In the Song Dynasty, there was a prefect named Cai Junmo in Fuzhou, who wanted to whitewash the peace in the face of thousands of miles of hunger. He ordered that all the people be ruled, and every family must burn seven lights on the night of the Lantern Festival. A poor man called Exhibition made a headlight more than ten feet high and wrote a poem: "A rich man has a lamp, but a millet in Taicang;": The poor family has a lamp, and the father and son are crying. " When the news reached the ears of the prefect, he had to eat his words.

2. Legend Story 2

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao was unable to reunite with her parents on the fifteenth day of the first month because she was in the deep palace. To this end, she wanted to jump into a well and commit suicide. In order to help Yuanxiao girl to be filial to her parents, Dong Fangshuo, a wise man, came up with a plan. He told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the Jade Emperor, the highest god in heaven, ordered Chang 'an capital to be burned on the 16th day of the first month. In order to save Chang 'an, Emperor Wu asked Dong Fangshuo what to do.

Dong Fangshuo replied that Vulcan loves red lanterns best. He suggested hanging red lanterns on the streets, and emperors, empresses, concubines and court ministers should go out to watch the lanterns. In this way, Vulcan's attention will be distracted, and disasters can be avoided. The emperor adopted Dong Fangshuo's suggestion, and when everyone went out to enjoy the lanterns, Yuanxiao had the opportunity to sneak out of the palace and reunite with his family.

Extended data:

Festival and custom

The festivals and customs activities of the Lantern Festival are extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of the festival is concerned, 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 eighth day until the night of the seventeenth day of the first month. It is the longest lantern festival in China history, which is connected with the Spring Festival, and the day is the city. It is very lively and spectacular.

Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. By the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred plays" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, roller boating, walking on stilts and dancing yangko, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.