Lantern Festival lights
When it comes to Lantern Festival, what comes to mind first? It’s a soft, glutinous and elastic Lantern Festival, a lively and exploding fireworks; Or is it the romance after dusk, when people suddenly look back? I believe that no matter what you think, there must be lights.
Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, the night of the first full moon after the Spring Festival, is the first reunion season on earth. As the saying goes, "A moon without lights is not entertaining, and a moon without lights is not spring." Lantern Festival is also called "Lantern Festival". Opening lanterns and watching lanterns on Lantern Festival night has long been a traditional holiday custom, and it has been passed down to this day.
Most people tend to think that the custom of lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. A popular saying is that Emperor Wen of Han started to celebrate the Lantern Festival to commemorate the suppression of the "Zhulu Rebellion" and advocated having fun with the people, so every family decorated with lanterns and colored decorations on this day. According to records, after the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou monopolized state affairs. This situation did not improve because of Lv Hou’s death. Instead, the Lushi clan wanted to seize power. The day when Emperor Wendi put down the rebellion happened to be the fifteenth day of the first month.
There is also a saying that this tradition originated from religion. Those who insist on the origin of Taoism believe that the fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The three officials in charge of the three elements are heaven, earth and water, and the celestial official in charge of the three elements is happy, so the lantern festival should be lit. Those who advocate the theory of the origin of Buddhism believe that Emperor Hanming believed in Buddhism. He heard that Buddhism observed Buddhist relics and lit lanterns to worship Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first month, so he ordered that "lanterns were lit to show Buddha" in palaces and temples on this day. This practice gradually spread to the people.
It is difficult to find out which statement is more true about the origin of Lantern Festival custom, but more importantly, for ancient people, the curfew can be temporarily lifted on the night of Yuanxi, and they can walk in the brightly lit streets and enjoy the lanterns. Although thousands of years have passed, people are eager to celebrate festivals and yearn for a better life.
Shangyuan Lantern Color Map (Ming Dynasty) (Source: Network)
If someone looks at the lights, of course, someone has to make them. The production of ancient lanterns originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and matured in the Song Dynasty. After continuous inheritance and development, it has reached a state of perfection in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
According to the way of viewing, lanterns can be roughly divided into two categories: one is dynamic performance lanterns, such as dragon lanterns and lantern lanterns; There is also a static ornamental lantern, such as palace lantern, gauze lantern, Suzhou lantern and Yangzhou melon lantern. According to the placement method, it can also be divided into chandelier, seat lamp, wall lamp, lantern and so on. In the Tang Dynasty, large-scale lantern groups began to appear, and lanterns of various colors formed a lamp tree, a lamp tower and a lamp mountain, which were brilliant and varied.
The production of ancient lanterns combines a variety of techniques, materials, techniques and procedures, presenting a comprehensive art form. Commonly used techniques include painting, paper binding, weaving, paper cutting, embroidery, pasting and so on. Commonly used materials are bamboo, wood, rattan, metal, silk, paper and so on.
There is a general process for making lanterns, including about 20 processes: first, press the bought paper out of wrinkles, dye it in various colors, and wait for the stains to dry; Then according to a certain size, bamboo is broken, made into bamboo sticks and tied into a skeleton; Then start paper-cutting, origami, and make it into various needed shapes; Finally, hang up red tassels and other decorations. Such a simple lantern is ready.
In addition to simple lanterns, there is also a kind of lanterns that are meticulous and complicated, that is, palace lanterns known for their exquisite beauty, grace and elegance. Ancient palace lanterns were named after being made and used by palaces and officials, so they also represented the royal style to some extent.
Palace lanterns have a variety of shapes, including square, hexagonal, octagonal, square victory, flower basket, dragon and phoenix, fan and so on, among which hexagonal palace lanterns are the most representative. The materials used in the framework are also mahogany, rosewood, rosewood and carved copper, and the materials used in the lamp surface are gauze, glass or horn pieces. Decorative patterns are colorful and auspicious, including landscapes, flowers and birds, figures and so on.
Palace lantern was founded in Luoyang, which has been a national intangible cultural heritage project. There are more than 70 processes to make a Luoyang palace lantern, mainly including lighting, pinching, screening, pasting, mending, painting, setting, washing and decorating, which can be roughly divided into several steps. Skeleton making: in the process of skeleton making, the bamboo should be steamed and dried in a pot, and then the rough skin of the bamboo should be scraped clean, and the bamboo should be cut into a certain length according to the size of the lantern made; After the bamboo is ready, we start to make bamboo sticks, first break the bamboo pole, then split the bamboo sticks, cut the bamboo sticks, drill bamboo holes and other nearly ten processes; Then connect these bamboo sticks in series, and the skeleton of the palace lantern becomes. Lamp cloth: paste must be evenly spread on each bamboo stick, and then the previously cut cloth should be gently covered on the open lamp holder, and then the brush should be dipped in the paste to brush it flat. Decorate: After the paste is dried, you can decorate it with paper cuts or write on it. It usually takes a day or two to make a palace lantern.
Palace lanterns (source: Qiantu. com)
Compared with the ancient palace lanterns on the tall buildings, there is also a kind of lantern with distinctive features, which is closer to the people, and that is the lantern. The lantern is also called the lantern. As the name implies, the lantern is a lantern that can be turned. In ancient times, the lantern was generally made of sorghum straw as a lamp holder, and a flat wind wheel was installed. The patterns formed by paper-cutting were evenly arranged around the wind wheel, and the candles in the lantern were lit. The candlelight heated the air and pushed the wind wheel to rotate, and the patterns "walked" up. The most commonly used pattern in ancient times was the pattern of military commanders riding horses. When the lights turned, these people were like riding horses, and you chased each other, which is the origin of the name of the lantern.
The production of the lantern makes use of the principle that hot air rises to generate thrust, which seems simple, but it is also the original application of the working principle of modern gas turbines. On the occasion of the festive season, you might as well do it yourself and experience the wonderful ideas and skills of the ancient working people in China thousands of years ago.
The principle of the lantern (Source: China Digital Technology Museum)
references
[1] Liang Manman. Luoyang Palace Lantern production skills and inheritance [J]. Art Jian, 2017(03):122-123.
[2] Zhang Tongsheng. The origin of the Lantern Festival and its traditional construction [J]. Central Plains Cultural Studies, 2021,9 (02): 101-108. Doi: 10.16600/j.cnki.41-1426/c.2021.02.012. 。
[3] Zhang Jing. Analysis of Lantern Festival culture in China [J]. Changjiang Series, 2018(27):39-40.
[4] Jin Kaicheng. Lantern Festival: China cultural knowledge reader [M]. Changchun: Jilin Literature and History Publishing House, 2012.
[5] Chen Xiulian, Dong Sheng. Shangyuan Period: Lantern Festival [M]. Changchun: Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd., 2012.
[6] Lu Xiang. Chinese traditional festival poetry story: Spring Festival Lantern Festival [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Far East Publishing House, 2017.
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Source: Damei Science
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