The Origin, Significance and Evolution of Lantern Festival Customs

Lantern, also known as lantern. Lantern is a traditional folk handicraft of Han nationality which originated in China. In ancient times, its main function was lighting. The outer skin of lanterns is made of paper or silk, and the skeleton is usually made of bamboo strips or wooden strips, with candles or light bulbs inserted in the middle to become lighting tools. Influenced by the Han culture, lanterns are also quite common items in temples in Asian Chinese areas and many countries. Lantern is a cultural product of Chinese traditional agricultural era, which has both life function and artistic characteristics. Lantern is an important entertainment culture of Han nationality for thousands of years. It rewards God and entertains the public. It not only has the function of "Nuo opera" to reward the gods, but also has the value of entertaining people. In modern society, it is hung more than festivals such as Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, adding luster to festive days and praying for peace.

Lantern monk _ Lantern-Origin

Yuanxiao originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and spread among the people in the Song Dynasty. The production of lanterns in the past dynasties in China was very particular and varied. 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? "

Lantern Monk _ Lantern-Historical Legend

Legend of sui dynasty

During the reign of Yang Di in Sui Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was very lively, and lanterns gradually developed into an important activity of the Lantern Festival.

Because of the prosperity of society and economy, the lanterns in the Tang Dynasty shine brilliantly, and the scale of activities is quite large.

When I was older, the crowds watching lanterns were crowded, from princes and nobles to peddlers and pawns, all went out to enjoy the lanterns. Xuanzong also continued the relaxation of the ban system in the Western Han Dynasty. Chang 'an, the capital of Beijing, even canceled the curfew for three nights before and after the Lantern Festival and expanded the implementation of "night release".

It is convenient for people to enjoy lanterns. Since the Tang Dynasty, lanterns have become 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 historical stage in the development of 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.

China people have a history of more than 2,000 years of setting off Kongming lanterns on the Lantern Festival. There are many kinds and styles of lanterns all over the country, which are very popular. Taiwan Province provincial lanterns, commonly known as "drum lanterns", are named after their early appearance as gongs and drums. Popular types are lanterns, dice lanterns, round lanterns and knife lanterns. Because "Deng" and "Ding" in Minnan dialect are homophones,

Therefore, lanterns and noisy lanterns are usually regarded as good signs of population prosperity. According to the custom in Taiwan Province Province, during the Lantern Festival, women will shuttle under the lights.

, pray for children in the coming year, and add more; 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 "Shi Ding" is one of the ceremonies for new male students to join the clan, which has far-reaching influence.

Myths and legends

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was one.

The bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but it was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. Heaven/God knows

After he was very angry, 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 is kind-hearted and can't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life to put this.

A piece of news tells people. When people heard the news, it was like 1 shaking on their heads. They were too scared to know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said, "Now.

On March 14, 15 and 16, every household hangs red lanterns, sets off firecrackers and sets off fireworks. Then the Emperor of Heaven will think that people have been burned to death. "Everyone nodded and said.

Yes, I'm going to leave separately. On the fifteenth night of the first month, the mountain soldiers looked down and found that there was red light in the world, thinking it was the flame of a big fire, and told the Emperor not to set fire to the ground. People just

This saved 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.

Lantern Monk _ Lantern-Classification

Festival lanterns (displayed on the Lantern Festival)

Lanterns are usually divided into chandeliers, seat lamps, wall lamps and lanterns. It is a comprehensive handicraft with bamboo, silk, pearl, Yu Pei, silk spike, feather, shell and other materials as raw materials, which are colored, pasted, woven, embroidered and carved, and decorated with paper-cutting, painting, calligraphy and poetry. It is also a traditional folk handicraft in China.

Local opera lanterns. In the mid-Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, due to the development of commerce in Kunming, provincial guilds and trade guilds were established one after another, and popular opera tunes and troupes appeared. In order to adapt to the local language customs, and through the processing and transformation of contemporary art, the Ming and Qing ditties and folk songs were gradually combined to form Kunming Lantern. The early performance is the combination of social fire and social fire. The fire will be organized by the Lantern Festival and held during the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and other festivals. Before the performance, there will be a ceremony to greet the lantern gods, and the stewards will send lanterns everywhere. The performance team is led by headlamps with the words "Tai Ping Deng" and lanterns with the words "Good weather" and "Peace for the country and the people", followed by Shandu and Wu Wen Band, Lion Lantern Dragon Team, Wushu Acrobatic Troupe, stilts, dry boats, running donkeys, yangko, seedling drum, overlord whip and colorful characters or snipes in the play. This kind of "greeting lamp" is performed while walking, and it is called "crossing the street lamp". Later, it developed into a performance in the village street square, which was called "dustpan lamp". The programs include local lantern dramas such as Early in the Morning, Four Taurus and Backward Paddle, as well as transplant dramas such as In-laws in Urban and Rural Areas, Blind People Watching Lights, Fishing and Divorce in Zhu Maichen. After sorting out, more than 200 traditional tunes/kloc-0 have been excavated, which generally include three forms: dance, opera and short story drama with simple plot. With the progress of the times, the repertoire is constantly innovating. During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, a peasant salvation lantern troupe was established, and new plays such as Zhang Xiaoer Joining the Army and Shinjiro Visiting Mother were performed. Nowadays, the new drama interspersed with traditional plays has become a popular local traditional drama.

kind

Festival lanterns (displayed on the Lantern Festival)

China Lantern is a comprehensive art made of various technologies, crafts, decorative techniques and materials. There are many kinds of lanterns, such as dragon lanterns, palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, flower blue lanterns, dragon and phoenix lanterns, corner lanterns, tree lanterns, fireworks lanterns and mushroom lanterns, with round, square, cylindrical and polygonal shapes. Dragon Lantern, also known as "Dragon Dance", is a folk dance form of light in China, which is popular in many places in China. There is a faucet in front of the dragon lantern. The number of joints in the middle of the body varies, but it is generally singular. There is a stick under each joint for support. Each node of candles is called "Dragon Lantern", and those who don't light candles are called "Bulong". When dancing, one person plays the dragon with colored beads and the faucet rotates with the beads. Many other people each hold an accompaniment, tilting up and down, turning left and right, and cooperating with gongs and drums, which is very spectacular. Palace lantern is a world-famous special handcrafted lantern art in China. Palace lanterns are mostly made and used by palaces and government officials, so they have this name. The earliest palace lantern in existence is the Ming Dynasty palace lantern collected by the Palace Museum. The production of palace lanterns is very complicated, mainly with carved wood, bamboo and bronze as the skeleton, and then inlaid with tulle, glass or horn pieces, on which various auspicious and festive themes such as landscapes, flowers and birds, fish and insects, and figures are painted. High-grade palace lanterns are also inlaid with jade or white jade. The shapes of palace lanterns are very rich, including square, hexagonal, octagonal, round bead, flower basket, square victory, Pisces, gourd, disc, mugwort leaf, glass, collar and many other varieties, especially hexagonal palace lanterns. 19 15, Beijing Palace Lantern participated in the Panama World Expo for the first time and won the gold medal, which was well received internationally. Since then, palace lanterns have gradually developed in the practical direction, and various chandeliers, wall lamps, table lamps and poke lamps have appeared. China's palace lanterns are the most famous in Beijing.

Lantern is a unique ornamental lamp of 1 in the art of lantern, and its reputation is all over the world, especially Guangdong Lantern. Lanterns usually put a wheel in the lamp, and images of various figures, flowers and birds cut out with colored paper are attached to the wheel. Candles are lit under the wheel, and hot air rises, causing air convection, which makes the wheel rotate and the paper image also rotates. The picture is continuous, dynamic and attractive. The gauze lamp takes hemp yarn or hemp fabric as the lamp surface, which is mostly round or oval. Red gauze lanterns, also known as red lanterns, are bright red all over. The lantern is decorated with golden moire above and below, and the bottom is decorated with golden tassels. They are beautiful and generous, festive and auspicious, and are often hung during festivals. Shadow yarn lanterns are made of all kinds of hemp yarn, painted with flowers and birds, insects and fish, pavilions and so on. And decorated with various colors of golden moire and tassels, it is even more colorful, adding luster to festive days.