Thinly potted with steep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, the exterior delicately painted with a hare sitting in grass under an osmanthus tree covered in yellow flowers, a poem on one side reading 'The branches continue to grow over the months, blossom heralds the arrival of autumn', followed by one seal reading 'shang', box.

Note: This finely potted cup is one of the so-called 'month cups', made at the imperial kilns during the Kangxi reign. One was made for each month of the lunar calendar. As in the case of the current example, these cups are so thinly potted that the blue of the inscription on the exterior can be seen through the porcelain from the interior of the vessel. Their decoration is characterized by very delicately painted decoration in underglaze blue and famille verte enamels. Each of the cups has on one side a floral design appropriate to a particular month, and on the other side a poem which complements the design. Each of the cups also bears an underglaze blue seal character after the poem, which can be read as shang (reward). There has been much scholarly debate regarding which cup should be assigned to which month in the lunar calendar, however cups, such as the current example, which are decorated with a white hare and osmanthus tree are usually associated with the eighth month.

Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans, guihua) is native to south-western China and is much prized for its fragrant flowers, which have traditionally been used for tea and wine, and to make preserves, as well as by ladies to perfume both clothing and hair. The osmanthus blooms at around the time of the Moon Festival, which takes place on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, and is often associated with that festival. There is a legend that says there is a large osmanthus tree on the moon that is continuously being chopped by the banished immortal Wu Gang, who can never succeed in felling it because it is a magic tree that immediately repairs any damage to itself. Osmanthus is thus seen as a symbol of long life and regeneration. Osmanthus is also a symbol of literary achievement in China and 'to pluck the osmanthus from the Moon Palace' changgong zhegui, was to pass the civil service examinations at the highest level. Legend has the successful candidate being presented with a spray of osmanthus by the moon goddess Chang E. Osmanthus is also associated with nobility in China since it is known as guihua in Chinese, and that gui brings to mind the gui, meaning noble. Designs showing a boy holding a branch of osmanthus, thus symbolize a noble son.

On the current cup a white hare is shown seated under the osmanthus tree looking up at the moon. This is undoubtedly intended to represent the white hare that pounds the elixir of immortality with a pestle and mortar for Chang E at her Moon Palace. Chang E is believed to have stolen the elixir of immortality from her archer husband Yi, and fled with it to the moon. The white hare is thus regarded as another symbol of longevity.

The Percival David Foundation in London has one of the few complete sets of cups for all twelve months. See Rosemary Scott, For the Imperial Court - Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, New York, 1997, pp. 82-3, no. 23. The design on the current cup is very similar to the eighth month cup in the David Foundation and bears the same poem, which may be translated: 'The branches [of the osmanthus tree] continue to grow over the months, Blossom [on the tree] heralds the arrival of autumn.'