The Goddess Chang'e in the Lunar Palace
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1909.244a
Tags
Chang'eCharles Lang Freer collectionChinaChinese ArtMing dynasty (1368 - 1644)blue-and-green stylecloudfanlandscapepalace
About this artwork
In primordial times, the legendary hunter Yi once received the elixir of immortality from the great goddess, the Queen Mother of the West. Before he could consume the elixir, however, Yi's wife Chang'e (or Heng'e) stole the concoction and ingested it herself, thereby becoming an immortal. Fearing her husband's wrath, Chang'e fled to the moon, where she dwells for eternity in the Palace of Boundless Cold. Among the many denizens of the moon, the white rabbit, seen beside her on the terrace, is ge...