almost always disappointed. Instead, you should cherish what you have, seek to improve yourself from within, and not measure your worth by the size of your bank account.


See Also:  A Sly Rabbit Will Have Three Openings to Its Den




This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...

Gallery Price: $200.00

Your Price: $69.88


The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Rabbit
Hare
usagitù / tu4 / tut`u / tu
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den狡兔三窟jiǎo tù sān kū
jiao3 tu4 san1 ku1
jiao tu san ku
jiaotusanku
chiao t`u san k`u
chiaotusanku
chiao tu san ku
Year Of The Water Rabbit癸卯mizunotou / kibou
mizunoto / kibo
guǐ mǎo / gui3 mao3 / gui mao / guimaokuei mao / kueimao
Year of the Water Rabbit水兔年mizu usagi toshi
mizuusagitoshi
shuǐ tù nián
shui3 tu4 nian2
shui tu nian
shuitunian
shui t`u nien
shuitunien
shui tu nien
Fire Rabbit火兔huǒ tù / huo3 tu4 / huo tu / huotuhuo t`u / huotu / huo tu
Earth Rabbit土兔tǔ tù / tu3 tu4 / tu tu / tutut`u t`u / tutu / tu tu
Golden/Metal Rabbit金兔jīn tù / jin1 tu4 / jin tu / jintuchin t`u / chintu / chin tu
Water Rabbit水兔shuǐ tù / shui3 tu4 / shui tu / shuitushui t`u / shuitu / shui tu
Wood Rabbit木兔mù tù / mu4 tu4 / mu tu / mutumu t`u / mutu / mu tu
Better to be Happy than Rich安貧樂道
安贫乐道
ān pín lè dào
an1 pin2 le4 dao4
an pin le dao
anpinledao
an p`in le tao
anpinletao
an pin le tao
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.
In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.


Dictionary

Lookup in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form of art alive.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.