What is the significance of the lamp in A Dream of Red Mansions?

Jiafu is the hometown of Zhong Ming and a scholarly family. Jiafu is solemn and rigorous during the day and lively and festive at night. Many people will think, did the ancients go to bed early because there were no electric lights in ancient times? Actually, it's not. There was no electricity in ancient history, but it doesn't mean there was no light. On the contrary, there are many kinds of ancient lights, especially in Jia's family. The lights at night stay on until the day. The main function of a lamp is illumination. The lights in a dream of red mansions illuminate the way home, and each one is meaningful.

First of all, I went home to visit my mother on the Lantern Festival night in Yuan Chun. In ancient times, there was no example of a concubine going home to visit her mother. However, in A Dream of Red Mansions, the Emperor Tai-huang and the Empress Dowager were overjoyed and praised the filial piety and benevolence of today, so I allowed anyone with a heavy house to visit his mother. Therefore, Jia Fu also built a grand view garden to welcome Yuan Chun to visit her mother. It is easy to get everything ready. Yuan Chun was allowed to visit his mother at the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. It was already eight o'clock in the evening when Yuan Chun left the palace, and it was already dark when he went out. But all the lights followed him, and Jia Fu had prepared all kinds of lights just to illuminate Yuan Chun's way home.

At that time, people picked candles one by one and lit them everywhere ... I saw all kinds of lanterns in the yard rotting and burning, all made of gauze and silk.

Speaking of ancient lamps, you can think of oil lamps, but why do Jiafu lamps need candles to light them? Compared with the cost and luxury of oil lamps and candles, candles should be more expensive. The popularity of candles has gone through a long historical period. According to Xijing Miscellanies, there were candles in the tribute from South Vietnam to Gaudi in the Han Dynasty. Candles are expensive, and only nobles and senior government officials are qualified and financially able to use them.

The production process of ancient wax is complicated, and wax is very expensive, so it is often used as a tribute. Kou Zhun, Prime Minister of Northern Song Dynasty, lit candles in the toilet, which was called extravagance by later generations! Oil lamps mainly use animal and vegetable oils as fuel, and farmers have also made fuel-efficient lamps, so oil lamps can be used by ordinary people and are not expensive. According to Jia Fu's luxury, it is not surprising to use candles.

There is a plaque lamp on the plaque lamp with the words "Tijen Mude" written on it. Yuan Chun came into the room, changed his clothes, came back and went to the park.

The plaque lamp is a large light box with a wooden frame, which is in the shape of a long plaque and pasted on the surface of the light box with white gauze. The lamp surface can be engraved.

As the name implies, the plaque lamp is used as a door plaque lamp. When the Grand View Garden is built, we should draw poems and paintings everywhere to show our attention. However, this garden was built for Yuan Chun, who had never seen it before, and everyone dared not write an inscription to make a plaque, so they wrote the words on the lanterns first. If Yuan Chun comes, he will carve it into wood. If he is not satisfied, he can write it on a wooden lantern according to Yuan Chun's plan.

The windproof lamp is a kind of windproof lamp with a hood. Because paper lanterns burn easily in the wind, thin lampshades are made of glass or horns.

With regard to the lantern, Du Fu's "A Unique Scene in the City" also has a poem "A few feet away from the river, and the lantern shines at night". Because of the wind deflector, it can be named as a wind lantern. Because the illumination is not very high, it is slightly dim. But because the color is warm, it feels a little warm. In the dark alley, a lantern can't illuminate all corners, but it can give the wanderer a little hope and sense of belonging at night. The Grand View Garden wants the whole garden to be as bright as day, and lanterns are absolutely indispensable.

I saw the Liu Qing area, just like Youlong. On both sides of the stone fence, all kinds of crystal glass lanterns are lit, like silver flowers and snow waves.

Yuan Chun can go home from the palace at three o'clock in the morning. She will go back to the palace. Although he has been crying, Gong Gui can only get on the bus and go back to the palace. Before leaving, Yuan Chun gave everyone a reward, including the person holding the lantern. Yuan Chun still had the light on on his way back to the palace. The difference is that this time it's farewell, but Yuan Chun is also very happy, because she saw her relatives, and they will accompany her.

Second, all kinds of lights in front of Jia's house are celebrating, waiting for the return and blessing of ancestors. Chinese New Year may not be as lively as it used to be, but there are still many arrangements. Every household will buy Spring Festival couplets, lanterns and sugar cane during the Spring Festival. The sugar cane is placed next to the two gates, which means "share weal and woe and all the best." There are couplets on the door and lanterns on the door. Jia's custom of hanging lanterns in the New Year seems to be more prosperous.

The big-horn lamp, also called Yang Jiaodeng, is a lamp whose lampshade is made of horns. According to the Chronicle of Qinhuai, Yang Jiaodeng is a native of Jinling. Jia Fu came to Beijing from Jinling, and this setting is also a trace of the old days.

That night, Buddhist temples everywhere burned incense in front of the kitchen god. In Mrs. Wang's main courtyard, there are incense of heaven and earth, paper and horse, and there is a big horn lamp at the main entrance of the Grand View Garden. There are street lamps everywhere.

Before glass was widely used, claw was a common material for lampshades. This horn has a mouth on the top and a mouth on the bottom, and it is shaped like a jujube. The largest drum diameter can reach six or seven inches or even one foot (33cm), so it is very suitable for being used as a lighting lamp at the door.

The method of making horn lampshade is simple, but it is very complicated. After selecting the horn, cut it into a cylinder, cook it with shredded radish, take it out when it becomes soft, put it into a spindle-shaped cork, expand the softened horn until it becomes hard, and then cook it in a pot. When it becomes soft, change it to a bigger wooden last and repeat it many times.

Glass hibiscus colored ear lamp The glass hibiscus colored ear lamp adopts a mahogany lamp holder, the upper part is hexagonal, with a "cap", short colored ears are hung, the middle part is a glass cover, and the longer rainbow ears are hung on the log seat at the bottom. This kind is usually hung on the beams on both sides, but it still appears in pairs.

Material incandescent lamp material incandescent lamp is a kind of lamp made of agate, purple timing, etc. An incandescent lamp looks like a piece of glass as thin as a hair, surrounded by a frame, forming a small square lamp. This kind of lamp originated in Yunnan. During the Hongzhi period, people from Danyang, Jiangsu Province brought this technology from Yunnan to Danyang, improved it, and it was popular for some time. This kind of lamp once again reflects that the Jia family was originally a big family in the south of the Yangtze River. Although their ancestors moved to Beijing a long time ago, they still kept the old customs and living habits at that time.

A handle of paint is hung upside down in front of each seat of the lotus leaf lamp, and the leaves have the characters of colored candles. This lotus leaf is enamel, and movable type can be twisted. Now all the lotus leaves are twisted outward, forcing all the light and shadow to shine outward, especially when watching plays. Lotus leaf lamp, as a kind of searchlight, was very popular at that time because of its exquisiteness and cleverness, but now it is rare and belongs to the shortage of famous products in furniture collection.

Jia's Spring Festival has always been a very lively day. At this moment, nothing bad happens and everyone will get together. Everyone has new expectations in the new year. Traditional families in Jiafu will pay more attention to such festivals. Decorating with lanterns and decorations everywhere is to celebrate and to wait for the return of ancestors and look forward to happiness.

Third, the lights that Jia's family appears every day have special significance, either for fun or for lighting. Although we don't pay special attention to the existence of lights during the day, at night, lights are everywhere. In addition to holiday lights, there are all kinds of small lights that Jiafu needs every day. These lights are either used for lighting or for fun, and each one has its own special meaning.

Daiyu gave Baoyu a glass hydrangea lamp. The warmest memory glass hydrangea lamp in my heart is actually a miniature version of the glass ear lamp. Covered with a glass hydrangea-shaped cover, the base is inlaid with a small iron plate. The socket is used to fix candles, with a handle with a wishful handle and rainbow ears hanging below. Light a small candle, brighter than Mingwa and Yang Jiaodeng, suitable for ladies and grandchildren in stormy weather.

When glass was not very common, Jiafu used glass in many places, especially in the use of lamps. Daiyu and Baoyu are the two favorite young masters of the Jia family, so all their supplies are the best. Baoyu once came to see Daiyu in the evening. When leaving, Daiyu gave Baoyu a glass hydrangea lamp. Baoyu actually has one, but he is reluctant to use it for fear of breaking it.

Daiyu cared more about Baoyu than this precious lamp, and said how Baoyu saved his "put the trivial above the important" temper. Baoyu naturally knows Daiyu's friendship. Baoyu kept this lamp when he was in Jiafu. After the death of Daiyu, it became the best thing for him to commemorate Daiyu and the warmest memory in his heart.

Claw hand hood, another hand lamp, also called hand hood, is a hand lantern with a lampshade, with a bamboo oil wooden handle below, sheep oil wax in the middle and a hexagonal melon-shaped veil. This kind of lamp is also a small version of the big bright corner lamp. As a lamp used in daily life, it is very convenient without wind and rain.

The sand lamp, a specialty of Daiyu's hometown brought back by Xue Pan, is a lamp-shaped toy. It's made of willow paper, with fine sand and bells. With a light touch, the sand bell rang, and the paper men shook their heads and waved weapons, as if they were fighting. Xue Pan went out on business and passed through Suzhou and other places on his way home, so he brought these local specialties back to Baochai and Baochai distributed them to everyone. Baochai gave Daiyu twice as much as others. Among them, it is of great significance. Xue Pan deliberately brought these items back to the vicinity of Daiyu's hometown, which may be his heart for Daiyu!

White gauze lamp and gauze lamp are used in playing riddles. The white gauze lamp is imperial, and the gauze lamp is homemade. This is the great difference between them. Yuan Chun felt that the palace was boring, so he made a white gauze lamp, made a riddle and sent it out for everyone to guess. "It can destroy the devil's courage and make him feel like a bundle of silk." The answer to this riddle is firecrackers, which is in line with the atmosphere of the New Year, but with a deep sense of sadness. The screen lamp is a riddle fan made by Jia Muxing. This is a row of folding closed screen lights, exquisite and compact.

Generally speaking, Jiafu's lamps are exquisite, which are not only used by relatives in Yuan Chun Province, but also specially kept at home or used in daily life during the solar terms, and all of them have been made with a lot of thought. The simplest function of a lamp is illumination, but its more profound significance is to illuminate the way home. Going home from the palace in the spring evening, the Jia family welcomes their ancestors for the New Year. The lamp that Daiyu gave Baoyu is her deep affection for Baoyu, and every lamp is the sustenance of love. May you be safe and protect your thoughts.

Author: eleven, welcome attention: the novel The Red Chamber, together to find interesting people and things in a dream of red mansions!