Chapter 13 Guessing lantern riddles and praying to San Gong

Among the seasonal festivals in our country, the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are the most poetic and picturesque ordinances.According to the literature of Yi, the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist worship of the gods of the three realms of heaven, earth, and water. It is also called worshiping the Sangong, that is, only worshiping the three officials.At present, the statues of the three officials and the great emperors in the major temples in Taiwan, Mian 旒 Fu Fu, Zhi Gui, are completely the costumes of the emperors before the Han Dynasty, which can be proved. Customization in the Tang Dynasty: the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan, the fifteenth day of the July is the Zhongyuan, and the fifteenth day of the October is the Xiayuan; The origin of official blessings), the Zhongyuan worships the local officials, and the Xiayuan worships the water officials.During these three festivals, whether it is in the provinces in the mainland or in the Taoist temples in Taiwan, the Quanzhen Taoist scriptures are all based on the "Three Realms", which proves that the ancient documents have their own origin.

Judging from the scenes of carnival in Shangyuan recorded in Han Shu, the Shangyuan Lantern Festival in the Western Han Dynasty was already quite lively.According to the history of the Tang and Song Dynasties and the records of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shangyuan Lanterns began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. without interruption. During the Lantern Festival in Shangyuan, different dynasties have different folk festivals and customs.The lantern period in the Tang Dynasty was originally from the 14th to the 16th day of the first lunar month, but it was changed to the 15th to the 17th day after the Ming Emperor Kaiyuan. Although the lantern period has changed before and after, the time limit is still three days.The Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty was originally held in three days from the 14th to the 16th. According to the records of the Song Dynasty: "In Taiping Xingguo Middle School, King Qian Wuyue came to the capital. On the occasion of the Shangyuan Festival, he donated millions of gold and begged for two nights to buy lanterns." One day was added before and after the Lantern Festival, and it was changed to 14 to 18 days, because there are five nights to see the lanterns, so it was called "Five Night Lanterns" at that time.When the Jin Yuan entered the Central Plains, because of the different customs, officials lacked interest in the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, and the folks passed away.It was not until the early Ming Dynasty that the lanterns of Shangyuan were restored to the old view. At that time, the whole world was unified and the world was peaceful, and the lantern period became longer and longer. In Wuzong Zhengde, the lantern period lasted for ten days from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.In Shunzhi Yuji of the Qing Dynasty, in view of the struggle for extravagance, carnival and indulgence, and ups and downs, it gradually returned to the five-night lantern. , Counting the light period before and after, it will be close to twenty days.

Folk festivals have different customs in different places, and the length of the lantern period also varies.In some large towns in the Yellow River Basin, most of them practice mutual night lights. The thirteenth is "lighting up", the fourteenth is "testing the lights", the fifteenth is "upright lights", the sixteenth is "disabled lights", and the seventeenth is "lowering lights".The lantern season in various places in the south of the Yangtze River is mostly three days from the 14th to the 16th, and some extend to the 22nd of the first lunar month.In the early Taiping period, Changsha, Hunan Province had the longest lantern festival. Although the lantern festival in Changsha lasted only five days, the dragon dance could only rest from the fifth day of the fifth day to the midnight reward after eating the lantern on the fifteenth day.Although there is no dragon dance in Wanxian County, Sichuan, the lantern festival with lantern riddle guessing, from the sixth day to the sixteenth day, lasts more than ten days, and even the government has to ban it by order before it stops.Dantu in Jiangsu waits for everyone to finish their New Year greetings, and only celebrates the Lantern Festival during the ten days from the 11th to the 20th of the first lunar month.Fuzhou in Fujian and Jiande in Zhejiang both have thirteen days from the 11th to the 22nd of the first lunar month, which are the two places with the longest lantern periods.

All the above mentioned are the grand occasions of Lantern Festival in various places in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, China gradually entered the stage of industrial society from an agricultural society. "That night, everyone was lively all night, and the next day, everyone returned to their posts and resumed normal work. Shangyuan on the 15th day of the first lunar month, known as Yuanye in ancient times, is also called the Lantern Festival, commonly known as the Lantern Festival.As for the Lantern Festival, it can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" said: "On the evening of the Yuan Dynasty, Jiuhua lanterns are lit, and thousands of miles can be seen. On the streets of the capital in the west, on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, Jinwu was ordered to relax the ban, one day before and after each, which is called letting go of the night."

Although the Lantern Festival Lantern originated in the Han Dynasty ceremonies, after the Han Dynasty, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the custom of setting up lanterns in the Yuan Dynasty was not very common. When it came to Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, he was the most extravagant emperor in history. In the classics, there is no record about the Spring Lantern, but Yu Shiliu may have banned Lantern Lantern viewing memorials, saying: "Stealing the capital, Yuan and other states, every time the first month looks at the sun, fill the streets and block the streets, play Gathering friends, beating the drums, beating the sky, burning the torches to illuminate the land, exhausting capital and going bankrupt, competing for this moment, regardless of high or low, men and women mixed, no distinction between black and white, and filthy behaviors. Thieves arise from this, which is not conducive to transformation. , Harmful to the people. Please issue an order to the world, and immediately ban it..." Although this memorial was approved by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, it was only banned for a while. The poem about viewing lanterns shows that at that time, the thoroughfare was lit up and the city was kept dark for people to watch.

In the Shangyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, not only were the officials extravagant, but they also opened the market and lit lamps to have fun with the people, which was always custom-made.It can be seen from the grand occasion of Wu Zetian's Lantern Festival lanterns when Wu Zetian came to power and Zhaozhou Su Weiwei, the minister of power.Su Poetry: "Fire trees and silver flowers gather, star bridge iron locks open. The dark dust follows the horses, and the bright moon follows people. The prostitutes are all harvested, and the singing is full of plum blossoms. The king can't help the night, and the jade leaks don't remind each other." In the Zen position Zong, Zhongzong not only went out of the palace to watch the lanterns in micro-clothes, but even brought the empress and concubines out of the palace to watch the lanterns.All the maids who work diligently in the palace will bring them out of the palace to play on the night of Shangyuan, as a sign of encouragement.Really achieve the realm of universal celebration and national jubilation.Afterwards, Ruizong succeeded to the throne. Although his reign was short, the lanterns in Shangyuan were indeed very lively.He built an exquisite and gorgeous lamp wheel outside Fu'an Gate, more than twenty feet high, with golden emerald feathers, thousands of bright lights, Yaolin Qiongshu, and dazzling Fujian colors. Fragrant, amazing.

In the early years of Tang Xuanzong's reign, it was the period when the country was prosperous and prosperous, and the Emperor Ming was a romantic emperor who indulged in leisure and entertainment.He set up a "Linguang Banquet" in the Changchun Hall to entertain the old and close officials, and let everyone appreciate the ingenious egret turning flowers, Huanglong spitting water, golden ducks and silver swallows, Jiuzhi Xianrui, Fuguang Cave, Zanxing Pavilion, Misty Terrace, Tengbo Island All kinds of colorful lanterns, after the banquet, he played the "Night Light Song" composed by him and the Liyuan children, and scattered Lingnan lychees like a rain of flowers, so that the palace people would fight with each other with their buns and skirts. A beautiful scenery of willows and warblers, and then rewarded the red circle and the green shirt respectively for laughter.

There are more than 30 knotting lamp buildings in Shangyang Palace, and the height of the building is more than 150 Zhang. The folk skillful lamp craftsman "Mao Shun" was recruited to tie up lanterns in various shapes of dragons, phoenixes, tigers and leopards. extremely shape.Among them, jade foil dingdang is mixed, and the breeze passes by with clear rhyme and clang, which can be regarded as the best in the past and the present.In everything, there is good in the top, and there must be something in the bottom.Yang Guozhong, the uncle of the state, is also a treacherous man who is desperate for extravagance and unwilling to be reconciled to future generations. On the night of Shangyuan, red candles were planted all over the red steps of the corridor of the mansion. Ju Wai".Mrs. South Korea did not show weakness, and made more than one hundred luxuriant lantern trees, each tens of feet high, erected on a high mountain. When the Yuan Ye was lit up, the moon hung high and the stars were endless. Compared with the New Year's Christmas tree of the White House in the United States, it is as magnificent as it is, and nothing less.

Northern Song Dynasty: The prosperity of lamps and candles in the Northern Song Dynasty was not only comparable to that of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but also extremely ingenious and extremely crafty. It was even ahead of the previous dynasty. "Jiyuan Dengshan" was built in front of the imperial city of Bianjing.The so-called "thorn wall" refers to the thorny thorns in the braided cable tie. It is similar to modern barbed wire to restrict the wandering of idlers. The lamp hill inside the wall is decorated with wooden images of immortals, Buddhas, chariots and horses, mixed with blurred and dazzling lights.On both sides of the Royal Street, there are flying pills, walking ropes, swallowing fire, throwing swords, mixed dances and dances, cars and parades, all kinds of music are performed, and new sounds are played. A ball, with a radius of more than ten feet, burns inside like a giant candle, illuminating the tower like daytime.In the middle hall, a giant salty dragon is woven with quinoa and cattail grass, covered with brocade and dyed gold, and covered with a light gauze curtain, flying around and shining, full of smoke and clouds.Manjusri and Samantabhadra on both sides are majestic, straddling blue lions and royal white elephants, stretching fingers and palms, and sprinkling sweet springs, which proves that as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, some people invented lanterns to be operated by machinery.

Southern Song Dynasty: Although it is located in Lin'an, on the left side of An'an River, the Lantern Festival lanterns are not inferior to those in the Northern Song Dynasty. It has progressed from "Jiyuan Lantern Mountain" to "Aoshan Grand View".According to "Qian Chun Sui Shi Ji": "On the second drum of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor drove Xuande Mountain in a small chariot to see Aoshan Mountain, and the servants pushed the cart backwards to facilitate viewing. There are hundreds of kinds of mountain lanterns, and the new decorations are beautiful and ingenious. In the center, jade foil and gold beads are clustered to form the four characters of "Long Live the Emperor". On the mountain, actors and officials play music, and on the large terrace at the foot of the mountain, a group of artisans compete with each other under the moonlight. Wuzhang, Cuan performs Zaju, and the characters in the drama are all manipulated by mechanisms, going in and out, and wandering in a stream. In addition, between the beams and households of the hall, it is built as a wall, and various stories are written. Dragons and phoenixes spray water, meandering It twists and turns like life, so it is the crown of all lights. Jade curtains are set up in front and behind, and the precious light and flowers are not to be looked at directly. The palace leak is deep, and fireworks are set off..." According to the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin people across the river, the country was in danger. The nest is full of eggs, and the monarch and ministers are still drunk and dreaming of death, whitewashing the peace, and the country will not perish.

Ming Dynasty: The people of the Yuan Dynasty entered the Central Plains, and the customs and customs were different from those of the Middle Land. Stretch out onto the water. "Emperor Beijing Scenery" said: "Ming Taizu first built the southern capital to attract wealthy businessmen from all over the world for the colorful buildings. The lanterns were put on for ten days, from the eighth to the thirteenth, and they flourished until the seventeenth. Thousands of water lamps will be lit on the Qinhuai River, and it will end on the fifteenth night." The scenery on the Qinhuai River has been greatly enhanced.Someone said: "Later, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva set off river lanterns on Christmas Day on July 30, which evolved from water lanterns in the Ming Dynasty." The emperor liked to watch lanterns, and the folks responded, and the villages, towns and villages were also decorated with lanterns, so "Yellow River Jiuqu Lanterns" appeared on the streets.From the 11th to the 16th day of the first lunar month, young people in the countryside play tricks on tying sorghum stalks to make fences and hang all kinds of lanterns in the long acres.People can't make mistakes, that is, they can't get out of it for a long time, and they think it's a joke.Mr. Huang Huiwen said that when he was young, he spent the New Year at his natal home. His little uncle took him once to swim through the "lamp curtain" in the countryside. Array".It contains the mystery of Zhuge Kongming's Eight Arrays, so if one person is among them, the illusion will be confused. Qing: When Nurhachi ruled Liaodong, the Lantern Festival was also very lively in the northeast of his jurisdiction.From the 13th to the 17th of the first lunar month, the army and the people rejoice together. The thoroughfare and avenues are brightly lit with stars and stars, and there is almost no gap between cars and horses. , Moonlight lights, do not feel its night. The "turning dragon lantern" in the court of the Qing Dynasty is different from the lantern and grass dragon in the Song Dynasty, and it is also different from the modern dragon dance.During the Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty, there was a feast of wine in the palace and banquets for foreign feudal vassals. On the one hand, fireworks were set off, and on the other hand, dragon lanterns were unfolded.There are as many as a thousand people in a lantern team, and each person holds a bamboo T-shaped lamp stand. Two red lights are hung on each stand, winding and dancing, and the formation changes from time to time. , the north and south alleys in the palace are flat and vast, and when they dance, they can see the red lights floating up and down like dragons, which is very spectacular.They changed a lot of styles, singing and dancing at the same time, and finally arranged the red lights into "Long Live the Son of Heaven" or "Long Live Taiping" as the end.Later, Fu Lian became a class rehearsal of "Xue Gang Making Lanterns", and the senior supervisor of the internal supervisor instructed him to add this light. Because the stage was small, fifty or sixty children were arranging lights on the stage, which would be in the way. But the general audience, already I feel brilliant and novel. Since Shangyuan lanterns were first advocated by officials, folk lanterns naturally use their own ingenuity to compete for strength.The revolving horse lanterns in Suzhou are made of polygonal lanterns made of powdered paper or fine silk, with candles inserted in the middle, and painted drama characters around them, threaded on the axles with iron wires, and the fire blows the axles back and forth, running continuously.There was a paper-painter named A Sitou, who was ingenious and dexterous, and he made plays such as "Fearful Woman Topping the Lamp", "Backing a Stool", "Climbing and Worshiping Incense", and three hundred and sixty lines of "Pinching Feet", "Zhen Er", "Inverting the Toilet" , the expression is lifelike, it is ridiculous.In addition, there are "glass ball", "mica screen", "crystal curtain", "wanyanluo", "cuiqiujiangchi", which are amazing in color and array. The magnificence of Guangdong Lantern Festival has long been known throughout the country.Although the revolving lanterns in Guangzhou are pasted delicately and neatly, they are indistinguishable from those in Suzhou.Even the Autumn Lanterns in Foshan, the Goldfish Lanterns in Daliang, and the Jinping Lanterns in Chaozhou are all ingenious and unique.There are so-called needle-mouth lamps in Qiushan lamps, which are made of thin cardboard into various lamp shapes, and silver needles of different thicknesses are used to poke small holes to reflect the characters' feathers, flowers, and poems. The award is exquisite and exquisite, and it is exquisite and clear, showing the elegant system of a lady.There are even some ladies who have a good relationship because of lighting tigers, adding a lot of good stories to the Lantern Festival.Daliang Fish Lantern is pasted with brocade and silk bamboo strips, and the fish scales are pasted one by one with Mingjue. There is a local custom to count the number of scales when looking at fish lanterns. Only when they are vivid and lifelike can they be regarded as high-grade. Huzhou Jinping lanterns are made of osmanthus bamboo as the screen frame, supported by iron wire, and decorated with embroidered satin. They are all ugly characters in Cantonese opera, with palace dress sleeves, red headbands and military crowns. The craftsmanship is unparalleled.According to him, Ma Lianliang, a well-known Peking opera actor, sang the scented python of Qiao Xuan in "The Temple of Ganlu", he learned it from the colors of the costumes of the characters in Jinping, Chaozhou! Beijing has been the capital of three generations of emperors, so the Lantern Festival lanterns are naturally very elegant, and some places are particularly novel and unique.For example, the ice lanterns in Jiangdian and the fire judgment in Chenghuang Temple, one of which is pure and clean, and the other is shining brightly, can't be made or seen elsewhere.When the Lantern Festival was held in Chengnan Amusement Garden, the manager Peng Xiukang paid a lot of money to invite skillful craftsmen from Ertiao Lantern Shop in Langfang to draw a set of gauze lanterns with meticulous figures.On the day of the Lantern Festival, everyone flocked to the Chengnan Amusement Garden to watch the lanterns. The next day, the cleaners cleaned out two baskets of embroidered shoes and leather shoes in the garden. One can imagine the grand occasion.Later, Badaxiang, who was the leader in the silk and satin industry, each ordered a set of meticulous figure gauze lamps, including the six talented scholars, the official case book, and the hero's biography. The lamp shops in Langfang Ertiao made a little money.And some young painters, who have a bright future in painting fine-brush characters, went to other teachers to learn painting. Later, in the painting circle of Beiping, many of them became fine-brush ladies and masters of fairy mountains and pavilions. Even they themselves were unexpected! The custom of making lanterns in Shangyuan in Taiwan is exactly the same as that in mainland China. The Longshan Temple and Qingshan Palace in Wanhua, Taipei, the Chenghuang Temple in Hsinchu, and the Mazu Temple in Beigang all display new lanterns every year.In recent years, Taiwanese lanterns have progressed from fine handicrafts to electric mechanization. There is a Mr. Wang Binshi who is interested in making lanterns. His works were selected by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau to be exhibited abroad, and now he has become an expert in making lanterns.Now the theme of lanterns in various places is from China's inherent four-dimensional and eight-virtuous, and then shows the actual situation of social prosperity, which invisibly inspires the spirit of the Chinese people to work hard, unlike the previous dynasties.