When did the riddle on the lantern come?

Lantern riddles are the crystallization of the wisdom of our working people and the comprehensive art of our national tradition. As early as the Xia Dynasty, there was a ballad that used hints to describe something. By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this kind of ballad had developed into "thin words" (also known as "argot"). At that time, due to the constant disputes among countries, many tourists often used "argot" to express their opinions during protests. & lt Mandarin. The Golden Language > > records that "the doctor can't correct Qin Ke's thin handwriting." It can be seen that these "thin words" and "argot words" at that time were the embryonic form of China riddles. It was not until Bao Zhao, a litterateur in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote three puzzles of "Well", "Turtle" and "Earth" and took "Three Crossword Puzzles" that he was called "Mystery".

At first, riddles were very popular in oral guessing. During the Three Kingdoms period, someone wrote riddles on paper, which made people guess. In the Southern Song Dynasty, some literati often put riddles on tulle lanterns to attract passers-by to show their talents. After the middle of Qing Dynasty, riddles flourished and many riddlers appeared. After the Revolution of 1911, lantern riddles formed two styles: "Southern School" and "Northern School". In the old society, because riddlers were mostly literati, some of them were conceited, emphasizing elegance unilaterally and rejecting folk lantern riddles. After liberation, under the guidance of the party's literary policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom", lantern riddles have developed more vigorously.