In the Taiyuan area, Taigu County’s lanterns are very famous. People made up beautiful folk proverbs that have been passed down to this day: "The fire in Nanzhuang, the lanterns in Taigu, and the iron rods in Xugou love evil spirits." people".
Why are Taigu’s lamps famous? This is because in the history of Taigu County, business has gradually prospered for more than 300 years. During the Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty, Taigu County’s business prospered, and it once earned the reputation of “Little Beijing”. At that time, the ticket number was prosperous and well-known in China. In Taigu City, there are more than 700 shops along the streets and alleys. In addition to commercial competition, the big businessmen and wealthy businessmen also tried their best to imitate the customs of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou in terms of cultural customs. The rise and development of the Festival of Lights was formed under this situation. Many varieties and patterns of lanterns have also been introduced from other places with the development of trade. According to legend, "palace lanterns" and "dragon lanterns" were introduced by merchants from Guangdong. As for the large number of lanterns, they are imitated in Yangzhou. Behind the introduction of this kind of learning, there was also the innovation of the local people, which made Taigu's Lantern Festival quickly emerge as a new force and become the best among the three Jin Dynasties.
Taigu’s lamps are famous for their wide variety, exquisite production and attractive appearance, which make people put it down. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, there were paper lanterns, gauze lanterns, sheep-horn lanterns, hydrangea lanterns, and satin embroidery lanterns. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, palace lanterns were introduced. Most of these palace lanterns are made of rosewood and walnut wood. The stand of these fine wooden products is carved with a dragon head, the mouth contains a pearl, either octagonal or hexagonal, and is decorated with tassels. The carving is exquisite, and the shape is generous and elegant. On the horizontal surface of this lamp, there are calligraphy and paintings, which are colorful and quite attractive.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, you can also see plant lanterns, animal lanterns, trademark lanterns, and word puzzle lanterns hanging on the streets, attracting people to watch.
Lamps in Taigu, every fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth day of the first lunar month, in Taigu City, all the shops along the streets, courtyards and small households, temples and thatched nunneries are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, which are gorgeous and pleasing to the eye. In the sky and on earth, the lights and the moon shine together. People watching the lanterns are like a river or a sea tide, crowded together all night long. Some lantern riddle guessing activities take longer. Late at night, folk music was still playing, pushing the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival to a climax. This kind of lantern festival is naturally not limited to Taigu County in Shanxi Province. Most of the counties in the province have to watch lanterns to celebrate the lantern festival. In some larger villages and towns, people also hang up lanterns, which is why the term "watching lanterns" comes into being. In other counties and provincial capitals in Shanxi, there are also mountain lantern festivals, lantern festivals and lantern festivals, and their clever tricks are also found in various places.
Watching lanterns is the most interesting and cultural activity in the Lantern Festival. It is still a grand event in cities, villages, markets and towns across the province. "It's the first day of the first lunar month, and there are lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The lanterns are yellow, the lanterns are red, and the snow is lighting up the lanterns for a good year." This folk song circulated in Qingxu has been passed down for a long time. It reflects the spectacular scene of lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is also known as the "Festival of Lanterns". Since ancient times, it has become a folk custom for every household to decorate with lanterns and streamers on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to celebrate together. Red lanterns are hung in the entrance hall. In addition to lighting up during the festival, they can also add to the festive atmosphere. They are mainly used for sacrifices.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there are lanterns and lantern riddles. Qingxu is as lively as all over the country. Local people have a saying that "the first day of junior high school is the fifteenth day of junior high school". This statement fully shows that the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is also the most important and lively festival throughout the year. Because we have always been based on agricultural production, the relatively slack days of the year are the "winter three months". After the Lantern Festival, the New Year is coming, everything is recovering, the winter slack is gone, and the preparation for farming is about to begin, so people during the Lantern Festival Let's set a fire, have fun, and get rid of the fatigue of the year. So watch the lanterns, guess riddles, and make a fuss happily. At the same time, it embodies people's hope for good weather and abundant harvests in the new year, and welcomes the arrival of a good harvest in an auspicious atmosphere with joyful mood and festive gongs and drums.
Regional Characteristics
In the past, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, lanterns were celebrated, and the places where Qingxu was most concentrated were Qingyuan City, Xugou City, Mengfeng Town, Dongyu Town and other large towns. town. There are also some larger villages, such as Wangda Village, Dachang Village, Liudu Village, Gaobai Village, etc., which are also more lively. People in the surrounding villages bring their families and children to carry homemade lanterns at night, and go in groups to watch the lanterns, guess riddles, make social fires, and happily celebrate the festive Lantern Festival. This is especially an unforgettable day for young men and women. In feudal society, women never left home, and coupled with the constraints of various feudal ethics that prevented men and women from being intimate with each other, they rarely had the opportunity to meet each other.
The Lantern Festival provides an opportunity for young men and women who have just begun to fall in love to meet each other. In a corner of the lantern market, the moment their eyes met, they thought in their hearts, "I hope our lives will last forever, and we will be together thousands of miles away." There are many stories about watching lanterns during the Lantern Festival spread throughout history. According to legend, a young couple in the Song Dynasty got separated while watching lanterns during the Lantern Festival. It happened to be that Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was watching the lanterns and offering wine. The woman was eager to find her husband, so she picked up the emperor's imperial wine cup and recited a poem: "The moon is full and the pot is full." The lanterns were bright, and I went to Duanmen hand in hand with my husband to watch the cranes, music, and dance, but I didn't realize that the mandarin ducks were missing. It was getting late, and I was grateful for the emperor's favor. I was afraid that I would be scolded by my aunt for stealing the wine glasses when I returned home. Prove it." After hearing this, the romantic emperor happily awarded the gold cup to the woman and left a story about watching the Lantern Festival.
Lantern shape
Before the Qing Dynasty, the lanterns displayed at the Lantern Festival in the Qingxu area mainly used sorghum poles and bamboo to make the skeleton of the lantern, and were framed with various colored papers. lampshade. The shapes of lanterns generally include dragon lanterns, fish lanterns, crane lanterns, lotus lanterns, hydrangea lanterns, ship lanterns, etc. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Shanxi merchants gradually prospered, and ticket shops were spread outside the Great Wall and north and south of the Yangtze River. The development of commercial culture has promoted the prosperity of lamp culture. "Palace lanterns" from the palace, "gauze lanterns" from the south, and "wire lanterns from beyond the Great Wall" were continuously spread to the local area, which greatly developed and improved the local lamp-making technology and varieties of lighting decorations. In addition to traditional lanterns made of sorghum poles, bamboo and paper, there are also lampstands made of wooden iron wire, glass and gauze to make lampshades, and various folklore stories and stories are colorfully depicted on the glass and gauze. Dramatic story. Patterns such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Third Sister Descends to Earth", "Sworship in Taoyuan", "Shuibo Liangshan", "Journey to the West", "Generals of the Yang Family", "Flowers and Birds", and "Landscapes" are full of interest. The lanterns at that time had been greatly improved in terms of content, form and production technology. In form, there are lanterns that simulate animals: dragon lanterns, phoenix lanterns, fish lanterns, shrimp lanterns, crane lanterns, zodiac lanterns, lion lanterns, particularly interesting revolving lanterns (also called revolving lanterns, revolving lanterns), etc.; there are also lanterns that simulate flowers. Lanterns: lotus lanterns, flower basket lanterns, chrysanthemum lanterns, peony lanterns, etc.; there are also other forms of hydrangea lanterns, boat lanterns, tower lanterns, palace lanterns, etc. The production process of palace lanterns at that time focused on using a rosewood wooden frame to make quadrilateral and hexagonal palace lantern shapes. Each side was inlaid with glass and painted with patterns such as landscapes, flowers and birds, and people and stories. There were lantern riddles on the patterns, top and bottom. Each corner is carved with a dragon head or an animal head. Under each dragon head or animal head, beads are hung, and a moving revolving lantern is installed inside the lamp. This kind of palace lantern is very exquisite in production technology and beautiful in shape. , profound cultural connotation and tasteful. It is a high-quality lamp integrating knowledge, appreciation and entertainment.
Development of lanterns
Due to the prosperity of the economy, the development of science and the progress of culture, the momentum of lanterns held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the Qingxu area has increased in scale on the basis of inheriting the national tradition. It is grand, with various styles of lanterns and an unprecedented level of use of modern sound, light and electricity equipment. From the countryside to the city, every household, every street and alley is filled with colorful lanterns. Especially the lights on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the county are even more spectacular. From every courtyard to the door, from the balcony glass windows of every building to the door of every living area, festive "Fu" lanterns, "Happiness" lanterns, "Spring" lanterns and strings are hung on their own. There are various lights such as lamps and plastic tubes with flowing water and multicolored lanterns. The streets, alleys, squares and parks are all woven with thousands of colorful lights on the streets and every majestic building. Especially on both sides of Wenyuan Road and Hudong Street, government buildings, shops and restaurants are decorated with colorful lights, string lights, and colorful flowing plastic tube lights. When viewed at night, they look like light curtains in the sky. Looking down at the entire county, it is like colorful lights. City of Lights, World of Lights, Ocean of Lights. These lights are magnificent and brilliant. Every tree on both sides of the road is decorated with modern string lights and mesh lights to form a tree lantern. Tens of thousands of red gauze lanterns are hung between the trees to connect them. The two streets are connected with red lanterns, plus lantern viewing. The interaction of the crowd, viewed vertically and horizontally, is like a river of lights surging.