That's right. Before the Han Dynasty, firewood was used as lamps and candles, so it was called "fire". Yan Zi's Spring and Autumn Annals records that Yan Zi and Qi Jinggong were drinking, and "at dusk, people called for fire". Yu Yue in the Qing Dynasty wrote Han Yi's poem "Candles in the Palace at Sunset", pointing out that candles are made of wax, and ancient candles are made of hemp, wood, hemp and grease, so it doesn't matter. Because of the candlelight in the long night, you can get together, read and write at night. Nineteen Ancient Poems sighed, "The days are short and the nights are long, so why not travel by candlelight"?
Imagine that one night more than two thousand years ago, you went to a party. When you arrive at your host's house, the hospitable host politely tells you where you know people. You won't wonder why it's so dark here. It is because there are many candles lit that they are not clean for fear of danger. Besides, unless it's an expensive house, it's too expensive, and someone has to hold a candle in his hand. This is not an easy job. You should always catch the falling ash with a bowl, and you should be prepared to burn it out and raise your salary. The host won't light the candle until everyone arrives and the food is served. People with fire in their hands should sit in the corner of the room to ensure that they will not interfere with the guests' actions, which is safer. People who make a fire don't drink or sing, so as not to cause a fire. At the end of the song, the bar is gone. When the host wants to keep the guest for another drink, he hides the ashes and holds an unlit candle to show his sincerity.
In Records of the Historian and Biography of Meng Changjun, the son of one of the four famous ministers in the Warring States treated him. "When you eat at night, cover your fire alone. The guests were so angry that they stopped eating and resigned. Meng Changjun is not as good as he is. Being a guest is awkward. And return to Meng Changjun ". Probably hospitable Meng Changjun was afraid that fireworks would smoke the guests, so he was covered. Unexpectedly, it caused misunderstanding, and the misunderstood guest even took his own life. However, in Meng Changjun, the name of hospitality may have entered a new level.
If it is in a big environment, such as the emperor's discussion, major festivals, use big candles to burn. "Ming Taizu Miscellaneous Notes" said: "When I was in the east, I looked at the night in the first month, and moved to the Yang Palace, the big Chen lampstand, and set up a court. As for the temple, you will have a wax torch and continue. " Ting Polygonum is made of reed, wrapped in cloth, filled with honey, and then coated with honey. This is not only hard, but also durable, unlike burning firewood too fast. However, when burned, it will definitely taste indecent.
Indoor, only use small candles, burning quickly, ready to fill. Just if the house catches fire in midsummer, wouldn't it add fuel to the fire? Therefore, the ancients used to enjoy the cool outdoors in summer. When the moon and stars were scarce, it was a wonderful thing to "talk about the past and cherish the old kindness"!
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"Blue ointment and bright candles, Huarong Road is ready." This poem in Songs of the South tells a fact. In the distant Warring States period, oil lamps began to appear, illuminating the long nights in China for thousands of years. However, like most inventions, it was originally a luxury for the rich. Because there was no vegetable oil at that time, the oil lamp used animal oil, and the source of materials was limited. If you add spices, it will be more expensive. It used to be paid beam lighting and a room full of fireworks, but now it is a revolutionary progress to have oil lamps. Those rich families who have fun in the dark must be very indulgent.
Until the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the lighting of poor families still used traditional old methods. "Notes" said: "Xue Lingyun, who loves beauty in Wei Wendi, is also from Changshan. Living in poverty, every neighbor's wife is numb at night and takes a look at herself with mugwort. " This beautiful woman from the countryside was later married by Cao Pi. Cao Pi ordered people to build a platform dozens of miles outside Luoyang, which was 30 feet high and went straight into the sky. The stage is surrounded by candles, called candlesticks. When Xue Lingyun arrived, it was just nightfall. I saw all the way from the suburbs to the urban area, filled with thick red candles, and the candlelight flashed around like day. Xue Lingyun, accustomed to circling in the dim candlelight, was shocked to see such a big scene, wondering if he had boarded the legendary platform of the Chinese and Western Empress Dowager.
With candles, oil lamps are not expensive. Candles are beautiful and easy to carry, while oil lamps smell bad and are not easy to carry. Real luxury children have big lights at home. "Returning to the Field Record" said that "Xian Laigong became rich when he was a teenager, and did not light an oil lamp. Although candles were lit in the bedroom, there were piles of candles and tears in the toilet. " Lighting candles in the toilet, this old man is really no ordinary luxury.
After the appearance of vegetable oil, the oil lamp is not a luxury. "Qi Yao Min Shu": "Planting safflower and harvesting seeds can be used as both car fat and oil." "Asako University of Science and Technology, accept this fact", which is enough for beautiful candles. Sapium sebiferum oil is best for lighting, followed by rapeseed oil, linseed oil, cottonseed oil and linseed oil (consumption is faster), and tung oil and sapium sebiferum oil are second.
In the Song Dynasty, a kind of "oil lamp saving" was invented. According to Notes on the Old Learning Temple, "Wen Song Angong concentrated on saving oil lamp poems, which Han Jia has today and also covered with lamps. It's easy to open a small mouth at one end and pour cold water into it every night. Ordinary lamps are burned by fire, so they are easy to dry. This alone won't do, and it will save fuel for a few and a half. "Oil lamps are generally made of copper, iron and tin, with plates at the bottom and columns in the middle. The lamp holder and oil reservoir are placed at the top of the column. After a long time, hot oil is easy to dry out when it is hot, so draining the water from the lamp can save oil, but the lamp is not hot.
After the invention of the oil lamp, the night in China was full of the greatness and agility of light. "Xianyang Palace has five sapphire lamps, seven feet five inches high. They are used as mouth lights, lights burn, scales move, and stars are like stars. " This description in Miscellanies of Xijing reminds people of the beautiful night in the court of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty missed Li Furen, and an alchemist summoned his soul. He lit candles in the tent and saw a beautiful image of Li Furen. Emperor Wu wrote a poem: "Is it evil, not evil? Watch it, it's late for He Shanshan! " Emperor Wu must be in a trance, hallucinating under the flickering lights and candles.
"The grass is full of hate every year, and the snuff is removed at night." This painting by Tang Yan Qian, a painter in the Tang Dynasty, is an unforgettable image in ancient literature. The blazing heart is like a wick in an oil lamp, suffering and waiting in the long night. Snuff smoke, a little gesture full of literary meaning, a beautiful gesture that can't be waved away, has become a psychological memory handed down from generation to generation by women.
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Recently, I went to Xi and was fascinated by the lights in Qujiang. A rectangular wool glass cover engraved with Tang poetry on the lamppost. Seen from a distance, it looks like a light tunnel. On may day, many people crowded in the shadow of lights, and people came and went like a street. In the Tang Dynasty, the amusement of Chang 'an people was so magnificent. Yu Dafu has a poem: Four-walled flag pavilions compete for gambling on wine, and six streets are far away from lights. He used the poet Wang Zhihuan and other flag pavilions to tell stories about wine, and the lights of Six Streets also lit up the imagination leading to the Tang Dynasty. Datang and Chang 'an are the cultural codes of our nation. As long as these words are spoken, how many deep-rooted national memories can be evoked and how many poems and paintings can be triggered. It's a touching scene for tourists to read poems on lampposts in the dim light. This is the innate background of China people-everyone always hides a sentence or two of Tang poetry in his heart, and jumps out at any time to impress his soul.
Qujiang made something out of nothing, but it also achieved a colorful, open and lofty artistic conception of Tang poetry. Indeed, Tang poetry, even the most touching poetry, such as "the silkworm dies in spring, and the candle cries at night", is gentle with rigidity and elegant in temperament.
In the quiet night, the beauty sits opposite the candle and misses the people far away, which is a common situation in Tang poetry. Du Mu has a poem, "If you miss a candle, you will cry for others until dawn". Candles, or red candles, are important props in Tang people's aesthetic life. The candles burning at night burn out bit by bit, and the candle liquid flowing down is like human tears. Poets in the Tang Dynasty like to use this image to render the inner pain of a boudoir woman tortured by emotion. "Since the monarch, beauty gaunt. Thinking of you is like a candle, frying your heart and holding tears. " This poem by Chen directly compares people to candles and tells the pain caused by those differences. The poet Han Wo also wrote a poem "Smelling the Rain", imagining a woman, on a spring night when life and love are budding, smelling the rain outside, lying in bed with her face inward and her back to the red candle, unable to sleep, and the hairpin on her head banging on the box pillow. This red candle seems to be a symbol of the inner vitality of women. (incense invades the knee, the night is cold and light, and the smell of rain hurts the dream of spring. Luo Zhang hangs four red candles on his back, and Hosta knocks on the pillow letter)
But the so-called candles in the Tang Dynasty are actually not the candles we see today. Before the Song Dynasty, there were no candles made of wax trees today. At that time, the so-called candles were also called beeswax. In ancient times, honey and wax could not be decomposed, so they were called honey candles. According to "Miscellanies of Xijing", "The King of Nanyue gave Gaudi five kinds of honey and 200 honey candles." It can be seen that there is no such thing in Korean junior high school. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, beeswax was decomposed and used as a candle. People began to use candles in the early Jin Dynasty, but candles are very expensive and only your family often uses them. Therefore, Shi Shuo Xin Yu said that "Skillen drank by candle", and Shi Chong used it to compete for money, which was very expensive. "The Night Magic Record" written by people in the Tang Dynasty said: "In a short time, there will be people holding honey torches from the inside out." It can be seen that the Tang Dynasty still made candles with beeswax. Later, people learned to scrape white films on wax trees to make candles. Li Shizhen said in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Wax trees do not wither in four seasons, and white flowers bloom in May. Its insects, like ticks, stretch their branches and spit juice, peel off their residues and refine them into wax. "
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China culture has great vitality. People with a certain education can make themselves the aesthetic subject at any time, and sublimate the common mountain, water, stone and wood in life from sensory impression to a spiritual harmony. For thousands of years, dynasties have changed and years have changed. This emotional force from the details of life supports China people to spend every difficult day. Therefore, every time I look at the life of the ancients, I often lament the luxury of the emperors and the rich, and at the same time envy their rich imagination of daily life.
Ming Taizu Miscellaneous Notes written by the Tang Dynasty recorded some people and events in the Ming Dynasty. There is one thing that makes people wonder: going to Dongdu, watching the full moon night, moving the Yang Palace, setting up a big shadow lamp in the courtyard, setting up a candle torch in the temple, and so on. Craftsman Mao Shun skillfully thinks about creating colored ribbons from time to time. It is 30 buildings, 150 feet high, with pearls, emeralds, gold and silver hanging. The breeze came and suddenly turned into rhyme. Like dragons, phoenixes, tigers and leopards leaping with lights, it seems inhuman. Continuous lights lit up the night in the Oriental Capital of Datang. The sound they make in the night wind is like nature, with different shapes of lights, which is really a paradise on earth.
In the Song Dynasty, it was popular for literati to pick flowers under the lamp. Zhang Gongfu, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said that there are 26 kinds of flowers that are commensurate with flower appreciation: light shade, morning light, thin cold, drizzle, light smoke, beautiful moon, sunset glow, light snow, sunset glow, rare birds, solitary cranes, Qingxi, small bridges, bamboo edges, Panasonic, bright windows, hedges and light nests. I didn't say "for the red candle". However, this Zhang Gongfu is an expert in viewing flowers by candlelight. His peony invited a group of literati friends to sit in a room. Just as my friends are surprised that there are no peony flowers at home. Zhang Gongfu asked the servant if he had sent the incense, and the servant replied that he had, so he ordered someone to roll up the curtain and let the flowers come out of it. After a while, the room was filled with a strong exotic fragrance. Next is wine, food, silk and bamboo. Dozens of geisha are dressed in white, embroidered with peony on their collars, wearing camellias on their heads, singing and drinking wine. So, I drank ten cups and changed ten batches of geisha. They wear purple with white flowers, goose yellow with purple flowers and red with yellow flowers. After the guests finished drinking, under the shadow of candlelight, the beautiful women lined up to see them off, peony flowers filled the air, and the guests were like wandering immortals.
The fragrance of candlelight and fog is the attraction of this peony flower show. Although the famous flowers are taken, it is unnecessary for such a large-scale geisha to fall in love. Su Dongpo is more elegant. He sat in the pavilion in the corridor, the east wind blowing Buddha, and the fragrance was foggy. A begonia is in full bloom. By the bright candlelight, it was obvious that he was sleepy. He said that he was afraid of sleeping at night, and he wanted to shine with high candles (the east wind was full of glory, the fragrance was empty, and the moon turned to the corridor). I was afraid that the flowers would fall asleep at night, so I lit candles and put on red makeup.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, flowers bloom at four o'clock, and plum blossoms, peony flowers and begonia flowers are the social season for literati. The Scholars recorded such a peony carnival. "Small apartment peony in full bloom, a cup of tea to cure. Brother Qu came to the apartment to talk. " At the beginning of spring and summer, Du wrote an invitation to invite three friends to his home. Then drink and chat. Du's peony banquet, with a few scattered plates, is just fish, cherry buds and wine in the south of the Yangtze River, and the best orange wine in Yongning Square is bought. Pass a cup for a change and eat it in the afternoon, which is all kinds of snacks. There are lard dumpling bait, roast duck, goose oil crisp and soft fragrant cake. The same as above is Lu 'an Maojian stew, each with a bowl. On the famous flowers, I got together with my good friends, Bao Tingxi played the flute, and a little boy sang Li Taibai's Qingpingdiao.
I eat on the moon, and the peony flowers are more and more energetic; There is also a big hydrangea tree, like a pile of snow. Three people don't feel dancing.
An old monk also put a string of firecrackers in Qimen to entertain me, saying that it would sober you up. The party starts at noon and ends at night.
The scene of Xu Jiu's son and cousin Chen Munan enjoying flowers in their own garden is even more wonderful. "The two of them drank for a while, and it was dark. Yang Jiaodeng is hung on hundreds of plum blossoms, aboveboard and brightly lit, just like a thousand-point pearl. The higher it shines, the more it covers the branches of plum blossoms, and the cuter it is. "
The universe is eternal and endless, and personnel are transient and impermanent. In this contrast, China ancients found a way of thinking that suited them. In the overwhelming sadness, shrink yourself, shrink to the corner of spiritual aesthetics, and open up another kind of richness for life through aesthetic activities such as enjoying flowers under the candle. The six sensory abilities of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are related to color, sound, fragrance, taste, touch and method, creating a harmonious spiritual world. The world is immortal.