Author: Pan Huiying
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first beautiful full moon night in the new year, so it is called Lantern Festival, also known as Yuanxi , Lantern Festival, Little First Month, and Shangyuan Festival. Unlike another full moon festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, the Lantern Festival does not focus on the previous moon in the sky, but on the earth. Just as Liang Yuanying, a Qing Dynasty poet, said in his poem "Watching the Lanterns in the Front Gate of Yuanyue": "Tonight I was killed in the moon, and many tourists only looked at the lanterns", the first keyword of the Lantern Festival is "lanterns". Watching lanterns and guessing riddles, people indulge in carnivals and enjoy the joy of the night.
"Ming Xianzong's Lantern Festival Picture Scroll": Looking at the Lantern Festival Partial
[Who can sit idle when you see the moon, where can you hear the lanterns?]
The most recognizable custom of watching the Lantern Festival is watching the lanterns. As early as in " Jingchu Sui Shi Ji " written by Dai Zongyan of the Southern Dynasty, it was mentioned that watching the lanterns became a system. The Tang Dynasty began, and the lanterns were opened on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and it reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. Many ancient books record that the lantern market in the Song Dynasty lasted for five days, from fifteen to nineteen, a "Aoshan Lantern Shed" that was several meters high was built in advance, with various lanterns arranged on it and tens of thousands of lamps burning. For example, " Tokyo Dream Hualu " says that during the Lantern Festival, "tourists gather under the two corridors of the Imperial Street, with magical skills, singing and dancing, and tangled with scales and musical sounds for more than ten miles." Jin Renyu's poem "Yuanxi, Kyoto" says: "When I wear a gorgeous dress, I am in the lights of the six streets, I am making a fuss about children. What do I do with long shirts? It is also in the laughter of tourists." The Yuan Dynasty Ma Zhiyuan has a small ling [ Xianlu·Qinggeer 〕 "December": "The spring night is priceless in spring, and the fire trees and silver flowers are shining on the Xingqiao. The wonderful dance and clear song are the ones, the house in front of the jade slope, under the Aoshan ." It is said that there was a big tree outside the main gate of Li, Dadu at that time, which was named "One Tree General" by Kublai Khan. Every year, the Lantern Festival is full of various colors, and it looks like a fire dragon soaring into the sky.
"Lantern Festival Lantern Festival Picture" in the Qing Dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival lanterns were extended to ten days. The famous painter Tang Bohu's poem "Lantern Festival" says: "With a lamp without a moon, it will not miss people, and without a moon without a lantern is not considered spring. When spring comes to the world, people are like jade, and the lamp burns the moon and the moon is like silver." There are more patterns in the Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty. In addition to lanterns, there are also torches, fire balls, fire rain, fire dragons, fire lions, etc. Confucian scholar Ruan Yuan has a poem called "The Lantern City of Yangcheng": "The sea chevrons are exquisite and exquisite, and the color screen is brightly arranged by the Guidemen ." Calligrapher and painter Yao Yuanzhi is like "Ode Lantern Festival": "Bees and butterflies among the flowers are ecstatic, and the BMW car is growing at night. The front lights on the twelfth floor are like fire, and the moon is like frost outside the Siping Street". It is similar to the famous "Qingyu Case·Yuanxi" of the great poet of the Southern Song Dynasty: "The east wind blows thousands of flowers at night, and blows down, and the stars are like rain. The fragrance of BMW carvings is everywhere. The sound of the phoenix flute moves, the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragon dances overnight..." It can be said that the lanterns and seas of lights are lanterns, and the sea of people are bustling everywhere, and they are bustling with warm and joyful.
Yuanxiao lanterns have a long history and a wide variety. Shen Congwen wrote in "Lights of the Lantern Festival": "The Song people's notes also record many lantern names. " Glass Lantern " can be said to be a new variety. Not only appeared in wealthy families, but also began to attract customers in stores. The light was like a full moon. "Wanyan Luo" was pieced together with red and white veils... Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various lantern scenes in the illustrations of "Jin Ping Mei", "Xuanhe Lien" and " Water Margin " and other handicrafts - especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasty brocade patterns, there are hundreds of extremely exquisite and beautiful multi-faceted ball lamps decorated with pearls, jade tassels, basically mostly the styles handed down from the Song Dynasty... The "Goldfish Water Injection Lamp" of the Ming Dynasty, Although the styles and methods of making lanterns made of thousands of eggshells and made of ice are hard to understand. As for the representative and practical new varieties of the Ming Dynasty, the 'Mingjiao Lamp' and 'Material Silk Lamp', there are still remains in the Forbidden City."
"Viewing the Lantern" of Li Song of the Southern Song Dynasty
" Dream of the Red Chamber " describes the magnificent magnificence of visiting relatives in the yard: "I saw that the various lanterns in the courtyard were burning, all made of yarns, very exquisite. There is a plaque of lanterns on it, with the words "Ti Ren Mu De" written... The garden is filled with cigarette smoke, colorful flowers, and lights are reflected everywhere, and the music is loud and the sound is loud at all times, which cannot be described as this peaceful scene, rich and romantic."The 53rd chapter describes that during the Chinese New Year, "the inside and outside the eaves of the corridors and the two sides of the corridors are covered with various colors of sheep horns, glass, poking yarn, silk or embroidery, painting, pile, picking, silk or paper lamps", which is very lively and festive. "On the beams on both sides, there are couplets, three or five glass hibiscus colorful lamps. A dry and drooping lotus leaf is erected in front of each table, and a candle letter is inserted with colorful candles on it. The lotus leaves are engraved with enamel, and can be turned around. Now they all turn the lotus leaves outward, forcing the light shadow to shine all outward, and watching the play is extremely real." Such high-end, exquisite, practical and decorative lamps are beyond the reach of ordinary people. The palace lanterns are even more luxurious. The first painting of the Qing Dynasty's "Dimensional Order of Yongzheng" "The First Monthly Lamp" has a sky lantern. It is a golden wooden pillar with dragon patterns standing upright in the stone base, with a beam inserted horizontally near the top, and a dragon is shaped like a dragon. The shape is, with a lantern on the dragon's mouth. The lantern has thin lines connected to the four small bronze men placed on the ground to play a fixed role. There is also a lantern with decorative patterns on all sides hanging high on the lamp shed. Under the lamp, there are boys playing, and under the eaves there are various palace lanterns, rendering the paper joy. The Ming Dynasty essayist Tang Shunzhi enthusiastically wrote "Yuanxi Song of Ice Lamp": "I am pity for the fire trees, and suddenly I see the clear light reflecting the moonlight. The mermaid pearls go out to sea still carry water, and the silk sleeves in the hall are about to feel cold. "
The Lantern Festival lamp is also a toy for children. Wang Zengqi once said: "Children have their own lamp. Rabbit Light , Hydrangea Light, Horse Lantern... Rabbit Light is actually not very much like a rabbit. Its face is round, its eyes are curved, it looks like a human eye, and there are two curved eyebrows! "("Lantern Festival in Hometown") Zhou Guoping's childhood Lantern Festival surprise was an exquisite revolving lantern made by his father, "draw different watercolor paintings on each side of the paper screen and hang them in the house. As soon as the light lit up, the paper screen rotated, which surprised me very much. ” (“My Spiritual Autobiography”)
[Flying Qiong came together to try the lanterns, and I wanted to leave Tan Lang lights]
Yuanxiao is a carnival for the public. Young men and women often take this great opportunity to perform moving love stories. Lao She once said: “In the old society, women did not go out easily, and they could get some freedom during the Lantern Festival” (“ Beijing Spring Festival ”), and walked with men on the moon, watching the lanterns, and watching the fireworks, which squeezed the streets out of water. Li Cuiwei, a girl in the late Ming Dynasty, had a set of sanqu songs [Zhenggong·Mountain Fishing Lantern Prison] "Lantern Festival Song" was passed down from generation to generation. His first song reads: “Lanterns are like day, people are like ants. In order to enjoy the Lantern Festival, they always decorate the brocade of the sky and the embroidered earth, which is to resist the noisy and clamor. What is the night tonight? This meeting was so strange. I said softly to him and laughed low. Although the lights are hidden, we must also worry about the light that causes trouble. I love to kill you, and it is so beautiful that I am afraid of you. After a long time, I will only be able to fly. "This is naturally a record of a lover's honey appointment with Youqi. The heroine is brave and lovely. According to the "Ming Dynasty Women's Sanqu Collection" compiled by Wang Duanshu in the early Qing Dynasty, Li Cuiwei was from Mizhi, Shaanxi, and was the daughter of Li Zicheng . In addition, Dong Shunmin, a Qing Dynasty man, vividly depicts the sweetness, shyness, and the faint sadness of a woman in the boudoir during the Lantern Festival and her lover's Yuqi secretly made her look: "A hundred fire trees are rich in gold, and the BMW is fragrant and dusty. Fei Qiong came to try the lights together, so he refused to leave Tan Lang lightly. Once he pretends to be angry, once he smiles, the little maid helps him walk timidly..."
Yuan zaju has many Lantern Festival love dramas, among which "The Talented Man and Beautiful Man Mistakes the Lantern Festival" has been lost, "Wang Yueying's Yuan Night Shoes Record" still exists, and the Song and Yuan operas also include "Wang Yueying's Yueying's Yueying's Yueying's Yueying's Yueying's Yueying's Night Shoes Record" is abbreviated as " Leaves the Shoes Record ", an anonymous man, and the title is correct: "Guo Xiucai was immersed in miss the good time, Wang Yueying's 4 Yuan Night Shoes Record Leaves the Shoes Record. "The story tells the story of Guo Hua going to Bianjing to take the exam. He met Yueying, the queen of the owner of the Rouge Shop. He suddenly felt admiration. He often went to the store to meet Yueying in the store by buying Rouge . Yueying also fell in love with Guo Hua, and asked her maid Mei Xiang to send a message to Guo Hua, and asked him to have a secret meeting at Xiangguo Temple on the Lantern Festival night. Guo Hua went to the appointment after drinking and fell asleep while waiting for Yueying. When Yueying came, she couldn't wake him up, so she had to leave an embroidered shoe and a handkerchief in Guo's arms to express her feelings.Guo Hua woke up and regretted it, so he even swallowed a handkerchief and committed suicide. Bao Gong tried this case and used embroidered shoes as evidence to induce Wang Yueying. Yueying pulled Luo Pa out of Guo Hua's mouth, and Guo Hua woke up. Bao Gong concluded that the two were husband and wife. The second fold of the play describes the scene of the Lantern Festival: "The carriage and horses sway through the dust, the silk and silk are covered with smoke, and the balls are raised high under the moon." The second branch [ rolling hydrangea ] describes the custom of the Lantern Festival: "The lantern wheels are red all over the streets, and the spring breeze is boiling and orchestras are all there. When tourists are huddling out of Penglai, they are all supporting the mountain on the sea of six aoas, and they are driving a chariot in the clouds, and they are just driving a chariot in the clouds, and they are just like these." The Minnan Songzi Opera "Chen Sanwu Niang" tells the story of Wu Niang being rescued by Chen San, a talented man in Quanzhou while watching the lanterns, and they are in love at first sight. Also, "Lechang Story" is based on the famous story of "Breaking Mirror Reunion". Although the script is lost, its ability is still there, and there are both dramas in the Song and Yuan dynasties and northern and southern dramas. It tells the story of Princess Lechang, the sister of Chen Shubao, the late emperor of the Southern Dynasty, who is both talented and beautiful, married to Xu Deyan, and is in love with her husband and wife. In view of the political chaos, Xu Deyan divided a mirror into two, and the couple held half of it. They agreed to survive the disaster, so the princess sent someone to use the half mirror to hawk on the Lantern Festival. After Chen died, Xu Deyan indeed saw a Cangtou holding a half mirror in the sea of Lantern Festival lanterns and selling at a high price. The couple "reunited mirrors" and left a popular story. This is also the story in the Cantonese opera "The Emperor's Flower". In addition, the "Peony Lantern" by the Ming Dynasty novelist Qu You interprets the sad love story between Qiao Sheng and Fu Liqing into the Ningbo Yuehu version of "Xu Xian and Bai Snake". The Qing Dynasty historian and writer Quan Zuwang Zhuzhi Ci says: "At the beginning of the year, people walk beautifully, don't be the female monk of the Yuan family. If you go deeper, you will be afraid of peony Lanterns in the middle of the lake." This is also the story.
lamp represents light and hope. In Fujian-Taiwan dialect, it is also homophonic with "Ding" to represent dialect. Therefore, women who were looking forward to giving birth in the Lantern Festival would deliberately wander under the lamp. There is also the custom of walking around the Lantern Festival and touching door nails. Women walk together to strengthen their bodies and drive away diseases and eliminate disasters. Touching door nails means giving birth to children. In "Yongzheng's December Order Picture: Viewing Lanterns in the First Month" there is a single arch bridge full of people, which depicts "Walking on All Diseases" at Lantern Festival. Zhang Su, a Ming Dynasty man, said: "The white silk shirt shines on the moonlight, and when you walk across the bridge, you will have no diseases. When you pass by the front door, you will be able to entertain yourself for a year." - driving away sickness and adding children is the simplest and most beautiful wish of the people from generation to generation.
[The purple palace Gao Zhen came to the grand event, and the painting hall sang and list the Chinese banquet]
As the saying goes, "Come on the New Year", the Lantern Festival is celebrated, and the word "Noisy" expresses the unique noisy and joyful atmosphere of the Lantern Festival. Xiao Fuxing said, "Watching Lantern Festival, old Beijingers are generally called "Shopping Lantern Market", or " Lantern Festival", and there are also called "Treading Lantern Festival". In the bamboo branch poems of the Republic of China, there is "Under the Moon in the Shadow of Silver Candles, and when we meet, we are all people stepping on the Lantern Festival." Whether it is the word "Shopping", the word "Not" or "Treading", they all reflect the vocal spirit of the Lantern Festival at that time." ("Lantern Festival")
The Ming Dynasty " Nandu Fanhui Scenery Picture " depicts the grand scene of Nanjing Lantern Festival
In addition to watching lanterns in real situations, "Lighting" at Lantern Festival is also one of the most common scenes on the opera stage.Among them, Huangmei Opera " Couples Watching Lanterns " and Yue Opera "Chasing Fish" are the most familiar to the public. The former plays Wang Xiaoliu and his wife from one to ten, both of them sign up for the lanterns, and their every move is full of hopes and wishes for the days and beauty; the latter sings the scholar Zhang Zhen and the carp spirit to enjoy the Lantern Festival lanterns happily: "This is Lions Rolling Hydrangea Brocades all over the ground, and the two dragons play with pearls and stars, and the two butterflies fly in the wind, and the mandarin ducks are winged together..." There are also Maokong " Zhao Meirong Watching Lanterns " and The Shanghai opera "Xu Azeng's Lantern" has a long description of the Lantern Festival viewing, which is like a special "Lantern Fu" or lantern explanatory text introducing various lanterns. The former sings the stories of characters from all dynasties and dynasties appear on the lanterns, as well as various animal lamps, solar lanterns, crop lamps, vegetable garden lamps, etc., which tell the story. The latter even counts the dazzling names of lanterns, such as the Flower Name Lamp in December, the Zodiac Lamp, and the "Headed and Footed Tortoise Husband, Headless and Footed Clam Clam Lamp, Headless and Footed Crab Cymbidium Lamp, and the headless and Footed Loach Eel Lamp". The lyrics not only report the name of the lamp and also produce riddles, which is very interesting and very lifelike.
Peking Opera famous artists Shi Yihong used modern scientific images to adapt and restore "Madam Shangyuan" in historical details
Peking Opera master Mr. Mei Lanfang once specially compiled and performed the new costume drama "Madam Shangyuan" for the Lantern Festival. In 1920, the Lantern Festival was premiered in Xinming Theater. The story tells the story of Queen Mother and Mrs. Shangyuan descending from the sky with musical attendants. Emperor Wu of Han set up a banquet to entertain him, and Mrs. Shangyuan sang and danced at the banquet. Although the plot of this play is simple, the scene is lively, especially the role of Mrs. Shangyuan, played by Mei Lanfang, has pure skills, novel singing and dancing, and bright costumes. The audience likes it very much. The box office revenue reached 15,000 yuan in just three days. Unfortunately, it has been lost, leaving only the script, dance score and a few stills. In 2021, the famous Peking Opera artist Shi Yihong used modern scientific and technological images to adapt and restore "Madam Shangyuan" in historical details at the Lantern Festival Opera Gala, showing scenes such as "Holding the Moon", "Wind Turning", and "Looking". She sang "The stars and moon shadows move jade, and celebrate the New Year with good luck. Gao Zhen from the Zifu came to the grand event, and the painting hall sings and music were arranged in the feast", which blended with the dynamic reappearance of the dance score of Mr. Mei Lanfang, Mrs. Shangyuan, and the singing and dancing were refreshing.
Watching lanterns is often accompanied by guessing riddles, which are fun and educational, suitable for both young and old, and are not limited to the rich and poor. The origin of the lantern riddle culture can be traced back to the pre-Qin period 2,500 years ago. Making lantern riddles requires wisdom and ingenuity, and a large number of metaphors, borrowing, imagination and anthropomorphism are used, which is very knowledgeable and interesting. Qian Qi, a Qing Dynasty man, described the lively scene of the riddle activities in his "Taiwan Bamboo Branch Poems": "Fireworks and fireworks pass by the wall, reflecting many riddles of the Spring Festival." The novel " Mirror Flowers " by Li Ruzhen in the Qing Dynasty wrote about riddle guessing and riddle making activities many times, such as the 81st and 82nd episodes vividly and in detail. There are 27 riddles in "Dream of Red Mansions", such as the 22nd chapter "Listen to the Quwen Baoyu Understand Zen Mechanism, Jia Zheng's Sorrowful Prophecy", eunuch brought the riddles made by Yuanchun for everyone to guess. "Hearing the Baochai , I listened to it. I saw it closer. It was a seven-character quatrain . It was not very novel. I couldn't praise it. I just said it was difficult to guess. I deliberately thought about it, but I guessed it once I guessed it." In just a few words, Baochai's personality traits of knowing the current affairs, understanding the worldly style, and understanding the truth. And "Have Yuanchun been so happy, I became more and more happy, so I quickly made a small and exquisite screen lamp, set it in the house, and ordered his sisters to do it secretly, write it out and stick it on the screen, and then prepare fragrant tea, fine fruits and various toys to congratulate the guessing." The preparations were done so meticulously and thoroughly, and there was no need to say the joy and joy of the whole family's reunion guessing riddles.
There must be delicious food during the festival, and you must eat Lantern Festival as usual. Old Hangzhou has always said that " lanterns on round lantern cake", which means eating dumplings when the lanterns are on thirteenth day of the first lunar month, and eating rice cake when the lanterns are on thirteenth day of the first lunar month. The Southern Song politician Shi Hao's poem "Pink Butterfly·Ode to Yuanzi" says: "The jade chips are light, and the shark silk is spread all over in an instant. Look at the fairy and her magical changes. It's like scattering down a string of real beads.The fire is burning, the soup is just rolling, and the pot noodles are all floating...", compared the woman who makes round zi to fairy eels, and the round zi to real pearls, which is vividly written. In many places in Taizhou, Zhejiang, after the Lantern Festival is celebrated for the 14th day of the first lunar month, people go home to eat not the Lantern Festival, but the soup.
In the memory of old Beijingers, the Lantern Festival "burning fire judgment" is a festival activity with excellent ornamentality. "Jian'er" is the judge of the clay sculpture. A furnace is placed inside, and after the coal is ignited, it turns red due to burning, and flames are sprayed out from the seven orifices, which is very beautiful. There is a saying in Sichuan that "on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the garlic seedlings are pulled all over", which means "stealing green", which means going to someone else's home." Stealing onion, garlic, radish , etc., the stolen family will not get angry, because in local dialect lettuce is homophonic with "making money", radish is called "caitou", homophonic with "cai Tou", while garlic is homophonic with "subi", which is both good "good lottery". And the Taiyuan area is always "hot" - lion dance, dragon lantern , stilt , 8-tone meeting, lotus fall , 2 ghosts fall, and yangge running the field, all of which present a strong atmosphere of life and local characteristics.
(the author is an associate professor of the School of Humanities of Hangzhou Normal University)
Source: Wenhuibao
