Taigu lamp, why is it famous? This is because in the history of Taigu County, business gradually prospered for more than 300 years, and it was even more prosperous during Daoguang and Xianfeng years in Qing Dynasty, and it was once known as "Little Beijing". At that time, banks flourished in China and enjoyed a high reputation. In Taigu City, there are more than 700 shops along the street. In addition to commercial competition, big businessmen and wealthy families try their best to imitate the fashion of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou in terms of cultural customs. The rise and development of the Lantern Festival is formed under such circumstances. With the development of trade, many varieties and patterns of colored lights have been introduced from other places. According to legend, "Palace Lantern" and "Dragon Lantern" were imported from Guangdong by businessmen. As for a large number of lanterns, they are imitations of Yangzhou. Behind the introduction of this kind of knowledge, there are local innovations, which make the Lantern Festival in Taigu rise suddenly and become the crown of the Three Jin Dynasties.
Taikoo lamp is famous for its variety, exquisite production and attractive appearance, which makes people fondle it. During the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, there were paper lanterns, gauze lanterns, Yang Jiaodeng, hydrangea lanterns and satin embroidered lanterns. During the light years of Qing Dynasty, palace lanterns were introduced. Most of these palace lanterns are made of rosewood and walnut. All exquisite wooden products are carved with faucets, with round, octagonal or hexagonal mouths and tassels. They are exquisitely carved and elegantly shaped. On the horizontal plane of this lamp, there are calligraphy and painting, which are colorful and fascinating.
On the night of Lantern Festival, you can also see all kinds of plant lights, animal lights, trademark lights and crossword puzzles hanging on the street to attract people to watch.
On the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth day of the first month, the lights in Taigu City, the lights along the street, the lights in the small house in the courtyard and the lights outside the temple are all decorated with colorful lights, which are beautiful and pleasing to the eye. People watching lanterns are like rivers, like tides, rubbing shoulders and staying up all night. Some activities in solve riddles on the lanterns need longer time. In the evening, there are still folk music performances, pushing the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival to a climax. This kind of Lantern Festival is not only available in Taigu County, Shanxi Province, but also in all counties in the province. In some big towns and villages, there is also the saying of hanging lanterns, which is "watching lanterns". In other counties and provincial capitals of Shanxi, there are also lantern festivals, lantern festivals and lantern festival competitions, and all localities also have their own unique ideas.
Watching lanterns is the most interesting and cultural activity in the "Shangyuan Festival", which is still flourishing in cities, towns, markets and towns all over the province. "The first month, the first month is the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, lanterns are yellow, lanterns are red, and snow hits lanterns. " This folk song, which spread in Qing Xu, has been circulating for a long time. It reflects the spectacular scene of the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month.
Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, also known as "Lantern Festival". From ancient times to the present, it has become a folk custom for every household to celebrate with lanterns and lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first month. Hanging red lanterns at the door can not only illuminate during the festival, but also add festive atmosphere, mainly because of the saying of sacrifice.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, solve riddles on the lanterns and Qingxu, like other places in China, were also very lively. The local people have a saying that "the first day is fifteen". This sentence fully shows that the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is also the most important and lively festival in a year. Because we have been focusing on agricultural production, the relatively slack days in a year are "winter March". After the Lantern Festival, the new year is coming, everything is revived, the leisure in winter has gone, and preparations have begun. Therefore, people should set a fire on the Lantern Festival, enjoy playing and drive away the fatigue of one year. Therefore, we should watch the lights happily, solve riddles on the lanterns, and make a social fire. At the same time, it embodies people's expectations for a good weather and a bumper harvest in the new year, and welcomes the arrival of the bumper harvest year with joyful mood and festive gongs and drums in an auspicious atmosphere.
Regional characteristics
In the past, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the most concentrated places on the ground of Qingxu were Qingyuan City, Xugou City, Feng Meng Town and Dongyu Town. There are also some larger villages, such as Wangda Village, Dachang Village, Liudu Village and Gaobai Village, which are also very lively. People in the surrounding countryside should bring their families and children, carry homemade lanterns at night, watch lanterns in groups of three or five, light a fire in solve riddles on the lanterns and celebrate the Lantern Festival happily. Especially for young men and women, this is an unforgettable day. In feudal society, women could not go out. Coupled with the shackles of various feudal ethics that men and women are not close to each other, they rarely have the opportunity to meet. The Lantern Festival provides an opportunity for young men and women in Seeds of Love to meet, a corner of the Lantern Festival, and a moment of eye contact. What they are thinking is the idea of "wishing others a long time, thousands of miles away". There are many stories about watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival in history. Legend has it that in the Song Dynasty, a young couple got separated while watching the Lantern Festival, which happened to be the day when Song Huizong watched the Lantern Festival and presented wine. The woman, anxious to find her husband, also picked up the imperial cup of the emperor and recited a poem: "The moon is full of bright lanterns, leading Lang to the end gate, greedy to watch the crane array sing and dance, but I didn't expect Yuanyang to lose the group." It's getting late, and I'm grateful. I was told that the emperor gave me a glass of wine and a glass of patrol. I'm afraid I'll be blamed by aunt Weng after I return home, and I'll steal the wine glasses as proof. "Hearing this, the romantic emperor happily awarded the golden cup to the woman, and left the story of enjoying the lantern festival.
Deng Hua modeling
Before the Qing Dynasty, the lanterns displayed in the Lantern Festival in Qingxu area were mainly made of sorghum stalks and bamboo, and various papers were pasted on the lampshade. The shapes of lights are generally dragon lights, fish lights, crane lights, lotus lights, hydrangea lights, boat lights and other styles. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Shanxi merchants gradually flourished, and the banks were all over the Great Wall and the north and south of the river. The development of commercial culture has promoted the prosperity of lamp culture. Palace lanterns, southern gauze lanterns and wire lanterns outside the Great Wall spread to the local area, which greatly developed and improved the local lighting technology and lighting varieties. In addition to traditional lanterns made of sorghum stalks, bamboo and paper, lampstands made of wood wire, glass and tulle are also used as lampshades, and various folk stories and drama stories are painted in color on glass and tulle. For example, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Three Sisters Descending to Earth, Taoyuan Jieyi, Liangshan in Shui Bo, Yang Jiajiang in The Journey to the West, Flowers and Birds and Landscape are all very interesting. At that time, lanterns were greatly improved in content, form and production technology. In form, there are animal-like lanterns: dragon lanterns, phoenix lanterns, fish lanterns, shrimp lanterns, crane lanterns, zodiac lanterns, lion lanterns, and especially interesting racing lanterns (also called lanterns and lanterns). Lanterns with artificial flowers: lotus lanterns, basket lanterns, chrysanthemum lanterns, peony lanterns, etc. There are other forms of hydrangea lanterns, boat lanterns, tower lanterns and palace lanterns. At that time, the production technology of palace lanterns was to pay attention to the quadrangular and hexagonal palace lanterns made of rosewood. Each side is inlaid with glass, which is painted with landscapes, flowers and birds, stories of people and so on. There are riddles on the design, and there are faucets or animal heads engraved on the upper and lower corners. Beads are hung under each faucet and animal head, and a dynamic lantern is installed in the lamp. The production process of this kind of palace lantern is very exquisite. It is a boutique lamp that integrates knowledge, appreciation and entertainment.
Lantern development
Due to the prosperity of economy, the development of science and the progress of culture, the colored lanterns in Qingxu area are large in scale and diverse in style on the basis of inheriting national traditions, and the use of modern equipment such as sound, light and electricity is unprecedented. From the countryside to the city, every household, every street and alley is covered with lanterns, competing for beauty. In particular, the lights on the fifteenth day of the first month in the county are even more spectacular. From the courtyard of every family to the door, from the glass window of the balcony of every building to the door of every living area, there are all kinds of lights, such as festive "Fu" lights, "Xi" lights, "Spring" lights, string lights, plastic pipes and colorful lights. Thousands of colorful lights are woven in the streets, squares, parks, markets and every magnificent building. Especially on both sides of Wen Yuan Road and Hudong Street, buildings, shops and restaurants of government agencies and units are decorated with colored lights, string lights and colorful flowing plastic pipes. Watching at night is like a light curtain in the air, overlooking the whole county, like a lantern city, a world of lights and an ocean of lights. These lamps are magnificent and brilliant. Every tree on both sides of the road is decorated with modern string lights and net lights. Ten thousand red gauze lanterns are hung among the trees, and the two streets are connected by red lanterns. In addition, the interaction of people watching the lights makes it look like a river with surging lights.