1. The origin of Jade Rabbit
There are many theories about the origin of the Jade Rabbit. The first one thinks that the jade rabbit was originally a human rabbit. A fairy turned into a poor old man and begged him for food. Instead of giving him food, the rabbit jumped into the fire pit and let him eat himself. The fairy was moved and sent the rabbit to the moon palace, becoming a jade rabbit. Since then, Yutu has been accompanying Chang 'e and taking medicine. Personally, I think this kind of "reward" method is not as good as giving birth to rabbits.
Another view is that the Jade Rabbit is Chang 'e, because Chang 'e was turned into a rabbit against the will of the Jade Emperor after floating over the Moon Palace. Every time the moon is full, she will play medicine for the gods in the moon palace to show her punishment. However, myth is just a myth after all, and there are many loopholes, so we won't delve into it. After all, I really don't know how to refresh the conclusion of the three views.
2. Jade Rabbit and Chang 'e
Although there is a legend that Jade Rabbit is Chang 'e, it is estimated that most people still accept the setting that Jade Rabbit is a pet. After all, if the imaginary fairy Chang 'e becomes a rabbit, the gap is still quite big. There is another legend about why the Jade Rabbit appeared in the Moon Palace. It is said that a pair of rabbits who have cultivated immortality for thousands of years have four lovely rabbit daughters. One day, the male rabbit was called to heaven by the jade emperor and met Chang 'e who was taken away.
The male rabbit asked the guard why he took Chang 'e away. After learning the situation, he sympathized with Chang 'e and wanted to send his daughter to accompany Chang 'e. After returning to China, he discussed with the mother rabbit and daughters, and finally decided to send his little daughter to the Moon Palace to accompany Chang 'e, which led to the situation that there were Chang 'e and Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace. However, this legend, like the last one, does not explain what Chang 'e did wrong. Probably a beautiful story made up by later generations to explain these things.
3. Jade rabbit mashes medicine
This is explained in legend, that is, the elixir of life. This medicine is called "Venenum Bufonis", which is immortal. This allusion comes from Dong Escape in Han Yuefu. The original text is "White rabbit kneels on the ground and mashes frog balls". Give your majesty a jade pendant, and you will become immortal after taking this medicine. It can be seen that this "toad pill", or "frog pill", is the legendary elixir of life.
But the name of the medicine is really unacceptable, just like some legends that Chang 'e is a toad. It's so picturesque that I feel incompetent when I think about it.