The Goddess Chang'e in the Lunar Palace

Formerly attributed to Zhou Wenju (傳)周文矩 (active mid-10th century) · 19th century

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 generally shown preparing the elixir of immortality with a mortar and pestle.