What are fireworks?

First of all, let's talk about fireworks. Let me briefly talk about the modern definition of fireworks. Firecrackers, also known as firecrackers, paper firecrackers (Hakka dialect), firecrackers (Cantonese) and firecrackers (Minnan dialect), have a history of more than 2,000 years. At first, firecrackers were mainly used to ward off evil spirits, but in modern times, China people set off firecrackers on almost traditional festivals, weddings, celebrations, temple fairs and other occasions, especially during the Lunar New Year, the use of firecrackers exceeded half of the annual consumption.

The appellation of firecrackers is different in different historical periods, from "firecrackers", "exploding poles" and "firecrackers" to "firecrackers". In the hometown of firecrackers and fireworks, nanqiao town, Baitutan Town, Liling City, Hunan Province, and its adjacent areas, people still call a single firecracker "firecracker", which has a large volume, a lot of gunpowder and strong explosive power.

Second, a few short stories about fireworks and firecrackers: The first story about the origin is the most popular one.

Legend has it that firecrackers originated from firecrackers. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that a long time ago, a beast named Nian appeared on the night of the Lunar New Year's Eve every year. In order to scare away this beast, people burned bamboo joints at home. Because the air in the bamboo cavity is heated and expanded, the bamboo cavity bursts, making a loud noise to drive away the Nian beast. Stories about this are also recorded in various encyclopedias and folk.

The following items are related to historical records, which are the most traditional uses of fireworks and firecrackers, and have now become historical stories.

1, Liang's Chronicle of Jingchu records: "On the first day of the first month ... the rooster crowed ... first, firecrackers were set off in front of the court to create wild ghosts."

2. Firecrackers made of gunpowder were first seen in Yuan Zhen Meng's Tokyo Dream Record: "Suddenly, it sounded like a thunderbolt, which was called explosion ... the fireworks began to explode". Meng Lianggu, Old Wulin Stories, Victory Day of Jingshi, etc. all have records about the "explosion war".

3. By the16th century, there were all kinds of firecrackers in China. According to Miscellaneous Notes of Landscape Architecture Department written by Shen Bang 1593, those who make a loud noise are called firecrackers, those who fly high are called fire, those who have firecrackers are called third-class waves, those who keep ringing are called voles, those who look like flowers and plants are called flowers, and those who are sealed with mud are called casserole. Needham thinks that the second kind of fire is obviously a rocket, and the fourth kind of vole is very important. Could be primitive rocket propulsion. Qi Dong Yu Ye also recorded that "vole" fireworks flew to the foot of the Queen Mother, which made the Queen Mother panic.

That's the story about fireworks.