How did the Hakka tea basket lamp develop?

Hakka people have created brilliant achievements and splendid culture in the process of developing and constructing Gannan, which is the best proof. Tea basket lantern is an excellent dance form in Gannan Hakka culture.

Tea blue lantern can be said to be the origin of Hakka dance lantern and the prototype of Hakka tea-picking drama. Tea blue lamp is commonly known as "tea lamp", which is commonly known as "wiping tea basket" in DuDu and Ruijin Hakka dialects, and "moving lamp" and "moving tea lamp" in Ningdu Hakka dialects.

The origin of "tea basket lamp" can be traced back to the Tang and Song Dynasties. At the end of the Tang dynasty, the turbulent society led a large number of Zhongyuan people to go south. After some people settled in Huang Lin and Kuantian in Du Yu, they were friends with mountains and neighbors with water. They climb mountains, grow tea and work hard all day.

They sang folk songs and tea songs to relieve fatigue and convey their feelings. The earliest tea song was "Tea Picking Song in December". It is called "sequential tea picking" from the first month to December, "inverted tea picking" from the end of December to the first month, and "four seasons tea" when singing in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

With the spread and development of tea-picking songs, Hakka people have joined the ranks of tea-picking and developed into "tea basket lights" singing and dancing in the form of lanterns, dragon lanterns and lion dances prevalent in tea areas at that time. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as long as there were places where Hakkas lived, there was the Tea Blue Lantern Festival.