Flower lanterns, also known as "lanterns" and "lanterns", are cultural products of China's traditional agricultural era and have both life functions and artistic features. Lanterns have been an important entertainment culture of the Han nation for thousands of years. They reward gods and people. They not only have the function of "Nuo opera" to reward gods, but also have the value of entertaining people. They are a treasure of Han nationality's folk culture. The lanterns originated from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who set up an altar in the palace on the 15th day of the first lunar month to worship Taiyi, the most noble of the gods at that time. It was held all night long and the lanterns had to be lit all night long. This was the beginning of the Lantern Festival; during the introduction of Buddhism from India After Tu, due to the combination of Taoist magic and Buddhist piety of lighting lanterns to worship Buddha, every night on the 15th day of the first lunar month, urban and rural areas were brightly lit, and nobles and common people hung lanterns, forming a unique custom of combining Chinese and Western styles. The Lantern Festival is the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival. At this time, all kinds of lanterns are hung high on the streets and the streets are colorful. Shengfang lanterns are mostly made with themes of pavilions, birds, fish, insects, and flowers. Made of dyed paper decorated with various ornate thin strips, the bright and eye-catching lantern stamps
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The lantern originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and became popular among the people in the Song Dynasty. The production of Chinese lanterns in the past dynasties is very particular and comes in many varieties. For example, Tang Yin, a painter of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in a poem: "If there is a lamp without a moon, it will not entertain people. If there is a moon without a lamp, it is not spring. When spring comes, people's hearts are like jade. When the lamps are burning, the moon is like silver. The streets are full of pearls and emeralds, and the village girls are singing." How can the God of Saishe survive such a good time without Fangzun opening his mouth to smile?"
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Legends of the Sui Dynasty
During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. During the Lantern Festival, the lantern viewing activities were lively with music and music played all night long, and the display of lanterns gradually developed into an important activity of the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival Lanterns
Due to the prosperity of the society and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, the lanterns became even more brilliant and prosperous. The scale of the event was quite large. Thousands of people watched the lanterns, ranging from the princes to the nobles. Traffickers and soldiers all go out to admire the lanterns. Xuanzong also continued the Western Han Dynasty's relaxation of the ban system. The capital Chang'an even canceled the curfew on the three nights before and after the Lantern Festival, and expanded the implementation of "night-opening" to facilitate people to enjoy lanterns. After the Tang Dynasty, lanterns became an important symbol of the Lantern Festival. Although the country was weak during the Song Dynasty, this culture became more and more prosperous due to the vigorous promotion of the royal family, making the Song Dynasty another important historical stage in the development of lanterns. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the craze for lantern viewing continued unabated, and lantern markets appeared in the shops, selling various lanterns in various styles, competing for the best. The Chinese custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many types of lanterns in different parts of the country, each with its own popularity. Taiwanese lanterns, commonly known as "drum lanterns", got their name because they were shaped like gongs and drums in the early stages of production. Popular types include revolving lanterns, dice lanterns, round lanterns, and sword-shaped lanterns. Since the word "deng" in the Hokkien language has the same pronunciation as "ding", carrying lanterns and making lanterns is generally regarded as a good omen for a prosperous population. In Taiwanese custom, women shuttle under the lanterns during the Lantern Festival to pray for a son (male) and a child in the coming year; in the Taozhumiao Hakka Village in northern Taiwan, men hang up lanterns in their family temples from the 11th day of the first lunar month, which is called " "Light up", which is homophonic to "start up Ding", is one of the rituals for new boys to enter the clan, and it has far-reaching meaning.
Myths and Legends
Legend has it that a long time ago, a divine bird got lost and landed on earth, but was accidentally shot to death by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he found out, and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the 15th day of the first lunar month to burn all humans to death. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the innocent people suffer, so she risked her life to tell people the news. When everyone heard the news, it was like a thunderbolt ringing above their heads, and they were so frightened that they didn't know what to do. It took a long time before an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of the first lunar month, every household hangs red lanterns, lights firecrackers and sets off fireworks at home. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven will think that people have been burned to death." Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing this, and then went separately to prepare. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the heavenly soldiers looked down and saw a red light in the world. They thought it was the flames of a fire, so they told the emperor that there was no need to go down to earth and set fires. In this way people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, from then on every fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hung lanterns and set off fireworks to commemorate this day.
The red gauze lantern, also known as the Hongqing lantern, is bright red in color. The upper and lower parts of the lantern are decorated with golden cloud patterns, and the bottom is decorated with golden fringes and tassels. They are beautiful, festive and auspicious, and are often hung during festivals. The shadow gauze lanterns are made of various colors of linen gauze, with paintings of flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, pavilions, etc., and are decorated with golden cloud patterns and various tassels. They are even more colorful and colorful, adding luster to the festive occasion.
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Modern lantern art has gradually broken away from the traditional practice of lanterns, creating innovative works of art with unique local flavor. Its creation is very difficult, the technology it incorporates is also relatively complex, and its materials are relatively broad and lively. Lanterns
The creation of modern lanterns must incorporate specialized disciplines such as structure, mechanics, electricity, aesthetics, materials science, and creativity. It is currently the most difficult of all artistic creations. However, because the lantern festival's exhibition attracts millions of tourists every year, it has evolved into the most attractive project among various tourist activities in Taiwan and one of the projects that best represents Taiwan's art.
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There are many records of the grand occasion of folk song and dance performances such as tea lanterns and ground flower drums in the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are generally two performance forms: one is "Chou and Dan opera singing" with character stories, which are called ground flower drums, bamboo horse lanterns, playing pairs and pairs lanterns, etc.; the other is the collective singing and dancing of "joint-arm stepping songs" , customarily called "swinging lights" and "jumping lights". After a long period of evolution, some of these folk song and dance forms such as flower drums and lanterns have absorbed the routines and rules of opera and gradually developed into flower drum opera; others have maintained more of the song and dance characteristics of lanterns and reenacted opera stories, which are called "lantern operas". "Drama" and "Lantern Opera". Due to the differences in the natural and geographical environment of various places and the uneven development of history, politics, economy and culture, as well as the differences in regional dialects, music materials and styles, and the influence of neighboring sister arts, various lantern operas have different themes and vocal structures. , performance characteristics, each has its own characteristics, and the historical process of development is also different. After the lanterns took on the form of singing and dancing, after years of practice, artists artistically processed various movements and folk martial arts in life, creating and developing cultural and martial lanterns with different styles. The cultural lanterns are beautiful and free-spirited, while the martial lanterns are strong and strong. Lantern dance is an important part of Yunnan lanterns. Traditional lantern dances include dancing without singing, such as "Lion Dance", "Monkey Playing Cotton", etc., and collective songs and dances, such as "Lianxiang", "Lahua", etc. . The professions of the lantern opera were originally only for men and women. Later, they were divided into three professions: raw, dan and ugly. When the lantern opera performed medium-sized and large-scale plays with many characters, other professions were added. There is currently no accurate information to confirm the origin of folk lantern singing and dancing, and the era when lantern singing and dancing developed into lantern drama. According to existing literature, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, around 1454 AD, Lan Zhi'an, a native of Yanglin, Yunnan, wrote the legend "Xingtian Fengyue Tongxuan Ji"; in the early Qing Dynasty (1657), He Weiwen, a native of Yunnan, wrote five legendary scripts. This is the earliest known drama creation activity in Yunnan. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty (1701), professional theater troupes began to appear in Yunnan. Four theater troupes once established the Lewang Temple in Kunming. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1746), Qin Opera, Shipai Opera, Chu Opera, Yiyang Opera, etc. were introduced to Yunnan. According to Yuanmou lantern artist Zhang Wanyu, Yuanmou lanterns have been passed down for thirteen generations. In addition, among the tunes of the lanterns, a considerable part are Ming and Qing ditties, such as Hanging Branches, Beating the Jujube Candle, etc., which are popular folk ditties from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. Based on this, it can be deduced that as a type of opera, lanterns have already taken shape as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
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The production of lanterns has a long history, and with the changes of the times, there have been great changes in materials and shapes. Paper, bamboo, satin, and wood are very common traditional materials, while plastic, cellophane, acrylic, etc. are modern materials. In fact, as long as it can transmit light, there are no restrictions on the materials for making lanterns. Even fruits, discarded cartons, and aluminum cans can be used as materials, so there is unlimited room for imagination in the changes of lanterns. Each lantern not only resembles a small firefly in the dark night, but its different shapes also tell the New Year's wishes of the lantern holder.
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Old lantern period
Before the Revolution of 1911, the lanterns popular in various parts of Yunnan were collectively called "old lanterns". It is divided into two categories: lantern singing and dancing and lantern drama. The former performs with singing and dancing without storylines, such as "Latte Art" and "Tuanchang" in various places; while the latter has simple storylines, but still focuses on singing and dancing, such as "Fishing" and "Rural Family" , "Bao Er Picks Up Sister" and other plays.
New lanterns period
New lanterns are the Yuxi lanterns that have undergone innovation. After the Revolution of 1911, Yunnan has undergone tremendous changes in all aspects. Yuxi is located in the middle of Yunnan, close to Kunming has convenient transportation and relatively developed agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce. The wind of freedom brought by the Revolution of 1911 made the well-informed Yuxi people no longer satisfied with the original Yuxi lanterns, and the wind of change quietly emerged. Artists began to transplant and adapt a number of plays from Yunnan operas and folk art books, such as "The Story of the Python", "The Story of the Golden Bell", "The Story of the White Fan", etc. In terms of music, they introduced "Ten Cups of Wine" and "Yu". Beauty], [Zhaotong Tune] and other tunes, and adapted traditional tunes such as [Mend Ban] and [Wulitang] into banqiang style. In addition, he also learned the performing arts and makeup of Yunnan opera. This series of changes made Yuxi Flower Drum changed its previous performance form of mainly singing and dancing, and appeared on the stage with a new look. The emergence of new lanterns was welcomed by the audience, especially those in the city, and soon affected the whole province. /p>
Red Army Lanterns, National Salvation Lanterns, and Student Lanterns
In 1936, when the Second Red Front Army passed through Yao'an, Yunnan on its long march, local artists choreographed and performed short plays such as "Foreigners Making Trouble in China" and "The Song of Capturing Soldiers" After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yunnan drama worker Wang Dandong and lantern artist Xiong Jiechen formed the "Yunnan Peasants' National Salvation Lantern Drama Club" and went to Kunming, Yuxi, Puning, Tonghai and Qujiang, Guangdong to welcome the Red Army. Performance. Based on Yuxi lantern tunes, they choreographed lantern tunes such as "Twelve Flowers of the Anti-Japanese War" and "Twelve Generals of the Anti-Japanese War" as well as "Zhang Xiaoer Joins the Army", "Shooting Luo Xiaoyun", "Traitor's Violence", "New Soldiers Farewell Kiln" ", "Chashan Killing the Enemy" and other lantern operas all have literary scripts, which changed the "outline opera" situation of the original lantern opera. They also introduced the tone of "March of the Volunteers" into lantern music and created a new lantern opera. Tune - Revenge Tune. During the War of Liberation, during the Kunming student movement and the People's Liberation Army's Yunnan-Guangxi-Guizhou Border Region column, new plays such as "A Rural Family" and "Blood Sea" were produced, which were called "Student Lanterns" at the time. In 1938, the Yunnan Farmers' National Salvation Lantern Troupe was forced to disband, and lantern artist Xiong Jiechen taught and sang lanterns in Kunming and Yuxi. In 1946, Xiong Jiechen sang lanterns for three consecutive days at the Qingyun Teahouse in Kunming and was well received. The teahouse was later transformed into the Huadeng Garden, becoming the first Huadeng theater in Yunnan. Since then, a fixed professional troupe has been formed. In order to meet the needs of professional performances, Huadeng artists began to transplant a large number of Yunnan opera plays, such as "Four Journeys to Henan" and "Drips of Water". , "Cinnabar Mole", "Civet Cat for Prince", "Red Lantern Story", "Shadow Lantern Story", etc., while further learning and absorbing the performance routines, costumes and props of Yunnan Opera, etc. This kind of Yunnan Opera repertoire is sung to lantern tunes. The style was called "Lengjia Opera" at that time.
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Zhixi Nao in Liancheng is the ancestral land of the Hakka people. The lanterns in Zhixi have a history of nearly 300 years. As early as the 45th year of Kangxi (AD 1706), Yang Yanshan, a native of Zhixi, was appointed as an official in Suzhou. His wife, Wu Ergu, was from Suzhou. He loved the lanterns and gongs and drums of Suzhou, so he introduced the lanterns and gongs and drums from Suzhou to Zhixi. Most lanterns are composed of 99 small lanterns, some with 106. Each lamp is filled with a glass cup and is filled with pure peanut oil or camellia oil. It is smokeless and bright, crystal clear and sparkling. There is a red thread on the top of the treasure cover tied to a bow-shaped bamboo pole for the lantern holder to hold. Each lantern weighs nearly 15 kilograms after adding oil. Because it is "fire wrapped in paper", the lantern holder is always careful when holding the lantern. They have all undergone strict training, and at least they must have a "steady pace" and "no flickering lights". When the lanterns are being played, the drum band is at the front, followed by the dazzling lanterns.
The lamp is held high by one person, and surrounded by many people guarding it like stars over the moon. From a distance, the lanterns look like a cluster of night-time pearls, bright, sparkling and colorful. Looking closely at the lanterns, each one is composed of hundreds of small lanterns. The lantern is divided into upper and lower parts. The top is called Baogai, and there are two layers of revolving lanterns on the axis, rotating left and right in opposite directions; surrounded by various lamps, it is divided into three layers: the upper layer is peony bud lamps, 5 lanterns; the middle layer is Fengman lanterns, 6 lanterns; The lower level is a whole fish lamp, 6 lanterns. These lanterns are exquisite and beautiful in shape. The whole feathers are often decorated with strings of colorful beads, which is really beautiful. The lower part is the main body of the lantern, with the umbrella and flower pot lantern as its axis, surrounded by 12 strings, divided into two layers: the inner layer is a hexagonal palace lantern, or a peony lantern, or a flower bowl lantern; the outer layer is a flower basket lantern. Zhixi holds lanterns on the eleventh day of the first lunar month every year, with as few as a dozen, as many as dozens, or even more than 100 lanterns. If you stand on a high place and look at it from a distance, the lanterns are connected end to end, lighting up the night sky, and are brilliant and spectacular. [1]
Edit this paragraph Chongqing Xiushan Lantern
Origin of Xiushan Lantern
Xiushan Lantern is an important genre of lantern art in southwest China. The folk cultural phenomena and folk performing arts that integrate religion, folk customs, singing and dancing, acrobatics, and paper-making art are China's precious national and folk music cultural heritage. Xiushan lanterns are the most representative art of lanterns in Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County and Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in Chongqing. It is also known as lantern dancing, lantern dancing and lantern opera. It is an ancient folk song, dance and rap art that is widely spread in Wuling. Tujia inhabited areas in mountainous areas. The Xiushan lantern show starts on the second day of the first lunar month every year and ends on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. After the sixteenth day, it is called "Thick-faced Lantern". The traditional performance of Xiushan Lanterns can be performed in any venue, such as courtyards, halls, streets and alleys, as long as there is a flat area of ??more than ten square meters. Due to the needs of the performance format, performance style and performance content of lantern classes in various places, special venues are also required. For example, performing a "high-stage lantern" requires two or three traditional old-fashioned wooden square tables. The two performers perform a two-person lantern performance on the table tops with overlapping heights. Lantern plays require "building a stage" and simple scenery. They are usually performed on an earthen platform in Bazi or on a stilted building. After hundreds of years of development, Xiushan lanterns have gradually formed a unique style of folk art.
Historical Origin
Chongqing Yudongnan Lantern originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties, continued in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. It is a kind of song, dance, drama and folk music. A comprehensive performing arts centering on singing and dancing performances. Xiushan County in southeastern Chongqing is known as the "hometown of lantern singing and dancing". Its lantern opera originated from the "Deng'er Opera" of the Han nationality. Later, it was integrated with the singing and dancing performance skills of the Tujia and Miao ethnic groups, and developed into a novel style, moving singing and dancing, which is popular among Han and Tujia people. , an art form loved by the Miao people of all ethnic groups. Lantern is a simple, humorous, lyrical and beautiful comprehensive art that integrates singing, dancing and rhyme, and is accompanied by percussion and string instruments. According to historical records, it originated from the "Tuan Tuan Tuan" in the Yuan Dynasty (that is, two men and women sang and danced on a square table, talking and singing). In the Ming Dynasty, it incorporated some song and dance performances from the tea-picking opera, and it was first known as "Flower Lantern". Later, it developed into flower stands, one-sided lantern shows and modern lantern dramas.
Performance Procedure
The performance has a complete set of procedures, which mainly include: setting up the lantern hall, turning on the lantern (requesting the lantern), jumping the lantern, and quitting the lantern. Among lanterns, setting up a lantern hall is a performance activity with strong traditional rituals. Before putting out the lanterns, the lantern class will set up a lantern hall to enshrine the statues of "Miss Golden Flower" and "Er Niang Silver Flower". The lantern master will light incense candles and burn paper money to worship the lantern gods and pray and bless the lantern dancers for everything to go well. , peace and auspiciousness. After the worship ceremony, there was singing and dancing in the lantern hall. The lantern master first takes the lead in singing "Setting Down", "Singing Position" and "Consecrating the Light", and then sings "Lamp Up Tune" together and sings the tune to be performed. After the lantern invitation ceremony is over, the lantern class can go out to dance the lanterns. Lantern dancing is the main performance activity of lanterns. The lantern class all dances in the main room or courtyard of the house where the lanterns are received. First sing "Guan Deng Tune" and "Congratulations Tune", and before leaving, sing "Thank You Main Tune".
To say goodbye to lanterns, on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, the lantern troupe holds a ceremony to say goodbye to the lanterns in Bazi by the river, worship the gods, and sing "Send the Lanterns Tune". The lantern tuner will lead the singing of all the lantern tunes sung during the Spring Festival (called "Send the Lanterns"). Tune in). Then the lanterns and shrines are burned, and the clothes of the lantern dancers are thrown over the fire to pray for the lantern dancers to be safe for the whole year.
Performance Forms
After long-term development and evolution, the performance forms of Xiushan and Youyang lanterns include: Errenzhuan (a single lantern performed by two people), Double Lantern (a performance by four people) Double lanterns), lantern group dance (group lanterns performed by multiple people), lantern drama (drama), etc. During the performance, the lyrics sung by the actors are called Huadeng Ci. The lantern poems have a strong local flavor, state the content, express the plot, express emotions, and attract the audience. Among them, some lantern lyrics have absorbed some folk tunes of the Han nationality, including the original lyrics of landlord operas such as tea-picking opera and flower-drum opera. Except for the lantern opera, there are only two roles in the performance, one is a clown, the other is called Yao Meizi, and the clown is called Lai Huazi or other names. When dancing, Yaomei girl has long combed hair, wearing a big-breasted skirt, holding a folding fan with silk edges in her right hand, and a colorful scarf in her left hand. She straightens her waist, steps on the tink step, sings and dances, and performs an innocent, lively, humorous, and shrewd role. Lai Huazi tied her scarf into a "half moon", wore a double-breasted jacket with a red ribbon around her waist, held a big cattail leaf fan in her hand, walked on a dwarf step, and circled Yao Meizi in a "wind swinging the willow" movement, performing a funny performance , humorous character, the lyrics and sentence patterns are flexible, and can be long or short. It can be sung on the road and support in the audience. The actors and the audience can communicate with each other and integrate into one.