The Origin of China Lantern Festival

As an ancient Han folk cultural activity. The Tang poetry said, "The purple fire is forbidden, the fireworks are heavy, the Aoshan palace is hidden in the clear sky, the jade emperor arches in the clouds, and the characters swim on land and sea." In the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival on the Capital of Song Dynasty and Lin 'an lasted for five nights, and "four miles were brightly lit". Dream of China in Tokyo recorded the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival that year. Zhu Yuanzhang, the capital of Nanjing, once lit 10,000 water lanterns on the Qinhuai River during the Lantern Festival. After moving the capital to Beijing, lanterns were hung in the Lantern Festival area, which increased the lantern market. The Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty is also a "competition for novelty and beauty, with different years."

Lanterns in China are also called lanterns. Originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 1800 years ago, red lanterns symbolizing reunion are hung around the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year to create a festive atmosphere. Later, lanterns became a symbol of happiness for the people of China. Through the inheritance and development of lantern artists in past dynasties, colorful varieties and exquisite craftsmanship have been formed. There are palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, chandeliers and so on. From the modeling point of view, there are figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, fish and insects, etc. Besides, there are lanterns for people to enjoy. Lanterns in China are made of bamboo, wood, rattan, straw, animal horn, metal, silk and other materials produced in various regions, combining painting art, paper cutting, paper binding, acupuncture and other technologies. Palace lanterns and gauze lanterns are the most famous lanterns in ancient China. In Yueqing, Yongjia and other places in Wenzhou, there is a popular dragon lantern called "Jewelry Dragon". Different from other dragon lanterns, it is not dragon-shaped, but according to the structure of a fish boat. The whole first frame is based on an arc-shaped wooden strip with bamboo strips and shredded paper tied to it to form a dragon boat. The captain is 3 meters, the model is 3 meters, and the height is about 3 meters. There is a dragon head in front, and there are beads and whiskers in the dragon's mouth as the symbol of the dragon, followed by the dragon's tail, and there are 5-7 pavilions in the middle of the dragon. Small flags of various colors are inserted on the top, and each floor is double-walled structure. The inner wall is pasted with transparent white paper, and the outer wall is pasted with light green or colored thin line engraved paper patterns. When the belly of the dragon is lit, the lights are reflected, and the colorful carved paper around it is dazzling. The whole dragon boat is decorated with more than 70 exquisite pavilions, and nearly 300 wonderful silk plastic figures are attached to the pavilions on each floor, forming more than 80 plays, most of which are adapted from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Yue Legend. Han people call it "Dragon Boat Lantern" and "Louchuan". The whole dragon lantern is also equipped with a wooden gear transmission device, which connects all the drawn characters together respectively. Waving a hand under the lamp and operating it by one person can affect all the silk figures, and everyone can make different actions, which are interesting and lovely, showing strong local color and unique national artistic style. Jewelry dragons belong to ornamental dragon lanterns, which are specially for people to watch, and generally do not perform dance performances. When the jewelry dragon is dispatched, there is also a lamp that matches the dragon lantern, commonly known as "Dragon Boat Moon", which is named after its shape like a winding moon. Its figure is very small, there are no pavilions, no paper-cut patterns, only a small dragon forest is painted on the left and right of the lamp as a symbol.

Every year before the Lantern Festival, all localities spend two months hiring lantern-tying artists to make a dragon lantern. As the Lantern Festival approaches, the Dragon Lantern Festival will come out with other dragon lanterns. The activity time is usually from the tenth to the sixteenth day of the first month, seven nights a day. People paraded around the village with jewels and dragons, beating gongs and drums and singing auspicious carols. On the seventh night, as usual, the jewel dragons from various villages will be gathered in the nearby temple to "heal" (burn), so-called sending dragons to heaven and scattering sesame seeds and mung beans. Before the funeral, the villagers should be invited to comment on the production process of the dragon lantern, especially a large piece of paper with fine lines engraved on the tail of the dragon lantern (commonly known as "dragon tail flower"). Whoever can win the first place is called "Dragon Boat Brother", which is a great honor. Marquee is also called "walking light" and "adjusting light". Lantern, modeled after the shape of a horse, is made of paper paste, also known as "bamboo lantern". It is divided into two parts: the horse's head and the horse's body, which are tied around the dancer's belly and walk like a horse, commonly known as "the horse's head army". Generally, there are 8 horses, including 6 white horses and 2 red horses. Around the Lantern Festival, most of the urban areas were composed of boys aged 10 to 13. Every boy has a piece of paper tied to the horse's head on his chest and a small bell hanging on his chest. There is a piece of paper tied to the ponytail behind him and tied to his body with a belt. When he runs, he can swing up and down, jingle bells and hold a bamboo pole as a whip. At night, light a candle between the horse's head and the ponytail. During the performance, one or two children will play the role of stable boy, gather cavalry and take part in the performance. The children sang while running, and formed various formations such as "triangle", "chain" and "scissors" with the dance movements. The band played in unison and the tune was melodious. Most lanterns are performed in the open space in front of the house or on the nave. After the performance, the host sent oranges, fried rice, candles and so on. And money and silver medals. In Qing Dynasty, there was a poem in Guo Zhongyue, which said, "Sing Happy New Year and the whole city will compete for the Lantern Festival. Dragons roll at dusk, and the fire tree and silver flowers can't burn out. "