Lantern, also known as "colored lantern", originated from the lighting lamps hanging on the hall beams in the Han Dynasty. Legend has it that Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, made Luoyang his capital and unified the world. In order to celebrate this achievement, he decorated the palace with lanterns and lanterns. Later, the production process of palace lanterns was handed down to the people. The name of "palace lantern" was born. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of Emperor Yangdi's great cause (65), there were hundreds of plays in Luoyang, all over the palace lanterns, and the whole city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations for half a month. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, due to the social peace and prosperity, the lanterns were even more brilliant and prosperous, and the scale of activities was quite large. On the Lantern Festival, when the lights are on, men and women, old and young, come out of the city, from princes and nobles to peddlers and pawns, all go out to enjoy the lights. There are miles of long streets, drums and music are ringing, candlelight is soaring, and people are everywhere. After the Tang Dynasty, lanterns became an important symbol of the Lantern Festival.

The lanterns of past dynasties in China are very exquisite in production, with various types and unique names, such as fringed lanterns, neon lights, palace lanterns, lotus lanterns, gauze lanterns and chandeliers, as well as stars all over the sky, pretty daughters-in-law, a flower, thistle balls and golden carp. From the modeling point of view, there are figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, fish and insects, etc. In addition, there are lanterns for people to enjoy. The lanterns in China are made of bamboo, wood, rattan, straw, animal horn, metal, silk and other materials produced in various regions through color binding, pasting, knitting, embroidery and carving, and then decorated with paper-cutting, calligraphy and painting, poetry and so on.

Palace lantern

Palace lantern originated from the palace and is one of the unique handicrafts of China colored lanterns. It is famous for its elegance and court atmosphere. Because it has been used by the court for a long time, in addition to lighting, it must be accompanied by fine and complicated decorations to reflect the wealth and luxury of the emperor. The orthodox palace lanterns are octagonal, quadrangular and hexagonal in shape, and the patterns on all sides are mostly dragon wind, longevity and good luck. Palace lanterns are made of particularly exquisite materials, mostly mahogany, rosewood, rosewood, nanmu and other precious wood.

wood, even decorated with expensive gold and silver, requires fine production, and carving, engraving and painting are indispensable.

There are many kinds of palace lanterns, including chandelier, seat lamp, wall lamp and lantern.

lantern

lantern is also called lantern, string lantern. The shape is like a palace lantern. A hot wheels is installed at the upper end of the middle spindle in the lantern. Around the wind wheel, people's stories are posted, or paper-cuts such as riding horses are hung with wires. When the candle in the lantern is lit, the hot air rises to form an airflow, which pushes the impeller to rotate, so the paper-cut rotates with the wheel shaft. Their shadows are projected on the lantern paper cover, and images of people chasing and things changing scenery appear on the light screen, hence the name "Lantern".

Although the lantern is a toy, it is consistent with the working principle of modern gas turbines, and it is an important invention of ancient people in China.

Boneless lanterns

Boneless lanterns originated in the Tang Dynasty, when they were called "Tang lanterns" or "magic lanterns".

According to legend, during the Kaiyuan period of Tang Dynasty, a scholar lost his way in the deep mountains at night, was rescued by a fairy, and gave him a "magic lamp". This lamp has another shape, unique technology, exquisite production and exquisite design. What's even more amazing is that the lamp body has no skeleton, and it's all made of a kind of paper with various patterns by needlework that floats on the water, and it's light and can fly. It leads the scholar home safely. After the scholar came home, in order to commemorate this adventure, he copied it according to the appearance of the "magic lamp" and hung it in front of his house. People were amazed after seeing it, and they imitated it one after another. Since then, the production process of this "magic lamp" has spread among the people.

The boneless lamp is made by sticking pieces of paper with various patterns. Therefore, when making, we should first draw the bottom sample, then needle the pattern on the required pieces of paper, then paste the finished pieces of paper, and finally color and decorate them with water-based pigments.

Dragon Lantern

In urban and rural areas of China, especially in the southern region, there is a custom of dancing dragon lanterns, which adds a festive atmosphere to the festival. The images of dragon lanterns have their own characteristics, and they are made of bamboo, wood, cloth and paper. Each section of the dragon body is about 1.5 meters long, and each section is called a gear. The sections that make up the dragon body are all singular, such as nine, eleven and thirteen. There are two forms of performance: "single dragon playing with pearls" and "double dragon playing with pearls". Dragon lanterns are danced at night in all parts of the south, and lights are lit at every festival. When dancing, the dragon flies, and the momentum is extraordinary.

surface lamp

a surface lamp is a lamp made of noodles. Before the 15th day of the first month, people used various kinds of pasta to make lanterns. The ones made of bean flour were called "silver lanterns", the ones made of corn flour were called "golden lanterns" and the ones made of buckwheat flour were called "iron lanterns".

put oil in the recess of the lamp, twist it and light it, and eat it after the festival.

There are many shapes of surface lights, including bowl lights, dragon lights, spoon lights, animal lights and so on. Generally, face lamps should be made into bowls, which are called bowl lamps. Spoon lamp is children's favorite, and it is a lamp specially made by adults for children. The practice of spoon lamp is to knead the noodles into the shape of a spoon, and pinch a little mouse to lie on the edge of the spoon. The eyes of the little mouse are replaced by pepper granules. In the evening, people pour vegetable oil into the spoon, wrap cotton with a matchstick, and then soak the cotton in oil and ignite it, pinning the ardent wishes of the elders for the healthy growth of children.

Common animal lights are dogs, chickens, fish, dragons and pigs. According to traditional customs, they are placed in corresponding places. The lighted dog-shaped face lamp should be placed at the door of the house to protect the home and the hospital; The lighted chicken-shaped lamp is placed on the edge of the chicken fence, wishing the domestic chickens not to get sick and lay more eggs; Fish lanterns should be placed on the water tank, wishing the family happiness and financial resources come smoothly; Pig lanterns are placed next to the pigsty to wish livestock prosperity; Dragon lanterns should be placed on the grain hoard, wishing the new year a bumper harvest.

River lanterns

, also known as water lanterns, are a custom that spreads all over the country. Most of them are performed in Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Mid-Autumn Festival, and they have multiple meanings, such as crossing the dead, praying for happiness and entertainment. River lanterns are generally made into lotus shapes, fixed on wooden boards, and cast in the river at night. On the evening of July 3th of the lunar calendar every year, people in Jiangsu and other places make exquisite boat-shaped lanterns with colorful paper, and put candles or a little soybean oil and rush grass on them, and the elders set them off in boats. River lanterns float on the water, drifting with the tide, colorful, very beautiful.