Overview

The format of this painting depicting the moon and a rabbit, a symbol of the realm within the moon, was defined in the Ming dynasty, and various precedents can be found. Here, the rabbit, which has climbed up on a boulder to view the moon, is encircled with a cassia tree (cinnamon), cotton roses, and little chrysanthemums. This work is is somewhat flatter and more decorative, and stylistically advanced among Xing's works. The contour brushstroke technique of the boulder resembles the style of the late Ming-early Qing painter of Hangzhou, Lan Ying. This is an important work as an early Qing archetype of paintings of flowers and birds, which follows the stylistic tradition of the Ming.