During the Spring Festival, people often like to light something loud to celebrate. Before paper appeared, people lit some hay in an empty bamboo tube, then blocked the mouth of the tube and tied many bamboo tubes together. Because the heat generated by hay burning can't be discharged, the bamboo tube will explode and make a loud noise, which is equivalent to the current firecrackers, so it will be called explosion.
In the early days, when there was no gunpowder, flammable plants with a little moisture, such as bamboo, were burned and made a "crackling" sound when burning.
With gunpowder and no paper, everyone knows that the tighter the gunpowder is pressed, the better the effect and the greater the power. In the early days, paper was something that only upper-class people could afford in class society. Without hollow bamboo joints, nature is the best choice.
After the popularization of cheap paper, bamboo joints were gradually eliminated, and with the addition of sand, the sealing performance was excellent
"The Chronicle of Jingchu" said: "On the first day of the first month, chickens crow and firecrackers are set off in front of the court to avoid evil spirits." This record shows that firecrackers were an acoustic tool to drive away plagues and evil spirits in ancient times, which made the custom of setting off firecrackers have a certain superstitious color from the beginning. In fact, this is entirely caused by the misunderstanding of the ancients. According to Nerve, in ancient times, people camped through deep mountains and lit bonfires at night, one for cooking and keeping warm, and the other for preventing wild animals from invading. However, there is an animal in the mountains, which is not afraid of people or fire, and often steals food while people are unprepared.
In order to deal with this animal, people thought of setting off firecrackers in the fire and using the crackling sound of bamboo to drive it away. The animal mentioned here is called "sister-in-law". The ancients said that it can make people cold and hot, and it is ghosts that make people get cold and hot, scaring away mountains, that is, driving away evil spirits and making people lucky and safe.
In the early Tang Dynasty, plagues were everywhere. A man named Li Tian put saltpeter in a bamboo tube and lit it to make it emit louder sound and stronger smoke. As a result, the miasma in Shan Lan was dispelled and the epidemic was stopped. This is the earliest prototype of firecrackers. Later, when gunpowder appeared, people filled bamboo tubes with saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal and burned them, resulting in an "explosion war". In the Song Dynasty, people began to make "guns" (that is, firecrackers) with paper tubes and hemp sticks wrapped in gunpowder. Regarding the evolution of firecrackers, Excellent Popular Arrangement records: "Ancient firecrackers. They are all popular with real bamboo, so Tang poetry is also called explosive pole. Later people roll paper for it. It's called firecrackers.
Whether it's Chinese New Year, marriage, promotion, building completion, store opening, etc. As long as it is to show happiness, people are used to setting off firecrackers to celebrate this custom, which has a history of more than two thousand years in our country.
The Story of Jingchu Times once recorded that on the first day of the first month, when the rooster crowed for the first time, everyone got up and set off firecrackers in their yard to drive away the evil spirits of athel loren. At that time, there was no gunpowder and paper, so people burned bamboo to make it burst and make a sound to drive away the plague. This is of course superstition, but it reflects the ancient working people's beautiful desire for Aetna.
In the Tang dynasty, firecrackers were also called "blasting poles", which probably meant that a long bamboo pole burned one by one and made a continuous blasting sound. Nanchang poet Lai Hu's poem "Early Spring": "The new calendar is only half open, and the small court is still exploding." I wrote the scene of burning bamboo poles during the Spring Festival. Later, after constant chemical experiments, alchemists found that saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal together could cause combustion and explosion, so they invented gunpowder.
Some people put gunpowder in a bamboo tube to detonate, and the sound was louder, which fundamentally changed the ancient custom of burning bamboo. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the fireworks wrapped in roll paper were divided into single ring and double ring, and were renamed as "Blasting War". People also string many small firecrackers together like whips, which are called "firecrackers" After they are ignited, the noise is endless. The name of firecrackers has been passed down to this day.
The origin of setting off firecrackers
According to legend, there was a monster named Nian in ancient China, with long tentacles and a ferocious face. Nian lived on the seabed for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, eating livestock and hurting people's lives.
Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.
On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were taking refuge in the mountains when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on crutches, carrying a bag on his arm, with elegant silver whiskers and staring at Matthew.
Some villagers sealed windows and locked doors, some packed their bags, some herded cattle and drove sheep, and people shouted boo everywhere, which was a scene of panic. At this time, who still has the mind to take care of this begging old man?
Only an old woman in the village east gave the old man some food and suggested that he go up the mountain quickly to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man smiled and said, "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the Nian beast away.
The old woman looked at him carefully in surprise and found that he was handsome, energetic and different. But she continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. My mother-in-law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains.
At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and bright candles in the room. The beast Nian trembled and let out a long whistle.
Nian stared at her mother-in-law's house for a while, then screamed and rushed over. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the yard. Nian trembled and dared not go any further.
It turns out that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Nian" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion.
The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers the promise of begging for the elderly.
Villagers flocked to the old woman's house, only to find that red paper was stuck on her mother-in-law's door, a pile of unburned bamboo was still exploding in the yard, and several red candles in the house were still glowing. ...
In order to celebrate the auspicious arrival, ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another and went to their relatives and friends' homes to congratulate and say hello. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast.
Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.