The evolution of the Lantern Festival

The evolution of the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is what we call the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It is also a very important festival after the Spring Festival. The ancients called it The Lantern Festival is generally called the Lantern Festival. How did the Lantern Festival evolve into the Lantern Festival? See more of the evolution of the Lantern Festival below.

The historical development and changes of the Lantern Festival

1. In the Tang Dynasty, when the national power was unprecedentedly powerful, the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival was very prosperous, whether in the capital or It is a township, with colorful lanterns hung everywhere, and people also make huge lantern wheels, lantern trees, lamp posts, etc. The city is full of lights, making it very lively and lively.

2. In the Song Dynasty, women often went out to enjoy lanterns, and from late at night, men and women were mixed. In addition to these activities, some officials will give red envelopes to the people around them. In the capital, the kings and the common people would celebrate the Lantern Festival together, and some of them would take on a terrifying tone, or directly display prison tools for everyone.

3. In the Yuan Dynasty, holidays were basically cancelled, because the emperors during the Yuan Dynasty believed that life lies in exercise, and work is the same as rest, so holidays were cancelled.

2. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival lasted longer, lasting ten days from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month to show the prosperity of singing and dancing.

3. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu people took over the Central Plains. The palace no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The Lantern Festival lasted only three days in the Qing Dynasty, but the lights were brighter and more exquisite and fantastic, making it still very attractive.

Customs of the Lantern Festival

1. Eat Lantern Festival. Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a long-standing custom in China. Yuanxiao means "tangyuan", and its ingredients and flavors are different, but the meaning of eating yuanxiao is the same: it represents reunion, harmony and beauty, and the days are getting more prosperous. There is a saying that "harmony brings wealth", which shows how important family harmony and family reunion are to a complete family. Therefore, you must eat "Yuanxiao" with your family during the Lantern Festival.

2. Guess lantern riddles. Lantern viewing is an important event of the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles are a word game derived from the Lantern Festival, also called lantern tiger. Riddles are pasted on lanterns for people to guess. Most of the answers focus on the meaning of the words, and there are 24 types of riddles. Commonly used ones include roller blinds, swings, phoenixes, etc., which has formed a unique folk culture.

3. Walking on stilts. Walking on stilts is a popular folk performance. Stilts are one of the ancient Chinese operas and have appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. The earliest introduction of stilts in China is from the chapter "Liezi·Shuofu": "Those who had Lanzi in the Song Dynasty used their skills to achieve success in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Those who were summoned by the Song and Yuan Dynasties saw their skills."

The celebration of the Lantern Festival in each dynasty is based on The emperor's preferences varied, but the only thing that remained unchanged was the festive atmosphere of the Lantern Festival. The main customs of the Lantern Festival include eating Lantern Festival, guessing lantern riddles, walking on stilts, etc. There are many other activities that I cannot list here one by one.

The origin of the Lantern Festival

The origin of the Lantern Festival is very ancient, originating from ancient humans using torches to ward off evil spirits during the festival. This festival involves worshiping the gods. Since it is held at night, torches are naturally used. Later, it gradually evolved into the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in my country, which dates back to the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

Lantern viewing during the Lantern Festival began during the period of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty promoted Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Min's return from India to seek Buddhism. Cai Min said that in the Indian country of Magadha, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, monks gathered to pay homage to the Buddha's relics, which was an auspicious day to visit the Buddha

Come, Cai Min said that every fifteenth day of the first lunar month in Magadha, India, monks gather to pay homage to the Buddha's relics, which is an auspicious day to visit the Buddha.

In order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty ordered that on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, lanterns should be lit in palaces and temples to represent the Buddha. Therefore, the custom of lighting lanterns on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month gradually spread in my country with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture.

Since then, this Buddhist ritual festival has gradually expanded into 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.

In addition, there is also a saying that the Lantern Festival originated from the Torch Festival. People in the Han Dynasty held torches in the countryside to drive away insects and beasts, hoping to reduce pest damage and pray for a good harvest. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has become more prosperous. Tens of thousands of people participated in the singing and dancing, starting from dusk on the first day to dark on the second day.

To this day, people in some areas of southwestern my country still make torches out of reeds or tree branches on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and hold the torches high in groups to dance in fields or grain drying fields.

With the changes of society and times, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in my country.

The legend of the Lantern Festival

There are some folk legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival.

1. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty set it up to quell the rebellion. According to legend, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty put down the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" on the 15th day of the first lunar month, so he designated this day as the Lantern Festival.

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 government and turned the Liu family's world into the Lu family's world. The Liu clan, veterans of the court, were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of Empress Lu's cruelty and dared not speak out.

After Empress Lu died of illness, the Lu family was in panic, fearing that they would be 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 incident reached the ears of Qi Wang Liu Nang, the Liu clan. In order to protect the Liu family, Liu Nang decided to launch an army to attack Zhu Lu. Later, Liu Nang got in touch with Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, the founding veterans, and designed to remove Lu Lu, and 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 as a day to enjoy the people together, and every house in the capital decorated it with lanterns and colors to celebrate.

Since then, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has become a folk festival celebrated by everyone, namely the "Lantern Festival".

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 preparing to throw herself into the well with tears streaming down her face. 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 Spring comes, I miss my family even more than usual. She felt that if she could not fulfill her filial piety by her parents' side, it would be better to die.

Dongfang Shuo understood what happened to Miss Yuanxiao and felt deep sympathy for her, so he promised her that he would try to reunite her with her family.

One day, Dongfang Shuo set up a divination stall on Chang'an Street after leaving the palace. Many people rushed 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, Chang'an fell into panic, and people asked 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 ordered to burn Chang'an. I will give you the copied prophecy, so that you can think about it. Find a way." After saying that, he threw down the red note and walked away.

The common people picked up the red stickers and hurriedly sent them 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, the flame is red

2. Dongfang Shuo and Yuanxiao girl. One legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao as a midnight snack." He was shocked and quickly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo.

Dongfang Shuo thought for a while and said, "I heard that Mr. Vulcan loves glutinous rice balls the most. Doesn't the Yuanxiao girl in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? You can ask the palace maid Yuanxiao to make glutinous rice balls on the night of the 15th. , burn incense and offer sacrifices, and order every household in the capital to make glutinous rice balls to worship the God of Fire together. Then he orders the subjects to hang up lanterns on the night of the 15th, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, like a big fire in the city, so that they can be hidden. In addition, the people outside the city were notified to come to the city to watch the lanterns on the night of the 15th, and the palace people were among the crowd to solve the problem."

Emperor Wu was very happy after hearing this, and he passed on Dongfang Shuo's method. Do it.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every house in Chang'an City was decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and tourists were bustling in and out, making it very lively. 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!" The palace maid 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 palace maid Yuanxiao made the best glutinous rice balls, people called the glutinous rice balls Yuanxiao, and this day was called "Lantern Festival".

3. Sacrifice to God Taiyi According to ancient Chinese customs, "Yuan" refers to the full moon. There are so-called "three yuans" in a year, that is, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called "Shangyuan", and the seventh day of the first lunar month is called "Shangyuan". The fifteenth day of the lunar month is called "Zhongyuan", and the fifteenth day of October is called "Xiayuan". Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called the "Shangyuan Festival".

It is "Xiayuan". Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called the "Shangyuan Festival".

According to research, the origin of the Lantern Festival is said to be related to the worship of Taiyi God. Taiyi God, also known as Taiyi God, controls wind, rain, famine and plague in the world.

It is said that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had been ill for a long time and was miraculously cured after asking for help from the god Taiyi. So he began to build the Taiyi Temple to offer sacrifices. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he stayed up all night to offer sacrifices with grand lights. Every Lantern Festival night on the 15th day of the first lunar month, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to Ganquan Palace to preside over activities to worship Taiyi God. This activity was later regarded as the precursor to offering sacrifices to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, lights were very popular. The lanterns held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month are known as the beautiful scenery of a good time because of their bright meaning and joyful atmosphere. No matter men, women, old or young, they will wander around the lantern market in groups to appreciate the festive atmosphere of "fires lighting up and down the buildings, cars and horses passing by and people watching".

The origin and legend of the Lantern Festival

The origin of the Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is a traditional custom of our people. There is such a legend about the origin of lanterns.

It is said that a long time ago, there were many ferocious birds and beasts that harmed people and livestock everywhere, so people organized themselves to eliminate them.

It is said that a magical bird landed on earth because it got lost, but was accidentally shot to death by an unsuspecting hunter. When the Emperor of Heaven knew about it, he was very angry. He immediately issued a decree and ordered the Heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the fifteenth 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 could not 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.

After everyone heard the news, it was like a thunderclap above their heads, and they were so frightened that they didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with a solution. The old man said: "On the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days of the first lunar month, every household would decorate their homes with lanterns, light firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven would think that everyone was burned to death. ”

After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and went separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and saw a red light and a loud sound in the world. He thought it was the flames of a fire, so he was very happy. In this way, people saved their lives and property.

Since then, every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks to express gratitude to kind people.

In addition, some folklore experts believe that the custom of lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated from the battle between Buddhism and Taoism. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shemo Teng and Zhu Falan came to China to preach and encountered Taoist criticism. Therefore, Shemo Teng and Zhu Falan decided to test their magic power with the Taoist priests in the palace to compete.

Photographed by Mo Teng and Zhu Flan burning the sutra statues, but the sutra statues were not damaged at all and shone brightly. When Emperor Ming saw this, he felt that the Buddha's Dharma was immeasurable, so he ordered that lamps be lit on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month on the day when the Buddha undergoes a divine transformation to show the great enlightenment of the Dharma. At this point, the Buddhist magic lantern ignited in the land of China and gradually started a prairie fire.

Later, when Buddhism flourished, Buddhist monks actively persuaded people to light lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, believing that the act of lighting lanterns had immeasurable merit. As a result, Buddhist lanterns gradually spread among the people, and it became a custom to have fifteen lanterns on the first lunar month.

As a result, Buddhist lanterns gradually spread among the people, and it became a custom to display lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The origin and legend of the Lantern Festival

The development of lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival

Since the formation of the custom of lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival, all dynasties have celebrated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Setting up lanterns and viewing lanterns is a major event. Emperor Wen of Liang Jian once wrote an article called "Leng Leng Fu", which wrote:

The oil in the south is full, and the paint in the west is burning.

Su Zheng rests in peace, and the wax comes out of Longchuan.

The slanting light sets off each other, and the reflection is clear and fresh.

The poem describes the grand occasion of the palace lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival.

During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, a grand party was held every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to entertain guests and envoys from all over the world. According to the Records of Music in the Book of the Sui Dynasty: The Lantern Festival celebration is very grand, with lights and colors everywhere, singing, dancing and music day and night. There are more than 30,000 performers and nearly 20,000 musicians. The stage is four kilometers long, and countless people come to play and watch the lanterns. Tens of thousands of people stayed up all night, enjoying themselves and it was very lively.

In the Tang Dynasty, it developed into an unprecedented lantern market; after the mid-Tang Dynasty, it developed into a national carnival. During the prosperous Kaiyuan period during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the lantern market in Chang'an was very large, with 50,000 lanterns burning in a variety of styles. The emperor ordered people to build more than 20 giant lantern towers, about 50 meters high, with bright golden light and extremely spectacular.

In the Tang Dynasty, a curfew was implemented. It was prohibited to travel once the drum was sounded at night, and people who broke the night were punished. Only during the Lantern Festival, the emperor granted permission to lift the ban for three days, which was called "night release".

According to "New Accounts of the Tang Dynasty", every night of the Lantern Festival, lanterns are put on for three days in Chang'an City. In the Song Dynasty, the lantern display was extended from three nights to five nights. In addition to the lanterns, fireworks and various acrobatics were performed, making the scene even more lively. According to the record in "Tokyo Menghualu": ??

During the Lantern Festival, thousands of colored lanterns are piled up into a mountain of lanterns on Kaifeng's Imperial Street, with lanterns and fireworks, gold and jade shining on each other, and the beauty interweaving. Kyoto girls sang and danced, and thousands of people watched. Tourists gathered under the two corridors of the imperial street, performing miraculous magic, singing and dancing, hundreds of plays, scales intertwined, and music noisy for more than ten miles.

At this time, the streets, alleys, teahouses and restaurants are all lit with lights, gongs and drums are beating, firecrackers are blasting, and hundreds of miles of lights are on.

In the Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Jinling, in order to make the capital prosperous and lively, he also stipulated that the lights should be turned on on the eighth day of the first lunar month and turned off on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. For ten consecutive nights, every household hung five-color lanterns. Various characters are depicted on the lanterns, dancing gracefully, birds flying and flowers blooming, dragons leaping and fish leaping, lanterns and fireworks shining all night, drums and music playing, and noisy till the end of the day. This was the longest Lantern Festival in my country at that time.

By the Qing Dynasty, there were many types of lanterns, including various lanterns of all shapes and colors, including simple and elegant palace lanterns, colorful dragon lanterns, revolving lanterns with exquisite structures that rotate in the wind, and lifelike lanterns made of silk. Character lights, etc. In the Qing Dynasty, although the palace no longer held lantern festivals, folk lantern festivals were still spectacular.

The date of the lantern festival was shortened to five days.

In the Qing Dynasty, although the palace no longer held lantern festivals, the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The date of the lantern festival is shortened to five days.

Palace lanterns are my country’s world-famous special handmade lantern crafts. Palace lanterns have this name because they are mostly made and used by royal palaces and government officials. The earliest existing palace lantern is the Ming Dynasty palace lantern collected by the Palace Museum.

The production of palace lanterns is very complicated. They mainly use carved wood, carved bamboo, and engraved copper as the skeleton, and then inlaid with gauze, glass or horn pieces, and painted with landscapes, flowers, birds, fish, insects, figures, etc. Auspicious and festive theme. Top-grade palace lanterns are also inlaid with jade or white jade.

The shapes of palace lanterns are very rich, including square, hexagonal, octagonal, round beads, flower baskets, fangsheng, double fish, gourds, long pans, mugwort leaves, glasses, rings and many other varieties, especially the hexagonal palace lanterns. represent.

In 1915, Beijing palace lanterns were exhibited at the Panama International Exposition for the first time, winning the gold medal and receiving international acclaim. Later, palace lanterns gradually developed in a practical direction, with various chandeliers, wall lamps, table lamps and poke lamps appearing. Beijing is the most famous for making palace lanterns in my country, and palace lanterns are one of the main varieties of ornamental lanterns.

The grand events of lighting up lanterns and watching lanterns in the past dynasties fully express people’s best wishes for a good harvest and peace in the world.

A folk proverb says: "Fire at thirty, lanterns at fifteen." The main content of the Lantern Festival is lights, so it is also called the Lantern Festival. Therefore, it contains a rich lantern culture.

Aoshan light poles and fiery trees and silver flowers are the most prominent sights of the Lantern Festival, and they also best summarize the activities of this festival, namely lighting up lanterns and setting fires. Lantern lighting and fire setting are the most important festival activities of the Lantern Festival. Other lantern viewing tours and social fire performances are all directly or indirectly developed and extended from this.