Chapter 17 Section 9 Firecrackers and Fireworks

"The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the old year".Setting off firecrackers to welcome the new year has a history of more than 2,000 years in our country. However, the earliest firecrackers in our country were not made of gunpowder, but knotted bamboo poles.After the bamboo pole is ignited, the air in the bamboo tube is heated and expands, forcing the bamboo cavity to burst, making a crackling sound.Therefore, the ancients called it "firecrackers", and people in the Tang Dynasty called it "explosive pole". The ancient people set off firecrackers, the earliest is to scare off the beasts and evil spirits.Liang Zongmo of the Southern Dynasties "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" records that in order to pray for auspiciousness for a year, the ancients would "crow the rooster before the firecrackers in front of the court to avoid evil spirits from the mountains" on New Year's Day.This is why firecrackers are set off every Spring Festival.

It was after the invention of gunpowder that gunpowder firecrackers were used to replace bamboo poles. my country is the country that invented gunpowder.Since the Song Dynasty, gunpowder firecrackers, which use rolled paper to wrap gunpowder, have been popular in China.Gunpowder and firecrackers at that time were called "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". "Firecrackers" is to put small firecrackers together in the shape of long-term whips, "one □ (ignited) with more than a hundred in succession."According to the records in "Old Stories of Wulin" by Zhou Mi in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were already many "firecrackers" in Lin'an at that time.

The rise of fireworks is at the same time as "firecrackers", and it was first called "fireworks". The basic method of "pyrotechnics" is to fill a shell made of paper or clay with gunpowder that can produce pyrotechnics, and after being ignited, flames of various colors, sparks, or various scenes will be transformed.According to books such as "Old Things in the Wulin" and "The Prosperity Record of the Old Man of West Lake", fireworks in the Southern Song Dynasty were divided into big fireworks in the air and small fireworks on the ground.Every New Year's Eve, there will be "more than a hundred frames" of fireworks in the palace (big fireworks display), and those young folks will go to the side of Huoshan to "set off five-color fireworks and firecrackers".The big fireworks are colorful, and most of them are arranged into pavilions, pavilions, figures, flowers and birds, etc. every time they are ignited. Hovering and swimming on the ground.Legend has it that Song Lizong and the Queen Mother were watching fireworks in the palace, and a "ground mouse" circled and rushed straight to the Queen Mother's seat, and the Queen Mother ran away in fright.Here we can also see the prosperity of fireworks in the Southern Song Dynasty.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, firecrackers and fireworks were extremely popular. "Candy melons are sacrificed to the stove, and the New Year is here. Girls want flowers, and boys want firecrackers." During the Spring Festival, weddings and funerals, regardless of rich or poor, firecrackers and fireworks are set off.The variety of firecrackers and fireworks in the Ming and Qing Dynasties far exceeds that of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the production techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated.Setting off fireworks in the Ming Dynasty was commonly known as "putting boxes".Because at that time, most of the fireworks were arranged and put into boxes, and set up to set off fireworks.There is an illustration of fireworks in the novels reflecting life in the Ming Dynasty. This is the earliest picture of fireworks that we can see now (Figure 30).In the picture, the wooden frame for displaying fireworks is towering, and all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers are hung on it. They are being set off and changing in various colors and patterns. The surrounding audience look up to watch. This is a true portrayal of the development level of fireworks in the Ming Dynasty. .The book describes Ximen Qing blocking the door and setting off fireworks as follows:

There are five tall flower piles one foot high, and the surrounding hill sheds are lively.At the highest point, there is a crane with a letter of alchemy in its mouth, which is a branch that burst into flames (flowers).A cold light pierced through the side of the bullfight.Then, just as one of the watermelon cannons exploded,... 觱 [bibi] peeled away all the thunderbolts thoroughly.Cailianfang, Sai Yueming, chase one by one...; purple grapes, thousands of racks...the overlord's whip, resounding everywhere; field mice, strung around people's clothes.The Qiongzhan jade platform rotates beautifully; the silver moth and golden cicada are ingenious and hard to move.The Eight Immortals hold their birthdays, each showing their supernatural powers; the Seven Saints descending demons, their bodies are fire.Yellow smoke, green smoke, dense [yinyun because of dizziness] shrouded thousands of clouds; spit out lotus tightly, spit out lotus slowly, brilliantly competing to open Shiduanjin.Yizhang chrysanthemums face Yanlan, and fire pear blossoms fall to the ground and peaches compete for spring.Buildings, halls, pavilions... village drums... shopkeeper's bearer... Bao's old car... five ghosts haunting the court... ambushes on all sides... In spite of all efforts, the only thing left is to extinguish the fire and smoke. Dangerous] to do.

(Chapter 42 "Fireworks set off in front of the luxurious door, enjoy Lantern Festival and drunken lanterns upstairs") These descriptions may be exaggerated, but the general picture is by no means invented. The firecrackers and fireworks in the Qing Dynasty have more colors and higher levels of craftsmanship, which are even more superior than those in the Ming Dynasty.According to records such as "Ji Sheng at the Age of Emperor Beijing" and "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", the fireworks in the capital at that time included only one item: boxes, flowerpots, fireworks poles, peonies threaded, watered lotus, whip king whip, Bamboo flowers, mud tube flowers, golden pots fishing for the moon, piles of money, big pear flowers, thousands of chrysanthemums, gophers, water mice, bead curtains, flame towers, grapes, bees and butterflies, lightning whips, etc.A box of flowers can be "packed into a number of stories", "the characters are vivid, the feathers are flowers and plants, and the music is full of makeup and beauty", "a box has three layers, the first layer is the four characters of 'Tianxia Taiping'; the second layer is pigeons and birds. Numerous groups fly, taking the meaning of releasing life; the third floor is for four children to beat rice drums and sing Yangko, singing the song "Taiping Emperor Chaoyuan Day, five-color cloud chariot driving six dragons"".It is said that during the Qianlong period, fireworks were set off on the Qinhuai River, "Scholars and Women Empty Alley", "those like teal ducks, water rats, baby's breath, everywhere brocade, gold  (zhanzhan), Yintai, Saiyueming, windmills, dripping gold, Not one name, not one coincidence."As for firecrackers, there are double bangs, sky-shattering thunders, rising waves of three levels, etc., which are set off by children and are called "little yellow smoke".The fireworks and firecrackers of so many names are not necessarily produced in one area, but it reflects the high production level of fireworks and firecrackers in the Qing Dynasty.

There have been many firecracker and fireworks production towns in my country since ancient times, and the famous ones are: Liuyang, Hunan, mainly produces fireworks.It was produced in the Tang Dynasty and became famous all over the world in the early Qing Dynasty.Liuyang fireworks have the characteristics of loud sound, fragrant smoke, and plum blossom loose paper. It is an important production area of ​​ancient fireworks in my country. Nanhai, Guangdong, mainly produces fireworks, which were widely produced in the late Ming Dynasty.The main products are scaffolding fireworks, boxed fireworks, Kowloon rockets, soil explosives and so on.

Dongguan, Guangdong, mainly produces fireworks, and became famous in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Its main products include scaffolding fireworks and bamboo tube fireworks. Beijing is a famous producing area of ​​fireworks in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The most famous products are box flowers, flower pots, and thread-through peonies. Shulu, Hebei is a famous producer of fireworks in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Fireworks are famous for their "Wangkou" double rings and small whips. Fireworks include iron tube flowers, box lights, and iron tree blossoms. Gucheng, Hubei is also a well-known producer of fireworks in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Fireworks are famous for their light, sound, color and shape.The main products are Shuangxiang, Lianliancannon, Skycannon and so on.

The production of fireworks and firecrackers pays attention to loud sound, gorgeous and changing fireworks, and safety. Therefore, the formula and production process of gunpowder are very demanding.The working people in ancient my country mastered these crafts very early, and created all kinds of fireworks and firecrackers with wonderful changes, which added splendor to people's lives. This is the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people in ancient China.