Kneel down and beg! The customs and origins of the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It existed as early as more than 2,000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty. Lantern viewing began in the period of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Ming advocated Buddhism. I heard that in Buddhism, monks watch the Buddha on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Relics and the practice of lighting lamps to worship Buddha were ordered to light lamps in palaces and temples to worship Buddha on this night, and the nobles and common people were ordered to hang lamps. Later, this kind of Buddhist ritual festival gradually became a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the palace to the folk, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was designated as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities for "Taiyi God" were held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. (Taiyi: God who controls everything in the universe). When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

Another theory is that the custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist "Three Yuan Theory"; the 15th day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the Zhongyuan Festival, and the 15th day of the 10th month is the Zhongyuan Festival. For the Xiayuan Festival. The three officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The heavenly officials are happy, so lamps must be lit on the Lantern Festival.

The festival period and customary activities of the Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. In terms of the length of the festival, it was only one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, and five days in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the lights were lit from the eighth day of the lunar month until the lights were turned off on the night of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, a full ten days. Connecting with the Spring Festival, the city is bustling during the day, and the lights are lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. By the Qing Dynasty, "hundred operas" such as dragon dance, lion dance, land boat running, stilt walking, and Yangko dancing were added, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.

There are several interesting folk legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival:

1 The legend about lanterns

It is said that a long time ago, there were many ferocious birds and beasts. , hurting people and livestock everywhere, people organized to fight them. There was a magical bird that got lost and landed on earth, but was accidentally shot to death by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he found out. He immediately issued a decree and ordered the Heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the 15th day of the first lunar month and burn all the human and animal property in the human world. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the innocent people suffer, so she risked her life and secretly came to the world on auspicious clouds to tell people the news. When everyone heard the news, it was like a thunderbolt ringing above their heads. I was so frightened that I didn’t know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of the first lunar month, every family will decorate their homes with lanterns and colorful lights. Sound firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the Emperor will think that people have been burned to death."

Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing this, and then went separately to prepare. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and found that the world was filled with red light and loud noises. It was like this for three consecutive nights. He thought it was the flames of a fire, so he was very happy. In this way people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, from then on every fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hung lanterns and set off fireworks to commemorate this day.

2 It was established during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty to commemorate "Ping Lu"

Another legend is that the Lantern Festival was established during the time of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty to commemorate "Ping Lu". After the death of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, the son of Empress Lu, ascended the throne as Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hui was weak and indecisive by nature, and his power gradually fell into the hands of Empress Lu. After Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty died of illness, Empress Lu took over the affairs of the country and turned the Liu family into the Lu family. The senior officials in the court and the Liu family were deeply indignant, but they were all afraid of Empress Lu's cruelty and dared not speak out.

After Empress Lu died of illness, Zhu Lu was in panic and fear of being hurt and excluded. Therefore, they secretly gathered at the home of General Lu Lu to plot a rebellion in order to completely seize the Liu family.

This matter reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Qi, the Liu family. In order to protect the Liu family, Liu Nang decided to launch an army to attack Zhu Lu. Then he contacted the founding veterans Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and designed to remove Lu Lu. , the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was finally completely put down.

After the rebellion was over, the ministers supported Liu Bang’s second son Liu Heng to ascend the throne and became Emperor Wen of Han. Emperor Wen was deeply aware that peace and prosperity were hard-won, so he designated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the day when the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was quelled, as a day of fun with the people. Every house in the capital decorated with lights and colors to celebrate. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has become a popular folk festival - "Lantern Festival".

3 Dongfang Shuo and the Yuanxiao Girl

This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dongfang Shuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, so Dongfang Shuo went to the Imperial Garden to pick plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a palace maid with tears streaming down her face and ready to throw herself into the well. Dongfang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to rescue her and asked her why she wanted to commit suicide. It turns out that the palace maid's name is Yuanxiao, and she has parents and a younger sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never had the chance to see her family again. Every year when the Spring Festival comes, I miss my family even more than usual. I felt that if I could not fulfill my filial piety in front of my parents, it would be better to die. Dongfang Shuo felt deeply sympathetic after hearing her experience, and assured her that he would try to reunite her with her family.

One day, Dongfang Shuo left the palace and set up a divination stall on Chang'an Street. Many people are vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wanted was the sign of "burning the body with fire on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month". Suddenly, there was great panic in Chang'an. People have been asking for solutions to the disaster. Dongfang Shuo said: "On the evening of the 13th of the first lunar month, Lord Vulcan will send a red-clothed goddess down to earth to investigate. She is the envoy who was ordered to burn Chang'an. I will give you the copied verses so that you can think of a solution today." After finishing, he threw down a red post and walked away. The common people picked up the red sticker and hurriedly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and took a look, and saw that it read: "Chang'an is in tribulation, the emperor's palace is burned, fifteen days of fire, flame red supper", he was shocked, and quickly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo thought for a while and said, "I heard that Lord Vulcan loves glutinous rice balls the most. Doesn't the Yuanxiao in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? You can ask Yuanxiao to make glutinous rice balls on the night of the 15th. Long live the incense and offer it to Kyoto. Every family makes glutinous rice balls and worships the God of Fire together, and then orders the subjects to hang up lanterns on the night of the 15th, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, so that the Jade Emperor can be hidden. Common people, on the night of the 15th, go to the city to watch the lanterns and mingle with the crowd to resolve misfortune.” After hearing this, Emperor Wu was very happy and ordered to follow Dongfang Shuo's method.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, Chang'an City was decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and it was very lively with tourists coming and going. The parents of the palace maid Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to watch the lanterns. When they saw the big palace lantern with the word "Luanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Lanxiao! Lantern Festival!" Yuanxiao heard the shout and was finally reunited with her relatives at home.

After such a lively night, Chang'an City was indeed safe and sound. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered that glutinous rice balls be made as offerings to the God of Fire every fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Lanterns and fireworks would still be hung throughout the city on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Because the dumplings made during the Lantern Festival are the best, people call the dumplings Yuanxiao, and this day is called the Lantern Festival.

Lantern couplets

Lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival is a traditional custom of our people. Throughout the ages, there have been not only a large number of popular Lantern Festival poems, but also countless interesting Lantern Festival couplets.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, when a man named Jia Sidao was guarding Huaiyin (today's Yangzhou), one year he lit up lanterns during the Lantern Festival. Someone among the guests picked up a Tang poem and wrote a couplet for the door lantern: "The world is three-quarters bright on a moonlit night." , Yangzhou Shili Little Red House." It is said that this couplet is the earliest lantern couplet in my country. Since then, people in all dynasties have followed suit and hung wall lantern couplets and door lantern couplets on gates or prominent pillars, which not only adds festive flavor to the Lantern Festival, but also adds content for people who appreciate the lanterns.

Zhang Ying and Zhang Tingyu, who were born in Tongcheng, Anhui Province in the Qing Dynasty, were known as "double bachelors, father and son, and two prime ministers, old and young". They were both good at poetry. One year during the Lantern Festival, the Zhang family decorated lanterns and set off firecrackers as usual.

When the old prime minister went out to take the joint examination, Ziya said: "The high-burning red candle reflects the long sky, it is bright, and the light spreads all over the ground." When Xiao Tingyu was thinking, he heard the sound of fireworks outside the door, and immediately understood, and said to Ziya: "The low-pitched fireworks shook the earth, and the sound filled the ground." , sighing with anger. "The confrontation is neat and seamless, which can be called a wonderful pairing.

The most talked-about story is probably the story of Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty who acted as a matchmaker. When Wang Anshi was 20 years old, he went to Beijing to take the exam. He passed by a certain place during the Lantern Festival and admired the lanterns while walking. He saw a large family hanging a revolving lantern high and a couplet hanging under the lantern to recruit couples. The couplet said: "The revolving lantern, the horse running with the lantern, the horse stops when the lantern is turned off." When Wang Anshi saw it, he couldn't answer for a while, so he kept it in his heart. When he arrived in the capital, the examiner showed the flying tiger flag fluttering in the wind and said, "Flying tiger flag, flying tiger flag, tiger hiding in flag roll." Wang Anshi responded by recruiting relatives and was admitted as a Jinshi. When I returned home, I passed by that family's house and heard that no one had come out to show off the wedding couplet. So I responded with the examiner's wedding couplet and was recruited as my soon-to-be son-in-law. A coincidental couplet actually brought about two happy events for Wang Anshi.

It is said that Zhu Di, the founder of Ming Dynasty, traveled incognito during the Lantern Festival of a certain year. He met a scholar and had a very good conversation. Zhu Di wrote the first couplet to test his talents, and the couplet said: "The lamp is bright and the moon is bright, the lamp and the moon are always bright, and the Ming Dynasty is unified." The scholar immediately wrote the second couplet: "The king is happy and the people are happy, the king and the people are happy together, and there will be eternal happiness for ten thousand years." "Yongle" This was the year of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di was very happy and gave him the title of No. 1 Scholar.

Legend has it that one year during the Lantern Festival, Emperor Qianlong and a group of civil and military ministers went to watch the lantern festival with great interest. The various lanterns on the left are colorful and beautiful; the lanterns on the right are unique, interesting and thought-provoking. When Emperor Qianlong was happy, the ministers who accompanied him also made a riddle for everyone to guess. The accompanying bachelor Ji Xiaolan thought for a moment and wrote a couplet on the palace lantern.

Black is not, white is not, red and yellow are not. They are like foxes, wolves, cats and dogs, neither domestic animals nor wild beasts.

Poems are not, words are not, and the Analects is not. It is vague about east, west, north and south. Although it is a short article, it is also a wonderful article.

Emperor Qianlong thought hard after watching it, and the civil and military ministers scratched their heads one by one, but they couldn't guess it. In the end, it was Ji Xiaolan who revealed the answer by himself: guessing the riddle.

Poetry for appreciating lanterns

"A Sheng song makes spring like the sea, and the night with thousands of lanterns looks like day." There are countless poems written by literati in the past dynasties praising the New Year's Eve lanterns, which are still interesting to read today.

During the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern market. The capital city was "made with lamp wheels twenty feet high, clothed in brocade, decorated with gold and silver, and burning fifty thousand lamps, clustered with flowers and trees." The poem "The Fifteenth Night of the First Month" written by Su Weiwei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, goes: "Fire trees and silver flowers bloom together, and the iron locks of the star bridge open. The dark dust goes with the horses, and the bright moon chases the people." It depicts the lively scene where the lights and the moon are shining together, and tourists are weaving. . Zhang Yue, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, also used a poem to praise Dao Yao: "The calyx tower door is fresh with rain and dew, and Chang'an City is peaceful. The dragon holds the fire tree with thousands of lanterns, and the chicken steps on the lotus for long live spring." He vividly describes the scene of lantern appreciation during the Lantern Festival. Li Shangyin described the grand scale of the lantern viewing at that time with the poem "Moonlight lights filled the imperial city, and fragrant chariots and precious chariots overflowed the thoroughfare." It is worthy of praise that the Tang Dynasty poet Cui Ye's "Shangyuan Night" should be recommended first. "Don't rush the jade leaking copper pot, the iron gate and the golden lock are clear and open; who can sit idle when seeing the moon, and who can't look at the lamp when they hear it." "Although there is no positive description of the Lantern Festival, it contains a very happy, lively and bustling scene.

The Lantern Festival Night in the Song Dynasty was unprecedentedly grand, and the lantern market was even more spectacular. Su Dongpo has a poem that says, "Every house has lights, and music and music are everywhere." Fan Chengda also wrote in a poem, "Wutai, a prosperous place in ancient and modern times, prefers the Lantern Festival shadow lantern show." The "shadow lantern" in the poem is the "revolving lantern". The great poet Xin Qiji once had a poem praising the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival that has been passed down through the ages: "At night, the east wind blows thousands of flowers into the trees, and they blow down, and the flowers are like rain. The carvings of BMWs are full of fragrance. The sound of the wind flute is moving, and the light of the jade pot is turning, all night long. Fish and dragon dance.

The Ming Dynasty was more extravagant and changed the Lantern Festival from three nights to ten nights. Tang Bohu once wrote a poem praising the Lantern Festival and bringing people into the charming Lantern Festival night. A lamp without a moon will not miss people; a moon without lamps will not be considered spring. When spring arrives in the world, people are like jade, and when the lamp is burning, the moon is like silver. The streets are full of pearls and emerald girls wandering around, and the place is full of music and singing games for the gods. If you don't open your mouth and smile, how can you spend this good time? ”

In addition to various lanterns, the lively scenes of the Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty also included torch dancing, fireballs, fire rain, etc.

"After the Tang Dynasty, there are also records of Lantern Festival eating cakes in the Yuan Dynasty.

Zaotang is eaten after watching the lanterns on the 14th day of the first lunar month every year in Taizhou, Zhejiang. It is made of shredded pork, shredded winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fungus, and fresh vegetables. Stir-fry dragonfly, dried tofu, soaked in oil, Sichuan bean paste, spinach, etc., then add a little rice flour and cook it into a salty paste. The glutinous rice soup consumed on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is sweet, and is served with sweet potato starch or lotus root starch. Made of lotus seeds, sweet dates, longan, etc.

In addition, steamed buns and wheat cakes are eaten in Pujiang, Zhejiang. .

Eating Yuanxiao

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has been a popular food in my country since the Song Dynasty. This kind of food was first called "Fu Yuanzi" and later "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao is "tangyuan" made of white sugar, roses, sesame seeds, bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnut kernels and nuts. , date paste, etc. are used as fillings, and are wrapped in glutinous rice flour. They can be meat or vegetarian, with different flavors. They can be cooked in soup, fried, or steamed. They have the meaning of happy reunion. Shaanxi glutinous rice balls are not wrapped in glutinous rice flour. It is "rolled", boiled or deep-fried, hot and round.

Guan Deng

During the Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty (AD 58--75). Because Emperor Ming advocated Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Min's return from India to seek Buddhism. He said that every fifteenth day of the first lunar month in India's Moheda country, monks gathered to pay homage to the Buddha's relics. It was an auspicious day to visit the Buddha. In order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty issued an order. On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, lanterns were lit in palaces and temples to represent the Buddha. From then on, the custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival was originally only held in the palace and spread to the people. Urban and rural areas are brightly lit all night long.

The custom of putting on lanterns during the Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern market in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chang'an, the capital, was the largest city in the world with a population of one million, and the society was prosperous under the emperor's rule. Under his personal initiative, the Lantern Festival has become more and more luxurious. After the middle Tang Dynasty, it has developed into a national carnival. There are 50,000 lanterns in various styles. The emperor ordered a giant lantern tower to be built, with 20 lanterns in total and 150 feet high. The golden light was brilliant and extremely spectacular.

The Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty was both fantastic in scale and lighting. The Lantern Festival is more exquisite than the Tang Dynasty, and the activities are more folk-oriented and have stronger national characteristics. Later, the Lantern Festival continued to develop, and the Lantern Festival became longer and longer. The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty was "one day before and after the Lantern Festival". In the Song Dynasty, two days were added after the sixteenth day, and in the Ming Dynasty it was extended to ten days from the eighth to the eighteenth day of the lunar month.

In the Qing Dynasty, when the Manchus took over the Central Plains, the palace no longer held lantern festivals, and folk lantern festivals were held. The Lantern Festival is still spectacular. The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.

Lamps have the meaning of light and birth in Taiwanese people. Lighting the lanterns means brightening the future, and the word "lantern" is homophonic to "ding" in Taiwanese. It represents the birth of a boy, so in the past, women would deliberately walk under the lanterns during the Lantern Festival in the hope of "walking under the lanterns to give birth to a boy" (that is, walking under the lanterns to give birth to a boy).

Lion Dance

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in my country. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people come to enjoy lion dance. This custom originated during the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. According to legend, it was first introduced from the Western Regions. The lion is the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. With the introduction of Buddhism to China, lion dance activities were also introduced to China. The lion was a tribute brought back together with the peacock and others after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions. However, the technique of lion dance is derived from the "masquerade" of Xiliang. Some people believe that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and today it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong. However, in the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had become a popular activity in the palace, the military, and among the people. It is said in "Yuefu Zaxun" by Duan'an Festival of the Tang Dynasty: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet tall, each dressed in five colors. Each lion has twelve people, wearing red foreheads, painted clothes, and holding red whisks. It is called The lion man dances to peaceful music." The poet Bai Juyi vividly describes this in his poem "Xiliang Ji": "Xiliang Ji, Xiliang Ji, pretending to be a barbarian and pretending to be a lion.

The carved wood is made of silk for the head and tail, with gold-plated eyes and silver-plated teeth. Fen Xun's sweater posed on his ears, as if he had traveled thousands of miles from quicksand. "The poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time.

In the development process of more than a thousand years, lion dance has formed two performance styles of the north and the south. The northern lion dance is based on the performance of "Martial Lion" The main figure is the "Auspicious Lion" of the Northern Wei Dynasty appointed by Emperor Wu of the Wei Dynasty. The small lion is danced by one person, and the big lion is danced by two people. One person stands and dances the lion's head, and the other bends down to dance the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer is covered with a lion quilt. Wearing green lion trousers and gold-clawed boots with the same coat color as the lion's body, people can't identify the shape of the lion dancer. Its appearance is very similar to that of a real lion. The lion leader is dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a spinning hydrangea, and is decorated with Beijing flowers. Gongs, drums, cymbals, and auspicious lions are played. Under the guidance of the "Lion Man", the lion performs tricks such as tumbling, falling, jumping, climbing, and worshiping. It also performs difficult actions such as walking on plum blossom piles, jumping around tables, and rolling balls. . The Southern style lion dance mainly focuses on the performance of "literary lion". The performance pays attention to expressions, including tickling, hair shaking, licking and other movements, which are lifelike and cute. There are also more difficult skills such as ball spitting from Guangdong. It is centered on Hong Kong, Macao, and the hometown of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Although the Southern Lion Dance is also a two-person dance, the lion dancer wears bloomers and only wears a colorful lion quilt on top. Different from the Northern Lion, the lion dance is worn on the head. With a big-headed Buddha mask, he wears a long robe and a colorful belt around his waist. He holds a sunflower fan in his hand and teases the lion, and uses it to dance various graceful moves. There are many schools of Southern lions, including the "Chicken-Gong-Lion" from Qingyuan and Yingde. The "big-headed lion" in Guangzhou and Foshan, the "duck-billed lion" in Gaohe and Zhongshan, and the "Qilin lion" in Dongguan are not only different in appearance, but also have different personalities. There are not many varieties, but they are calm, vigorous, majestic and powerful. The black-bearded and red-faced lion is known as the "Guan Gong Lion". It dances bravely and majesticly and has extraordinary spirit. "Zhang Fei Lion". The lion is the king of beasts, with a majestic and martial image, giving people a sense of majesty and bravery. The ancients regarded it as a symbol of bravery and strength, believing that it could drive away evil spirits, suppress demons, and protect humans and animals. Therefore, people gradually formed a It is the custom to perform lion dance during the Lantern Festival and other major events to pray for good luck and peace in life.