In the era of Wang Anshi, New Year's Day was a very important festival. In ancient times, it was called "going to Japan" and "celebrating Japan", which was an important day for officials, scholars and people to celebrate the New Year. During his tenure as Tokyo magistrate, Wang Anshi carried out a series of political reform measures, including the New Year's Day reform. He advocated grand sacrifice and play on New Year's Day to express his attention and blessing to the New Year. This poem was also written under this background.
"January Festival" depicts the lively scene of New Year's Day, from dawn to dusk, depicting the grand occasion of celebrating New Year's Day in the city, including people enjoying lanterns, setting off firecrackers, solve riddles on the lanterns, eating jiaozi and so on. At the same time, the poem also expresses the author's expectation for the future of the country and his concern for people's well-being, and reflects one aspect of Wang Anshi's political reform thought.
Therefore, it can be said that the writing background of January 1st is that Wang Anshi carried out New Year's Day reform during his tenure as Tokyo magistrate, making it a festival to celebrate New Year's Day, expressing his joy and blessing for the New Year, and at the same time reflecting Wang Anshi's political reform thought.