Minneapolis Institute of Art
Chang E Flees to the Moon
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi; Publisher: Akiyama BuemonLinkedCulture matchlcp-41fa992c291a
- Date
- 1885
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 62539
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
According to Chinese legend, the archer Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns whose combined heat threatened to destroy the earth. As a reward, the Queen Mother of the West gave Hou Yi an elixir of immortality. Hou Yi's wife, Chang-E, unwittingly drank the potion herself. Rising to the moon, she has live there ever since within the crystal walls of her Cold Palace. During the eighth lunar cycle each year, when the Chinese believe that the moon is at its fullest, they make offerings to Chang-E in the form of small round cakes and sphere-shaped fruit. Although the story of Chang-E is not popular in Japan, Yoshitoshi drew upon the Chinese legend for this design. Asia
The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of Ellen and Fred Wells
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Minneapolis Institute of Art and other institutions.