The origin and historical development of lanterns

The origin and historical development of lanterns

The origin and historical development of lanterns, lanterns originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and spread among the people to the Song Dynasty. Although the national strength was weak in the Song Dynasty, this culture was vigorously promoted by the royal family. Let's share the origin and historical development of lanterns.

Origin and historical development of lanterns 1 The origin of lanterns is as follows:

The custom of playing lanterns began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, lantern style prevailed in all previous dynasties and spread to future generations. The fifteenth day of the first month is the climax of the annual lantern fireworks. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called "Lantern Festival".

The custom of enjoying lanterns on the Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it developed into a grand lantern market. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Kyoto lantern market often stretched for dozens of miles. The Lantern Festival was limited to the 11th night of the first month in Han Dynasty, extended to three nights in Tang Xuanzong, and lasted from the eighth day of the first month to the seventeenth day of the first month in Ming Dynasty. Acrobatics appeared in the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty, and lantern riddles began to appear in the Song Dynasty. Opera performances were added in the Ming Dynasty.

The colored lanterns used in the lantern market are also interpreted as orange lanterns, silk lanterns, colorful sheepskin lanterns, boneless wheat straw lanterns, lantern lanterns and Kongming lanterns. Lantern riddles, which began in the Southern Song Dynasty, are lively and interesting. After the development and creation of past dynasties, there are more than 100 kinds of crossword puzzles still in use, such as foundation grid, swing grid, rolling grid, white grid, Xu Hege and so on. Most of them are limited in format, ingenious in requirements and full of wonderful meanings.

In Taiwan Province Province, lanterns have the meaning of light and elegance, and lighting them means lighting up the future. The homonym of Taiwan Province Lantern and En stands for having a boy. So in the past, women would deliberately wander under lanterns, hoping to "drill under lanterns to lay eggs" (that is, swim under lanterns to give birth to boys).

The origin and historical development of lanterns II. The origin of lanterns

During the Yong Ping period of Han Dynasty (AD 58-75), when Ming Chengzu advocated Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Cheng's return from India to seek Buddhism, saying that it was the fifteenth day of the first month of Mohato, India, and monks gathered to pay tribute to the relics, which was an auspicious day to participate in Buddhism. In order to carry forward Buddhism, Emperor Han Ming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in the palace temple on the 15th night of the first month.

Since then, the custom of putting lights on the Lantern Festival has spread from being held only in the court to the people, that is, on the fifteenth day of the first month, both gentry and ordinary people hang lights, and urban and rural areas are brightly lit all night.

The custom of setting off lanterns during the Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern market in the Tang Dynasty. Chang 'an, the capital at that time, was already the largest city with a population of one million in the world, and its society was rich. Under the personal initiative of the emperor, the Lantern Festival became more and more luxurious. After the middle Tang Dynasty, it has developed into a national carnival.

In the prosperous period of the Tang Xuanzong Kaiyuan (685-762 AD), the lantern market in Chang 'an was very large, with 50,000 lanterns and all kinds of lanterns. The emperor ordered 20 giant lantern buildings to be built, with a height of 150 feet, resplendent and magnificent.

The Lantern Festival in Song Dynasty is superior to that in Tang Dynasty in scale and dreamy lighting, with more folk activities and 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". In the Song Dynasty, two days were added after the sixteenth, and in the Ming Dynasty, it was extended from the eighth day to the eighteenth day to ten days.

In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu entered the Central Plains, and the court no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.

Extended data

Legend about lanterns

1, it is said that a long time ago, a god bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. Emperor Tiandi was very angry when he learned that, so he ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first month and burn all mankind to death. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted, and could not bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life to tell the people the news.

When people heard the news, they were like a thunderbolt overhead, and they were so scared that they didn'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 hangs red lanterns, lights firecrackers and sets off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. " Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately.

On the fifteenth night of the first month, the heavenly soldiers looked down and found that there was red light in the world, thinking it was the flame of fire, telling the emperor not to set fire to the ground, so 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.

2. According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, courtier Dong Fangshuo dressed up as a folk soothsayer, Chang 'an Hangzhan, sold divination, helped a maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao to reunite with her family, and took the opportunity to preach the fierce divination that "the 16th day of the first month set us on fire" and "Chang 'an was robbed, and the palace was set on fire on the 16th".

The "midnight snack" predicted that there was a panic in the ruling and opposition parties.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty urgently called Dong Fangshuo for a good prescription to eliminate disasters. Dong Fangshuo said: "I heard that Vulcan in the sky loves to eat jiaozi. You can let Yuanxiao pack jiaozi to burn incense and sacrifice on the fifteenth night, and tell the subjects inside and outside the palace to pour out the door and hang lights and set off firecrackers in the street. This is like setting a fire in the city, so that the heavenly emperor who is observing in the sky will not be suspicious."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did it one by one, and that night, there was no one on the street.

The emperor also went out of the palace incognito, enjoying the disaster with the people, and the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao was also able to reunite with her family. With the adoption of Dong Fangshuo's method,

The city was safe and sound, and Emperor Wudi was overjoyed. Since then, every year, this day is called the Lantern Festival.

The origin and historical development of lanterns 3 Lanterns flourished in the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and spread among the people in the Song Dynasty. Our country has been very particular about production in past dynasties, and there are many varieties. For example, Tang Yin, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, said in a poem: "Light without moon is not spring. Spring comes to people's hearts, and the lights burn like silver in the next month. The streets are full of women dressed in pearls and green. They are singing and playing games with the gods. How can we get rid of this good time until Fang Zun smiles? "

During the reign of Yang Di in Sui Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was full of fun and stayed up all night, and lanterns gradually developed into an important activity of the Lantern Festival.

Lantern Festival Lantern Festival The Tang Dynasty ruled the world because of social prosperity and economic prosperity. Lantern Festival is even more splendid, and the scale of activities is quite large. The crowds watching the lights were crowded, from princes and nobles to hawkers and pawns, all went out to enjoy the lights. During the reign of Xuanzong, the prohibition of the Western Han Dynasty continued. Chang 'an, the capital of Beijing, even canceled the three-night curfew before and after the Lantern Festival, and expanded the implementation of "night release" to facilitate people to enjoy the lanterns. After the Tang Dynasty, lanterns became an important symbol of the Lantern Festival.

Although the national strength of the Song Dynasty was weak, this culture was vigorously promoted by the royal family, making the Song Dynasty another important stage for lanterns. In Ming and Qing dynasties, the lantern viewing craze continued unabated, and there was even a lantern market in the square, selling lanterns of various styles to compete for beauty.

The custom of welcoming the Lantern Festival in China has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many kinds of lanterns all over the country, each with its own popularity.

Taiwan Province Provincial Lantern, commonly known as "Drum Lantern", is named after its early production, which looks like gongs and drums. Popular types are lanterns, dice lanterns, round lanterns and knife lanterns. Because the Minnan dialect "Deng" and "Ding" are homonyms, it is generally believed that it is a good sign for wealthy families to make noise with lanterns. In the custom of Taiwan Province Province, women shuttle under the lights during the Lantern Festival and pray for a son (male) and a child in the coming year; In the Hakka village of Taozhu Temple in northern Taiwan Province Province, people hang lanterns in the temple from the 11th day of the first lunar month, which is called "lighting". The homophonic word "Sheng" is one of the ceremonies for new male students to join the clan, which has far-reaching implications.