RABBIT
There are written records of rabbits in China from the pre-Qin period. From the pre-Qin period or even earlier, people began to hunt wild rabbits and import burrowing rabbits through the Silk Road, which were tamed into domestic rabbits by raising them in cages. Nowadays, most common domestic rabbits are white, but in ancient times, white rabbits were extremely rare and regarded as a symbol of auspiciousness by the ancients. However, due to rabbits being highly fertile, after wild rabbits were domesticated the status of white rabbits declined. Because of their prolific nature, the rabbit is regarded as the god of fertility in Chinese folklore. The rabbit is the fourth in the Chinese zodiac and it corresponding earthly branch is "Mao".
The Jade Rabbit is the most famous rabbit in China and appears in most Han Dynasty images alongside toads. Before the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty, the Moon Rabbit was almost always seen running , and it was not until the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty that the medicine rabbit took its place. It was only after the Tang Dynasty the "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine" became common in China, and the gradual confusion between the two was probably influenced by the story that Chang'e stole the elixir of immortality from the Xiwangmu and flew to the moon. In 1999, Christmas Island Post Office issued a souvenir sheet with a pair of stamps. In the moonlight, you can vaguely see the image of a rabbit pounding medicine under an osmanthus tree, which cleverly coincided with the images on the stamps "Running Rabbit in the Moon" and the "Rabbit Pounding Medicine". In 2023, Christmas Island Post issued another Year of the Rabbit souvenir sheet, designed by Chrissy Lau, which featured a cartoon representation of rabbits in the roles of the three immortals of Fortune, Prosperity and Longevity.
The "Eto Calligraphy" stamp sheet issued by Japan Post in 2011 for the Year of the Rabbit, features ten stamps of a 80 yen postage each, set against a background of Picture “Rabbits in Equisetum Garden" painted by the famous sketch artist Maruyama Ōkyo of the Edo period. On the stamps, the characters “Mao”, “Xin-Mao” or “Rabbit” written in oracle bone script, seal script, clerical script, running script or regular script by different calligraphers, respectively. In the same year, Canada Post issued a Year of the Rabbit souvenir sheet, the designer was inspired by traditional Chinese embroidery and circular medallion, with two jumping rabbits embroidered in a circular pattern, reflecting a strong Chinese style.
Designed by Martin Morck, the 2022 Åland Post souvenir sheet shows a hare enjoying a stroll between the houses of the Hafsveden holiday village in Gaeta, in the north of Aland, with its uninterrupted views of the sea. The Isle of Man Post also issued a set of four stamps in 2023, featuring a white rabbit on a red background with simple line drawing, highlighting the fusion of modernity and tradition in just a few strokes, and featuring the designer's name on on the margin of the stamp sheet.
In 2007, CTT Macao issued the "Science and Technology - The Golden Ratio" stamps, one of which depicts the rabbit sequence. Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci wrote "Liber abaci" (The Book of the Abacus) in the early 13th century, posed an interesting question about rabbit’s reproduction, which includes three assumptions: 1. Baby rabbits can grow into big rabbits two months after birth and can birth baby rabbits. 2. Fertile rabbits can birth a pair of rabbits every month, one male and one female. 3. Rabbit never dies. If there are a pair of newborn rabbits now, how many pairs of rabbits will there be in one year?
In addition, CTT Macao also released the "Seng Yu - Idioms" booklet, designed by Lio Man Cheong in 2001. One of the stamp "Waiting for Rabbits under the Tree" is from "Han Feizi - Five Vermin", which tells the story of a farmer who gets a rabbit accidentally killed by a bump. He then stops farming and instead sits every day under a tree and waits for another rabbit to be killed. Unfortunately, things do not turn out the way he hoped and instead he starves himself to death. This story warns us to work hard and persevere to achieve results, rather than relying on dumb luck or chance.
Papua New Guinea Post issued a Year of the Rabbit souvenir sheet with four stamps in 2000, which depicts interesting scenes of four rabbits crawling, jumping, looking and hiding in the garden, but it is not as meaningful as "The Tortoise and the Hare". In 1991, Japan Post issued a local stamp issued by Gunma Prefecture in Japan. On the stamp, a rabbit is resting and sleeping, while a tortoise continues to crawl behind and passing by it. In 2023, Thailand Post issued a Year of the Rabbit stamp, drawn by Princess Sirindhorn herself, with the rabbit and the tortoise as protagonists. The story of "The Tortoise and the Hare" teaches us that as long as we work hard and persevere to the end, we will definitely succeed.
Why did the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac turn into a Cat in Vietnam? The real reason has not yet been confirmed but, according to legend, when the twelve zodiac chronology was first introduced in Vietnam, the Chinese pronunciation of "Mao" as in "Mao - Rabbit" was quite similar to "Cat". Therefore, the "Year of Mao" was mistakenly pronounced as "Year of Cat" in oral transmission and it has been kept to this day.
In 1999, Vietnam Post issued the "Year of the Cat" zodiac stamps for the second time, with cats as the stars. Among them are anthropomorphic cats dressed in Vietnamese national costumes, the words "Year of the Cat" in both Vietnamese and English printed on the stamps and souvenir sheets. The first-day issue commemorative postmark also features a cat’s face. Subsequently, the 2010 "Year of the Cat" zodiac stamps were designed in a paper-cut style, showing a standing cat and a lying cat. The cats, on the souvenir sheet and maximum postcards released in 2022, are presented in cartoon style, depicting two kittens cuddling with a mother cat, and a print cat bending over to grab a red envelope.
©2025 Communications Museum of Macao, CTT