Overall Introduction:

Tu'er Ye is a traditional handcraft from Beijing, a seasonal children's toy associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival. During this festival, people in Beijing would pay respects to "Tu'er Ye". This custom originated in the Ming Dynasty. Later, "Tu'er Ye" transformed into a children's Mid-Autumn toy. Some were modeled after opera characters, sculpted as warriors in golden armor and helmets, some riding lions, elephants or qilins, others holding paper flags or umbrellas, in sitting or standing poses - delighting all who saw them.  

According to the legend of Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace, people further artistically anthropomorphized and deified the Jade Rabbit, sculpting it from mud into various forms of Tu'er Ye. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Jade Rabbit gradually separated from being a subsidiary object of moon worship, forming an independent image in moon worship rituals that grew increasingly rich over time. Tu'er Ye embodies both sacred and secular qualities, integrating sacrificial rites and entertainment. Today, Tu'er Ye has become one of the most representative intangible cultural heritages of Beijing.

Historical Development

Tu'er Ye first appeared during the Ming Dynasty. The earliest record is from Ji Kun's "Hua Wang Ge Sheng Gao" (around 1636): "During Mid-Autumn in the capital, many sculpt rabbit forms from mud, dressed and seated like humans, worshipped by children." This may have originated from sculpting based on the image of the Jade Rabbit depicted on moon-themed decorations.

Folk rabbit worship highlighted an appreciation for beauty. Commoners affectionately called the Jade Rabbit "Tu'er Ye", a warmer term than the formal "Tai Yin Jun". This transformed the royal rites into a true folk festival. By the late Qing Dynasty, Tu'er Ye had become both an object of worship and a children's Mid-Autumn toy.

During the Republican era, Tu'er Ye stalls would appear everywhere during Mid-Autumn - in front of Qianmen, Zhengyang Gate, Xidan and Dongsi areas. Adults and children thronged to buy them. The famous writer Shu Yi reminisced: "In childhood, Tu'er Ye symbolized Mid-Autumn Festival. Without it, it didn't feel like the real thing. All children had to buy one - it was unthinkable not to."  

Folk Customs

"Ye" was an honorific title for the noble and elite during feudal times. For the Mid-Autumn Festival, a mud-sculpted "rabbit" would be respectfully "requested" and referred to as "Ye".

The Jade Rabbit was not an ordinary domesticated or wild rabbit, but the celestial rabbit of the Moon Palace. One could not simply play with it, but had to "request" a mud-sculpted figure and respectfully "present" it as "Ye".

In the old days, the main Mid-Autumn activity was moon worship. On the 15th night of the 8th lunar month at dusk, every household courtyard would face southeast with an 8 Immortals Table set up, offering fruits, mooncakes, bean sprouts, rooster combs, lotus roots, watermelons and more. A red mat was placed in front for people to worship on. As the moon gradually rose in the southeast, the women of the household (an old Beijing custom states "men don't worship the moon, women don't worship the stove") would kowtow to it in order of age. After offerings, the whole family would sit together, drinking wine, admiring the moon and sharing the offered fruits and mooncakes - hence the festival's alternate name "Reunion Festival". The bean sprouts on the table were specifically prepared for "Tu'er Ye".

Social Impact  

Tu'er Ye influenced many aspects of life for Beijing residents, reflecting the evolution of folk culture like Beijing opera and festival celebrations, as well as the spirit of old Beijing people. The iconic image of Tu'er Ye riding a tiger highlights its supernatural powers, the ferocious tiger contrasting its might - a bold creation by folk artists, expressing old Beijingers' optimistic and open-minded attitude towards life. "Especially its organic combination of the divine and toys is a cultural folk phenomenon that could only arise from the Beijing culture - having seen the world, experienced great turmoil, tasted luxury and destitution, then achieved a kind of enlightenment from it all and an indifferent, pragmatic attitude towards power, privilege and even deities."

This is why in Lao She's novel "The Camel Xiangzi", the patriarch Qi worries that his descendants "will live in a Beijing without Tu'er Ye, and with the disappearance of Tu'er Ye, so many lovely and uniquely Beijing things will also be forever lost!"  

One could say Tu'er Ye represents Beijing culture, garnering increasing societal attention. During each Mid-Autumn Festival, all sorts of colorful and diverse Tu'er Ye appear in markets. At temple fairs and other traditional cultural venues, Tu'er Ye is a hugely popular "regular" - the most regionally representative folk symbol.