When did the Lantern Festival begin?

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It began in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern Festival viewing began in the period of Emperor Han Ming in the East. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. It is said that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks will observe Buddhist relics and light lamps to worship Buddha. That night, they ordered lights to be lit in palaces and temples, so that the gentry and ordinary people could hang up the lights. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, it was ordered that the 15th day of the first month be designated as the Lantern Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of Taiyi God were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. (Taiyi: the God who rules everything in the universe) When Sima Qian founded the taichu calendar, it was already designated as a major festival.

Another way of saying it is that the custom of burning lanterns in the Lantern Festival originated from the "three elements" theory of Taoism. The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The three elements are heaven, earth, people and heavenly officials' music, so lanterns should be burned on the Lantern Festival.

The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival continue and expand with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival lasted from the eighth day of the eighth lunar month to the seventeenth night of the first lunar month. It has a ten-day connection with the Spring Festival. The city is during the day. Very lively. Lighting at night is spectacular, especially the exquisite and colorful lights.

There are several interesting folklore about the origin of the Lantern Festival:

1 Legend of Lights

Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and animals that harmed people and animals everywhere. People organized themselves against them. A god bird got lost and landed in the world, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. When the Emperor of Heaven found out, he was very angry. He immediately ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning all the human and livestock property on the ground. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven is kind-hearted. She can't bear to see the people suffer innocently and risk their lives. When I came to earth, I told people the news. When people heard the news, it was like a blow to the head. I'm so scared that I don't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family decorated their homes, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven will think that everyone has been burned to death. " .

Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the Emperor looked down and found that the world was red and the noise was deafening. It's been like this for three consecutive nights. People think this is the flame of a big fire. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty set it up to commemorate Pinglu.

Another legend is that the Lantern Festival commemorates Pinglu when Emperor Wen died. Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Hui Di. Hui Di was weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After Hui Di's death, he monopolized Liu's state affairs and became the world of Lu. Liu, an old courtier, was very angry, but everyone was afraid of cruelty and dared not say it.

After Lv Hou's death, Zhu Lu has been in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, he secretly gathered in the general's home and plotted with * * * to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country.

This incident reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Qi in the Liu clan. In order to defend Liu's country, Liu Lang decided to attack Zhu Lu and got in touch with Zhou Bo Chen Ping, the founding elder. He designed and built the Lv Lu. [Zhu Lu's Rebellion] was finally completely pacified.

After the rebellion, all the ministers elected Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, to succeed to the throne. He is called Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Deeply aware of the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wendi designated the 15th day of the first month to quell the "Zhu-Lu Rebellion" as a day to have fun with the people. Every family in Beijing celebrates by decorating themselves with lanterns. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a folk festival celebrated by everyone-"Lantern Festival".

Dong Fangshuo and Yuanxiao Girl.

This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao. It is said that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favourite named Dong Fangshuo. He is kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days. Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo hurriedly stepped forward to rescue her and asked her why she committed suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting is named Yuanxiao. There are parents and a sister at home. Ever since she. Every spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I feel I can't be filial in front of my parents. I might as well die. Dong Fangshuo expressed deep sympathy for her suffering and assured her that she would try to reunite with her family.

One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination pavilion on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are scrambling to find him for divination. I didn't expect everyone to want the brand of "burning corpses on the 16th day of the first month". Suddenly, there was a panic in Chang 'an. People are asking about the solution to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, [On the night of the thirteenth day of the first month, Vulcan will send a red goddess to visit the earth. She is the person who serves.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and read: [Chang 'an is robbing. The fire destroyed the palace. Fifteen days of fire. Red midnight snack ". He's scared. He quickly invited the resourceful Dong Fangshuo Dong Fangshuo to think about it. He said: [I heard that Vulcan loves sweet dumplings. Don't Yuanxiao in the palace often make dumplings for you? On the 15th night, Yuanxiao can take care of jiaozi. Long live the incense, present it. Tell every household in Kyoto to pack jiaozi and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks in the city on the night of 15. The city seems to be on fire. In addition, inform the people outside the city to see the lights in the city on the evening of 15. Emperor Wu was very happy and passed it on.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with lanterns. Tourists are bustling and lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to see the lanterns. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: [Yuanxiao! Yuanxiao! "Yuanxiao heard shouts. Finally reunited with relatives at home.

This is such a lively night. Changan is really safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed. He ordered making dumplings for Vulcan people on the 15th day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and set off fireworks. Because the dumplings made by Yuanxiao are the best, people call them Yuanxiao. This day is called Lantern Festival.

Telephone lamp link

Lantern Festival is a traditional custom of our people. Throughout the ages, there are not only a large number of popular Yuanxiao poems, but also countless interesting Yuanxiao couplets.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, when a man named Jia Sidao was guarding Huaiyin (present-day Yangzhou), there was a lantern festival one year. Some guests chose Tang poetry as lantern couplets. "It is said that this couplet is the earliest lantern couplet in China. Later generations followed suit. Wall lamps are hung on gates or conspicuous columns. Door lights are not only.

Zhang, a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province in the Qing Dynasty, was called "father and son bachelor, the old second prime minister". They are all good at poetry. One year during the Lantern Festival, Zhang Fu hung lanterns and set off firecrackers as usual. The old prime minister went out to measure the sky. It was bright and the light covered the ground. "Just thinking, I heard a small fireworks outside the door. She suddenly realized.

Perhaps the most fascinating story is the story of Wang Anshi's wonderful couplet in the Northern Song Dynasty. 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, enjoying the lanterns while walking. He saw a large family hanging lanterns and couplets hanging under the lanterns to attract relatives and said, "Run lanterns, race horses and stop horses." Wang Anshi saw it. He can't answer at the moment. He was silent. Shi responded by recruiting relatives and friends. He is regarded as a scholar. When he came home, he passed the house. When he heard that relatives and friends were still not matched, his reaction was to recruit examiners. He was recruited as a husband. A coincidental couplet actually made Wang Anshi two happy events.

Legend has it that Judy, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, traveled incognito during the Lantern Festival. He met a scholar and had a very speculative conversation. Judy went out to test his talents. Li Anyun said, "The lights are bright and the moon is bright. The Ming Dynasty was unified. " The scholar immediately went out to write couplets. Military and civilian music. Yongle year is the year of Ming Dynasty. "[Yongle] is Judy

Legend has it that one year during the Lantern Festival, Emperor Qianlong took a group of civil and military ministers to watch the Lantern Festival with great interest. On the left, he saw all kinds of colorful lanterns. On the right, he saw all kinds of lanterns that were unique and interesting. This is very interesting. When he was happy, Emperor Qianlong accompanied his ministers to make a riddle. Let everyone guess. Ji Xiaolan, an accompanying bachelor, wanted to think and wrote a couplet on the palace lantern.

Black is not. White is not. Red and yellow are even less. They are like foxes, wolves, cats and dogs. They are neither domestic animals nor wild animals.

Poetry is not. Words are not. The Analects of Confucius is not. It is ambiguous about east, west, north and south. Although it is short, it is also a wonderful article.

Emperor Qianlong looked at it and thought hard. Ministers of civil and military affairs scratched their heads one by one. They can't guess. Finally, Ji Xiaolan solved the mystery himself: guessing.

Lantern Festival poetry

"A song of Haruka is like the sea, and thousands of lights are like night." Numerous poems praising Lantern Festival written by scholars in past dynasties are still interesting to read today.

By the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival had developed into an unprecedented lantern market. The capital [the lantern wheel is 20 feet high, decorated with gold and silver, and 50,000 lamps are burned to form a flower tree]. Su Weidao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "The fifteenth night of the first month". The star bridge is locked. Dark dust goes with the horse. As soon as the moon comes. "It depicts the scene where the lamp meets the moon. Tourists are like weaving. Very lively. Poets in the Tang Dynasty once praised the poem "Xuan". The people of Chang 'an are peaceful. The burning wahoo is in the dragon's mouth. The chicken stepped on the lotus. Long live spring. "Last night >" jade leakage is not urgent. If the iron lock and the gold lock are completely opened, who can do nothing on the moon? Where can I smell the light? "Although there is no positive description of the Lantern Festival, it contains a very happy and lively scene.

The Lantern Festival in Song Dynasty was more grand and the lantern market was more spectacular. Su Dongpo has a poem "Lights are everywhere, songs are everywhere." Fan Chengda also wrote a poem, "Wutai was a bustling place, preferring the Lantern Festival." The "shadow lamp" in the poem is "walking lamp" The great poet Xin Qiji once wrote a poem about the Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was even more extravagant. Lantern Festival changed from three nights to ten nights. Tang Bohu once wrote poems praising the Lantern Festival, bringing people into the charming Lantern Festival night. The poem says, "Without a lamp, there would be no moon. There is no spring without lights. When people come to earth, spring scenery is like jade. The lights will be bright next month. The streets are full of pearls and flowers. They are full of songs and competitions. They won't smile. "

Besides all kinds of lanterns, there are dancing torches, fireballs, fire and rain. Ruan Yuan has a poem about the Yangcheng Lantern Festival: [The turtle is exquisite and the phoenix is exquisite, and the color screen clearly lists the Guide Gate. Urban fires are abundant in material resources. Yangde has been rejuvenated for many years, and the full moon and spring can last all night. People seem to be probing for flowers and horses, which means that there are more lights in the book window. "From the hands of the Qing Dynasty poet Yao. Chanting the Lantern Festival > Poem [Bees and butterflies among flowers, enjoying the joy and being crazy. The night of BMW is long. The headlights on the twelfth floor are like fire. The moon outside Siping Street is like frost. "It is vivid, wonderful and unique.

The poetic and romantic Lantern Festival is often associated with love. In the poems of past dynasties, many poems express their love through the Lantern Festival. Ouyang Xiu's Ci in the Northern Song Dynasty [This year's Lantern Festival, the moon lamp is still there, and last year's people are not seen. Tears fell on Man Chun's shirt and sleeves. "It describes the pain of missing a lover.

Dietary customs

Besides watching lanterns for entertainment, eating customs are also fascinating. Oil hammer Yuanxiao food appeared in Tang and Song Dynasties. There is a saying in Chinese in Song Dynasty that "the most abundant and lasting food in Shangyuan Festival", so it can be seen that oil hammer is a festival food in Bianzhong (now Kaifeng, Henan) in Song Dynasty. What food is an oil hammer? According to records, after the oil was heated, the hammer stuffing was taken out of the silver box. Make it into soft dough. Put the hammer in the pot and cook it. Kill it with silver tactics. Soak it in new well water. Then put the oil hammer into the oil pan. Stir-fry for three to five times and take it out. It's delicious. It turns out that the oil hammer in Tang and Song Dynasties is the fried Yuanxiao in later generations. This record can be used for today's research [imitation of Tang cuisine].

Yuanxiao, also known as Tangyuan, Shuotuan and Zi Yuan. Eat glutinous rice balls on Lantern Festival. I first met Song Bida, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. There is a record of "cooking floating dumplings on Yuanxiao" in the book "The Continuation of Plain". It seems that the predecessors didn't give it. " In the Song Dynasty, the floating ring was also called jiaozi. During the Southern Song Dynasty, only foods in Lin 'an Shangyuan Festival included jiaozi with lactose, jiaozi with yam, jiaozi with pearl, jiaozi with sand, jiaozi with kumquat, jiaozi with powder and glutinous rice balls. So, why can this rice-like "jiaozi" become? It turns out that Lantern Festival is a must-eat, and it has the auspicious meaning of "round as the moon". In the Ming Dynasty, Yuanxiao was very common as a food for the Lantern Festival in Beijing. Its preparation method is glutinous rice flour, filled with walnut kernel, sugar and rose, and rolled with water. It is as big as a walnut and is called glutinous rice dumplings in the southeast. In the Qing Dynasty, the palace flavor [Eight Treasures Lantern Festival] was made by the royal kitchen. As early as kang. The Peach Blossom Fan > Confucius once wrote a poem about the Eight-treasure Lantern Festival: "Ziyun Tea House pours nectar, and the Eight-treasure Lantern Festival is inside." The Lantern Festival has developed to this day. Formed the characteristics of different regions, different flavors and rich colors. Water surface lamp is also called water surface lamp. This is a lamp made of flour. It is very popular in the north. There are various forms of surface lights. Some people make twelve barrels of lights (thirteen barrels in leap years). Put cooking oil in the lamp and light it, or steam the noodles in the pot. According to the amount of oil left in the lamp after extinguishing or the amount of water left in the lamp after steaming, the flood and drought situation in the next 12 months can be predicted. This is understandable in an era when science is underdeveloped. For example, Shaanxi in the Qing Dynasty proclaimed [the fifteenth day of the first month. Steam buckwheat flour and light a lamp. It rained in December. "Expressed people's desire for good weather. The surface lamp is cooked or steamed on the 16th day of the first month. Xianfeng period of Qing dynasty. On the fifteenth day of the first month in Shanxi, steamed buckwheat noodles are used as lamps, filled with oil and eaten every morning. At present, this custom still exists in rural areas.

Noodles are the food for Lantern Festival dinner. In ancient times, there was a folk saying, "Lantern Festival puts lanterns, noodles put lanterns, and after eating, I look forward to the coming year." This diet custom is mostly popular in the north of the Yangtze River. Load: [(first month), 18: 00 lights out. People spit on their noodles. As the saying goes,' on the lantern, on the surface'. Every family celebrates its own festival. "Turning off the lights and eating noodles is a continuous celebration.

Sticky cakes are also called rice cakes. Besides Yuanxiao and noodles, some people eat sticky cakes on the Lantern Festival. Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Prepare 1000 yuan to treat it with food". After the Tang Dynasty, there were also records of eating cakes in the Yuan Dynasty.

Rotten soup is in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province. Every year, after watching lanterns on the 14th day of the first month, we eat rotten soup. Stir-fried with shredded pork, shredded winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fungus, fresh duckweed, dried bean curd, oil bubble, Sichuan bean board, spinach, etc. Add a little rice flour and cook it into a salty paste. The rotten soup drunk on the fifteenth day of the first month is sweet. It is made of sweet potato powder or lotus root powder with lotus seeds, red dates and longan.

In addition, eat steamed bread, wheat cake and wheat cake in Pujiang, Zhejiang. Steamed bread is made of dough, and wheat cake is round, which means "having a happy family".

eat yuanxiao

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel Lantern Festival food was popular among the people. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan" and later called "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also call it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or "sweet dumplings", is made of sugar, roses, sesame seeds, red bean paste and yellow osmanthus.

Look at the lights.

During the Yongping period of Emperor Hanming (58-75 AD), when Ming Chengzu advocated Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Cheng's conversion from India to Buddhism. According to legend, on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks from Mohatuo, India, got together to pay tribute to the Buddhist relics, which is an auspicious day to participate in Buddhism. In order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Hanming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in palaces and temples on the fifteenth night of the first month. Since then, the custom of putting lights on the Lantern Festival has been different from the original.

The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty. Chang 'an, the capital at that time, was the largest city in the world, with a population of one million and a well-off society. At the initiative of the emperor, the Lantern Festival became more and more luxurious. After the middle Tang Dynasty, it developed into a national carnival. In the prosperous time of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (685-762 AD), the lantern festival in Chang 'an was very large, burning 50,000 lanterns.

The Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty is better than that in the Tang Dynasty in terms of scale and fantastic lighting. Moreover, the activities are more folk and have stronger national characteristics. Since then, the Lantern Festival has continued to develop and the time of the Lantern Festival has become longer and longer. The Lantern Festival in Tang Dynasty is "the day before and after Shangyuan". The Song Dynasty added two days after the 16th National Congress. In the Ming dynasty, it was extended from the eighth day to the eighteenth.

In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu entered the Central Plains. The court no longer holds the Lantern Festival. The folk lantern festival is still spectacular. The date was shortened to five days, which continues to this day.

In Taiwan Province Province, lanterns mean light and elegance. Lighting lanterns means lighting up the future, and the homonym of Taiwan Province lanterns and Ding means giving birth to boys. So in the past, women would deliberately swim under lanterns, hoping to "drill the feet of lanterns to lay eggs" (that is, swim under lanterns to give birth to boys).

lion dance

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Every Lantern Festival or assembly celebration, people come to the lion dance for entertainment. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of 1000 years. According to legend, it was first introduced from the western regions. The lion is the mount of Manjushri. As Buddhism was introduced into China, lion dance was also introduced into China. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent lions and peacocks to the Western Regions. It's just a "masked play" quoted from Xiliang. Some people think that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both versions have their own basis. Today, it is difficult to judge whether it is right or wrong. However, by the Tang Dynasty, lion dance had become a popular activity in the court, the army and the people. There are five lions playing in the Tang Duanan Festival, tall and wearing five colors each. There are twelve people in each lion, wearing red stripes, painting clothes and holding a red stroke. They are called Lion Lang and dance Taiping Music. The poet Bai Juyi vividly described this point in his poem: [Xiliang Geisha. Xiliang geisha Masked conference semifinals and fake lions. Wood carvings on the head and tail. Gilded eyes and silver teeth. Finson sweater with ears. Like coming to Wan Li from quicksand. This poem describes the scene of lion dancing at that time.

In the development process of more than 1000 years, lion dance has formed two performance styles: North and South. The lion dance of the Northern School is mainly a performance of "lion dance", that is, Wei Wudi's "Ruishi" in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The little lion dances alone. Big lions dance in pairs. Standing alone and jumping on the lion's head. A man bends down to dance the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer wears a lion quilt, green lion pants and golden claws of the same color as the lion's body. Holding a spinning hydrangea, accompanied by jingling gongs, drums and cymbals, to lure lions. Under the guidance of Lion Lang, lions perform somersaults, jumps, climbs and worships. , and there are difficult movements such as walking plum blossom piles, jumping off the table and stepping on the ball. The southern lion dance is mainly performed by Wen Shi. When performing, it pays attention to expressions and scratches. Although Nanshi, the hometown of overseas Chinese, is also a duet, the lion dancers wear knickerbockers and are danced only with a colorful lion. Different from the lions in the north, [Lion Lang] wears a big head Buddha mask, a robe, a ribbon around his waist and a sunflower fan to tease the lions. In this way, he danced all kinds of beautiful movements. Funny action, funny. There are many schools of Southern Lion, including Qingyuan and Yingde's Chicken Lion. In addition to different shapes, South Lion also has different personalities. The white beard lion dance method is not wide, and there are not many varieties of colors, but it is calm and powerful. People call it [Liu Beishi], a black-bearded red-faced lion, and people call it [Guan Gong Lion]. Its dance is brave and majestic, its spirit is extraordinary, and its movements are rough and bellicose, commonly known as [Zhang]. Lions are statues of all animals. Its image. In order to protect the safety of people and animals, people have gradually formed the custom of dancing lions during the Lantern Festival and other major events, hoping for good luck in life and peace in everything.