According to documentary records, as early as the beginning of the Southern Dynasties, the Lantern Festival was held in the capital city of Nanjing, which was the earliest recorded lantern festival in China. In order to pray for good weather, a happy family and peace in the world, the scene of lights and colorful decorations began to move from the deep palaces, forbidden gardens and religious sites to the public. The scene of "lights filling the streets" is quite spectacular.
In this regard, Liang Jianwen Emperor Xiao Gang, Chen Houzhu and others used vivid poems to describe the social custom of using lights to add to the festive atmosphere in the Southern Dynasties.
According to legend, Zhang Daoling, a native of Peiguofeng during the Eastern Han Dynasty, created the "Five Dou Rice Road" in Heming Mountain, Sichuan, and held the "Lamp Burning Sacrifice Dou" ceremony, which is the oldest primitive lantern festival known so far. During the Southern Dynasties, the custom of holding the traditional Lantern Festival appeared in Jiankang (now Nanjing), the capital of the country, and its grand event was the highest in the country. The Lantern Festival flourished in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty.
During the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, Nanjing was the capital of China at that time. Many high-ranking officials, aristocrats and wealthy celebrities lived along the Qinhuai River. Every Lantern Festival, they also imitated the palace and decorated the city with lanterns and festoons. The poet Xi Chizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote a poem "Poetry on Lanterns" to describe the situation of lighting lanterns at that time.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty, paper technology developed rapidly and was low-cost, replacing the large number of applications of silk fabrics, resulting in the rapid development of lantern art.
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival, one of China's traditional festivals, is also known as the Lantern Festival, Xiaozhengyue, Lantern Festival or Lantern Festival. It takes place on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year.
The first month of the first lunar month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called "night" "xiao". The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full-moon night of the year, so the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the "Lantern Festival". According to the Taoist "Three Yuan" theory, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is also called the "Shangyuan Festival". The Lantern Festival custom has been dominated by the warm and festive lantern viewing custom since ancient times.
The formation of the Lantern Festival has a long process, which is rooted in the ancient folk custom of turning on lights to pray for blessings. According to general information and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has been taken seriously in the Western Han Dynasty, but the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month truly became a national folk festival after the Han and Wei dynasties.
The rise of the custom of lighting lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is also related to the spread of Buddhism to the East. Buddhism flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and officials and common people generally "lighted lanterns to worship Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Buddhist lights spread among the people. Since the Tang Dynasty, lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival has become a legal matter.