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The origin of the development of lantern painting

Lantern is a traditional handicraft of Han nationality, which originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 800 years ago. At first, it was plain and white, and colored lanterns began to appear in the court of Qin Dynasty. Lanterns in China are also called lanterns. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, palace lanterns developed to the people. During the Southern Dynasties in Liang Wudi, lanterns made of gorgeous tapestries and paintings of Buddhism, heaven and man, ghosts and gods appeared, forming lantern paintings. Every year around the Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, people hang lanterns symbolizing reunion to create an auspicious and 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.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, with the establishment of the official Lantern Festival, the production of colored lanterns entered a prosperous period, the theme of lantern painting increased, and the painting technology was gradually strengthened. On the night of Lantern Festival, every household is decorated with lanterns, and from a distance, thousands of people are lit up, forming a magnificent scenery of "moonlight and daytime colors, mixed lights".

At the same time, with the development of New Year pictures and the prevalence of lanterns, especially the emergence of woodblock New Year pictures, it provides an opportunity for lanterns to meet the needs of the broad masses of people more economically and effectively-printing lantern pictures by using woodcut watermarking technology of woodblock New Year pictures, and then pasting them on lanterns to make more beautiful lanterns. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in addition to hand-painted lantern paintings, special lantern paintings also appeared in woodblock New Year pictures workshops in Shandong, Hebei, Henan and Jiangsu. These provide a good foundation for the production of wooden lantern paintings in Bodang's hometown.