This is a watercolor painting on canvas. Unfortunately, as it is framed behind glass, I couldn’t get a photo without a reflection.

Chang’e, Ch’ang-O or Chang-Ngo (Chinese: 嫦娥; pinyin: Cháng’é ), also known as Heng-E or Heng-O (姮娥; Héng’é ), is the Chinese goddess of the moon. Her companion is a rabbit who was said to mix the elixir of immortality in the form of rice cakes or mochi upon the moon.

There are several versions of the story of Chang’e. In my favorite version, She was an immortal who chose to become mortal to rescue a kingdom from a cruel emperor who was obsessed himself with becoming immortal. Chang’e brought an elixor to him which was in fact a poison. Forced to taste the elixor first, the emperor thinking it was safe drank the poison. Instead of dying, Chang’e ascended to heaven.

In a more common version of the story of Chang’e and her husband Houyi live as immortals in heaven. One day the ten sons of the Jade Emperor all become suns and they threaten to scorch the Earth. Houyi uses his arrows to shoot down all but one of the suns. The Emperor, furious at Houyi killing his sons, makes Chang’e and Houyi mortal. Houyi took a long journey to find a magical pill that would return immortality to him and his wife. Putting the pill in a case, Houyi asked his wife not to open the case as he left home for a while. Curiosity got to her, and she opened the case just as her husband returned home. She swallowed the entire pill, an overdose, and flew up to the moon. Houyi did not have the heart to shoot her down from the sky. So, she remained on the moon to live with the rabbit on the moon.