How did the Song Dynasty celebrate the Lantern Festival?

In the Song Dynasty, people ate jiaozi in the Spring Festival and put lanterns on the Lantern Festival.

Chinese New Year: jiaozi was eaten during the Spring Festival in the Song Dynasty. jiaozi was called "jiaozi" in the Song Dynasty, and "jiaozi" was the etymology of jiaozi. Jiaozi is a mascot representing people's good wishes. According to ancient records, jiaozi was popular as early as the 5th century. According to the literature, jiaozi is "shaped like a crescent moon, and the whole world eats it". At that time, jiaozi had soup together, which was called "Wonton", and he still eats it like this.

People in Song Dynasty drank Tu Su wine during the Spring Festival, which was very popular in Song Dynasty. Tu Su is a kind of grass name, and the wine brewed with this grass is called Tu Su wine. It is said that Tu Su wine was created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor at the end of Han Dynasty. Its formula is made by soaking rhubarb, atractylodes macrocephala, cassia twig, pepper and other traditional Chinese medicines in wine. Su Zhe, a writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Except for Japan": "Drinking Tu Su at the end of each year is not over 70 years old." Drinking always starts with the elderly, while drinking Tu Su wine in New Year is just the opposite, but it starts with the youngest.

In the Song Dynasty, it was widely used to make firecrackers by wrapping gunpowder in paper. The custom of setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve and Spring Festival has gradually become popular. On the New Year's Eve of the Song Dynasty, firecrackers continued all night. "Dream of Tokyo" said: "It is night, firecrackers are forbidden in the mountains, and the sound is heard outside." The firecrackers set off in the deep wall of the palace high court spread outside the palace. There are people vying to set off firecrackers in the streets and alleys outside the palace. According to records, there were more than 100 kinds of firecrackers in the Song Dynasty, including single ring, double ring and continuous ring.

Lantern Festival:

First, put on lanterns for five nights:

"Only state officials are allowed to set fires, and people are not allowed to light lamps" is a well-known idiom published in the Song Dynasty. Tian Deng, the official name of a state, is not allowed to call him by his first name, and the word "Deng" with the same sound as his name "Deng" has also been set as a sensitive word, requiring others to call him "Deng" directly. If anyone is offended, please go to tea. One year, the whole state celebrated the Lantern Festival and put out lanterns as usual. When the government posted notices, it was taboo to use the word "light", so it became a big joke to write "the country set fire for three days according to law" on all notices. This joke reveals a message: in history, lighting is a major symbol of the Lantern Festival.

Emperor Han Ming officially issued a decree that on the fifteenth night of the first month, when lights should be put on to worship Buddha. In the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival became popular among the people, and the custom of hanging lanterns and watching lanterns became popular. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the time for enjoying lanterns was set at three days, that is, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen days. Therefore, Lantern Festival is also called Lantern Festival.

In the Song Dynasty, the scale and scene of this custom became larger and larger, and the time for lighting lamps increased to five days, that is, from the 13th to 17th of the first month. "Water Margin" depicts the lively scene of Lantern Festival lighting, such as the sixty-sixth time: "According to the Tokyo style, I can't help but stay up all night, lighting on the thirteenth to seventeenth and five nights." "Beijing Daming House is the largest county in Hebei Province. It is urgent to go there, but there are various ways of buying and selling, and there are clouds and fogs, only listening to the lights. Come and chase. " Thirty-three times, sung river in Qingfeng Village town to put lights, to see. Seventy-one times, it was because of the emperor's headlights that he enjoyed the Lantern Festival with the people, which attracted Song Jiang, Chai Jin and others to Tokyo to watch the Lantern Festival.

There should be a shed for lanterns. The light shed, also known as the "mountain shed", is a tall colorful building with various lanterns tied on it, or a theater shed where hundreds of performers perform. Song and Wu's "Dream" records: "On the fifteenth day of the first month, the evening sacrifice is the birthday of the heavenly king of Shangyuan to bless the people. Yesterday, Bianjing University students tied a mountain shed in front of them, and Xuande Building painted colorful knots. All fairy stories are painted on the mountain stacks, Manjusri and Pu Xian are juxtaposed in five colors, spanning the lion and the white elephant, and five waters emerge from each finger. Its water is wrapped around the high tip of the lamp shed with pulleys and stored in a wooden cabinet, which is put down hour by hour like a waterfall. He also tied Jackie Chan with grass, covered the grass with a green curtain, put thousands of lights and candles on it, and looked like a dragon flew away. "

When a light shed is set up in front of every house in Daming House, it is necessary to skillfully hang up lights and set off fireworks. A mountain shed was set up in the room, with five-color gauze guns and lamps, calligraphy and paintings painted by famous artists all around, and exotic antique toys were used. On the streets of the city, every household should light a lamp. Daming Mansion stayed by Sizhou Bridge and set up an Aoshan with two red and yellow paper dragons on it. Each scale is lit with a lamp and sprayed with clean water. There are countless lights around the National Bridge in Hanoi. There is an Aoshan Mountain in front of the Tongfo Temple, with a green dragon on it and thousands of lanterns in a week. There is also an Aoshan Mountain in front of the Cui Yun building, with a white dragon on it and countless lights around it.

Even in the countryside far from the city, there are beautiful lanterns. Qingfeng Village is in Qingzhou, Shandong Province. Sung River looks at the lanterns in Qingfeng Village, which are "Picking Flying Bai Mudan Lantern" and "Lotus Lotus Strange Lantern" respectively.

Second, the town center takes Aoshan:

Aoshan originally refers to the ancient legend that a giant turtle was carrying a sacred mountain at sea. After the Lantern Festival, it was shaped and countless colorful lanterns were tied up for tourists to watch, so it was called Aoshan. In Song and Yuan Dynasties, the legacy of Xuanhe Yang Siwen Yanshan Society recorded that Aoshan Mountain was built in front of the Palace, with a height of 16 feet and a width of 365 steps. There are two pillars in the middle, which are 24 feet long. Two pillars are wrapped with golden dragons, and each dragon's mouth is lit with a lamp, which is called the picture of Shuanglong. Just a neutral card, 3.6 feet long and 2.4 feet wide, with eight characters in the golden book: "Xuanhe Mountain, enjoy with the people." From the fifth day to the twentieth day of the first month, the gate of the Forbidden City is not closed.

"Water Margin" describes the Aoshan Mountain during the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty, such as the 33rd time: People in Qingfeng Town celebrate the Lantern Festival, and everyone will chip in first, and then go to the Land King Temple to build a small Aoshan Mountain. Although the mountain is small, there are five or seven hundred lanterns, including golden lotus, jade plum, hibiscus and peony. In the shadow of lanterns, there are village songs and community fires inside and outside the temple gate, such as dancing Bao Lao. Daming House is even more lively. When the Lantern Festival comes, rich people will compete for lanterns, and they will buy them in the distance of 300-200 miles, and more than 100 miles near. Every year more businessmen sell lanterns to this city. Businessmen from all walks of life gathered in clouds and fog. A light shed was set up in front of every household, and thousands of lights were hung on Aoshan, surrounded by countless lights. There are social fires in the streets and alleys, some pretending to be monks, some stepping on bamboo horses, some jumping old ladies, some singing, and some performing puppet shows ... All day, drums and music are loud and loud.

Sixty-sixth time: Daming House stayed behind Sizhou Bridge to set up an Aoshan with two red and yellow paper dragons on it, each of which lit a lamp and sprayed clean water. There are countless lights jumping up and down around the National Bridge in Hanoi. In front of the Tongfo Temple stands an Aoshan, on which is a green dragon surrounded by hundreds of lanterns. There is also an Aoshan Mountain in front of the Cui Yun building, with a white dragon on it and countless lights around it. ..... Throughout the city, there are lights in Buddhist temples and temples to celebrate the harvest. Three tiles and two houses, not to mention.

Seventy-two times: Lantern Festival, a mysterious and beautiful day. Look at the evening, there are countless people celebrating the Lantern Festival. The ancients wrote the word "crimson in spring" and said, "The Lantern Festival is the first report of harmony, and the emperor is in early spring." Cui Zan was flying, and Yule was fighting for the gate of the capital. Aoshan made a cheering knot in Penglai Island and took a photo of Ssangyong in the middle of the night. Go upstairs in crimson clouds, covered with red cheese, and look up at the sky. Vague. Legend has it that the emperor is happy, the jade palace is rewarded, and the immortals are here together. The fragrance is lingering, the fragrance is overflowing, and it floats all over the world to laugh. The small planet is very small. Gradually, the shrill voice faded, and the tourists under the moon came back. "

These Aoshan Mountains are generally located in the center of the town. The lights on Aoshan Mountain are diverse and the scenery is spectacular. Qingfeng village is located in front of the land king temple, with five or seven hundred bowls of lanterns; There are two Aoshan Mountains in the center of Daming Mansion, and there are Aoshan Mountain, Copper Buddhist Temple and Cui Yun Building in front of Sizhou Bridge. There are countless lights on Aoshan Mountain. "Beijing three or five scenes are good, and the frost and rain are early and early. Hibiscus never sleeps, and the land swarms out from Penglai Island. The candlelight shines at night, and the people sing and dance happily and safely. Five phoenix feathers help double northern finches, and six dragons drive three sacred mountains. " There are three sacred mountains on the six Aoshan Mountains, which shows the size of Aoshan Mountain.

Third, play social fire:

Play social fire, perform juggling and acrobatics at festivals to meet the gods. It is called "social fire" because China is a big agricultural country, and a good agricultural harvest is very important to the national economy and people's livelihood. Therefore, every year, many festivals entertain the gods in the form of zaju and juggling, and ask them to bless the good weather and abundant crops. Lantern Festival is the first full moon night in a year, and spring ploughing is about to begin. In order to pray for a bumper harvest, people from civil society to the imperial court will hold celebrations and ask for their blessings. Therefore, there are a lot of fireworks in the activities of offering sacrifices to entertain the gods, which was called social fire in ancient times. According to Zhou Mi's Old Man in the West Lake and Old Things in Wulin, the Plutocratic family Lantern Festival set off fireworks in the Song Dynasty, when there were craftsmen who specialized in making and setting off fireworks.

There is a scene in "Water Margin" that describes the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty playing with social fire. There are social fires in Qingfeng Village, Daming House and Kaifeng House. Song Jiang met Bao Lao, a group of dancers from the Shehuo Team, in Qingfeng village. Bao always "twisted at every village" and couldn't help laughing, so Gao Liu's wife found out and got caught. Sixty-six years later, after Song Jiang and others captured Daming Mansion, the author wrote in his writing: "The smoke-filled city is full of buildings. Qian Jie's puppet, regardless of duplicity; The sound in the back lane is clear, and the wind is lost. Beating the monk to death, the hemp girl was scared out of her wits. If you step on a bamboo horse, you will inevitably get hurt dancing with Bao Lao. "

Puppet dancing, playing with monks, playing with women, stepping on bamboo horses and dancing with Lao Bao are mentioned here. Bao Lao is one of them, a funny people who often appears in puppet shows, and a funny dance with a mask. Song Yeung Yi's Puppet Poetry: "Bao Lao laughs at Guo Lang's banquet and laughs at his dancing sleeves. If you teach Bao Lao to be a party dancer, you should teach him to be a dancer. " Bao Lao and Guo Lang are both characters in the puppet show, and they perform funny performances together. Bao Lao, a kind of song and dance, has become a fixed repertoire of the fire dance team of Yuanxiao Club.

Fourth, drink Tu Su wine:

Wang Anshi said in the Song Dynasty, "firecrackers are one year old, and spring breeze warms Tu Su. Thousands of households are always replacing old words with new ones. " Song people drink Tu Su wine in Spring Festival and Lantern Festival. For example, in the fifth year of Xuanhe, during the Spring Festival in Sung River Barracks, Sung River led the troops to destroy Wang Qing. When Banshi returned to Beijing, it happened to be New Year's Day, so he held a celebration dinner and drank Tu Su wine. Tu Su is a kind of grass name, and the wine brewed with this grass is called Tu Su wine. It is said that Tu Su wine was created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor at the end of Han Dynasty. Its formula is made by soaking rhubarb, atractylodes macrocephala, cassia twig, pepper and other traditional Chinese medicines in wine.

Streets and alleys compete to set off firecrackers.

The level of science and technology in Song Dynasty was relatively developed, and China's movable type printing, compass and gunpowder all appeared at this time. Firecrackers made of paper-wrapped gunpowder have been widely used in Song Dynasty. According to records, there are more than 100 kinds of firecrackers in the Song Dynasty, including single-ring, double-ring and continuous-ring. Meng Yuanlao's Dream in Tokyo said: "It's the night of Lantern Festival. It's forbidden to set off firecrackers in the mountains, and the sound is heard outside." The firecrackers set off in the deep wall of the palace high court spread outside the palace. "Water Margin" describes that during the Lantern Festival, there are people scrambling to set off firecrackers in the streets and alleys outside Tokyo Palace.

Six, empty streets to celebrate the festival

Meng Yuanshen's Dream in Tokyo describes the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival in Tokyo, the capital of Xuanhe: "When the lights are brightly lit at night and the moon is bright and snowy, climb the mountain skillfully and teach the pool to visit the garden. When you look up, you will see the brothel painting pavilion embroidered with bead curtains. Carved cars compete in the street, BMW competes in the imperial road, resplendent and magnificent, and Rocky is fragrant. The new voice smiled at Liuyuan, and tuned the tune in the teahouse and restaurant according to the tube. Eight wild places compete for gathering, and fairies gather the treasures of the four seas, all of which belong to the market. The peculiar smell in the atlas area is noted in the kitchen. The road is full of flowers, why not have a spring outing, a flute and drums, and a few banquets? Clever is amazing, and luxury is long-lasting. " Thus, the Lantern Festival is a carnival in China.

Lantern Festival also provides an opportunity for unmarried men and women to get to know each other. Traditional society does not allow young girls to go out for free activities, but they can go out to play together on holidays. Lantern Festival lanterns are just an opportunity to make friends, and unmarried men and women can also find their other half by the way, so Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. Ouyang Xiu's "Raw Tea Son" said: "Last year's Lantern Festival, the flower market was lit like a book; The willow shoots are on the moon, and people are about after dusk. " It describes his romantic experience of the Lantern Festival.

Xin Qiji, a teenager, came to "Seeds of Love" during the Lantern Festival. For example, there is a saying in his famous work "Yuan Xiyu Case": "Thousands of trees bloom in the east wind night, and the stars are like rain. BMW carved car incense, the sound of phoenix flute, jade pot light and fish dragon dance all night. Moths, snow, willows, gold thread, laughter and incense are all gone. Look for him in the crowd. Suddenly looking back, the man was there, and the lights were dim. "

There are many descriptions of similar scenes in Water Margin. For example, Song Jiang went to Beijing to enjoy the lanterns and seek peace on the 11th day of the first month, and Tokyo was full of "people coming and going in splendid clothes, each with his own clothes". On the fifteenth night of the first month, the Lantern Festival reached its climax. "There are lanterns tied in front of every household, and the lights are as bright as day. It is the fire on the balcony that shines, and the horses and chariots come and go to see people. " Aoshan stands by Tianhan Bridge and faces the street upstairs. "Bells are ringing, drums are ringing, lights are staring, and tourists are like ants."

It can be seen that people attach importance to the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty. By then, the Lantern Festival may be more lively than the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and even the Spring Festival.