I know that I must be Chinese, because I see a rabbit in the moon, not a man.
No, seriously. Ever since I was young, I've seen a rabbit in the moon. I've tried, but I can't see a man in the moon. I don't know if this is because I read a fable somewhere about Chang'er or some legend about a rabbit in the moon. I
did read a lot of fairy tales, mythological stories and legends (you get the idea) when I was a wee one. I read Greek myths, Chinese fables, Norse stories, the Brothers Grimm,
everything.
The point of this is that I can't tell if my seeing the rabbit in the moon is culturally-induced, some kind of racial memory or just the result of reading too damn much. Then again, I would have heard about the Man in the Moon about the same time as I read any story about the Chinese rabbit in the moon. All I know is that when I look at the moon, I see a rabbit — without even trying — and this is a uniquely Chinese thing. If I wanted to get fluffy about it, I could say it pre-figures my love affair with and affinity for rabbits. Or I could keep it simple and say when I look at the moon and see a rabbit, I feel very Chinese. :)
