Chinese Lantern Festival » Lantern Festival Knowledge

Lanterns in Han Dynasty

Risa Harada — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:39:22 +0000

The birth of lantern, the appearance of hurricane lamp in Han Dynasty and introduction of Buddhism created a good condition for outdoor lamp and lantern show.

For the purpose of shielding wind, moving lamps and working at night, human being produced various kinds of practical lamp and lamp utensil via various vessels and fuels. Since thousands of years, human pursuit to the craftwork of lampshade has formed rich, colorful and fantastic lamp or lantern arts and laid a foundation for the lantern show.

At the earlier period of Western Han, Emperor Hanwendi stated the Jan. 15^th of lunar calendar as the Lantern Festival, when he subjugated successfully the insurgency of Zhulu. Since the first Lantern Festival in Hanwudi (156B.C—87B.C.), every year at this time, emperor would offer sacrifice to the Heaven, Buddhist would light lamps to elucidate Buddhism, Taoist would sacrifice the deities Taiyi and Sanguan, common people would hold lamps and candles to chase rat, look at the silkworms and pray for big harvest and no disaster. Therefore, lamp, candle and fire gradually became scenery on the day of Lantern Festival.

The emergence of lamps and windproof lanterns in Han Dynasty facilitated the outdoor emplacement of lamps and lanterns. In ancient times, the 15th of the first lunar month was called Shang Yuan (first full moon); July 15th of the lunar month Zhong Yuan (mid full moon); October 15th Xia Yuan (last full moon). Shang Yuan was the first night with full moon in a year, so it was also named as Yuan Xiao Festival (full moon night). From the Warring States Period on, people prayed the God of Tai Yi from dush to dawn. Because of the eastward movement of Buddhism, on the night of Jan 15th in the first lunar month, bans on fire were lifted and lamps and lanterns were put outdoors all night long to symbolize the brightness of Buddhism. This was the precursor of the Lantern Festival.

In that night, the Emperors made a sacrifice to Heaven; Buddhists lit a fire to illuminate Buddhadharma; Taoists also prayed to Tai Yi and the gods in San Guan( Three Palaces); Folks also lit the candles and lamps to chase away the mice and light the silkworm in the hope of eliminating scourges and gaining a good harvest. Thus lamps, candles and fire became the essence of Shang Yuan. The Lantern Festival had its embryonic form when the wheels of time moved to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Later it evolved into a majestic festival after Emperor Sui Yang Di took the throne.

So we can say Han Dynasty is one of the most important Dynasty for the Formation of the Lantern Festival.

The navigation of Chinese Lantern and Lantern Festival

The lamp in Han Dynasty

Changxin Palace Lamp

pottery lantern seat of Western Queen

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The oldest lantern poem

Risa Harada — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:43:01 +0000

Today I talks about the oldest lantern poem which named TingLiao in the world, in the modern time, lantern poem and the lantern riddles are often written on the Chinese lanterns in the Lantern Festival.

Before the invention of the light, our ancestors used to light the torch, the torch known as the “candle” at the time, candle is divided into two types: “out side the door named Large Candle (大烛), in the home named TingLiao (庭燎).” At about the 6th century BC, there is poem that named TingLiao in the “The Book of Poetry“.

The Book of Poetry

庭燎

夜如何其?
夜未央,庭燎之光.
君子至止,鸾声将将.

夜如何其?
夜未艾,庭燎晣晣.
君子至止,鸾声哕哕.

夜如何其?
夜乡晨,庭燎有煇.
君子至止,言观其旗.

The means

The first paragraph describing the scene at midnight, courtier lit candles in the middle of the night was ready to enter the palace to prepare for meetings in the morning,
The second paragraph is the description of candles have a brightly lit by the courtier and emperor before dawn.
The third paragraph said that the candlelight was already covered by the sunlight in dawn.

This poem depicts a scene of audience palace in the morning, it showed the emperor rule the country hardly.

This is the oldest lantern poem, its vivid description, rhetorical, jingle, can be said to create the form of lantern poem, is the originator of lantern poem.

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Special Material Lanterns in the Lantern Festival

Risa Harada — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:45:30 +0000

As we know, the Chinese lanterns were made of silk or paper usually, and in the past few years, more and more material were used in the Chinese lanterns. especially in the Lantern Festival. They are so beautiful and amazing.

I share some special material lanterns in the Lantern Festival here.

1 The porcelain material dragon lantern

The porcelain material dragon lantern

2 The porcelain material peacock lantern

The porcelain material peacock lantern

3 The porcelain material crap lantern

The porcelain material carp lantern

4 The porcelain material big palace lantern

The porcelain material big palace lantern

5 The cocoon material phoenix lantern

The cocoon material phoenix lantern

6 The cocoon material dragon lantern

The cocoon material dragon lantern

7 The art neon light

The art neon light

8 The compact disc material phoenix lantern

The compact disc material phoenix lantern

9 The compact disc material hawk lantern

10 The waste bottle material Kirin lantern

The waste bottle material Kirin lantern

11 The glass material Xinghai well lantern

The glass material Xinghai well lantern

12 The FRP glass material Avalokitesvara lantern

The FRP glass material Avalokitesvara lantern

art

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What is the Lantern Displays

Risa Harada — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:48:43 +0000

As we know, the Lantern Festival is one of Chinese largest and most influential folk activities, also called Chinese Lantern Festival, Chinese Lantern Carnivals, Chinese color lantern(彩灯) carnivals, Chinese fancy lantern(花灯) carnivals, in this festival, people decorated there street with lanterns and coloured ribbons, there are many different lanterns put in a relatively large place to describe a single theme, this theme of lanterns complex are called lantern display.

The lantern display is the most important element of the lantern festival, and each lantern display shown some traditional or modern stories. The size of these lantern displays can be designed and manufactured according to different exhibition places and requirement. A large lantern display might occupy over 100 square meters, some one even over 1000 square meters. But most of the lantern displays usually occupy an area of 30 to 80 square meters.

For example

three crane lanterns

Three Crane Lanterns

A displays of Dragon boat Lantern

dragon boat lantern display

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Lantern Festival customs

Risa Harada — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:46:45 +0000

There were many peculiar Chinese Lantern Festival customs in the ancient China. It is different from the folk activities like dragon dance and guess riddles that will not only happen on the Lantern Festival.

Lantern Festival customs

Lantern Festival customs 1 : Making lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. (or keep off evil spirits)
Lantern Festival customs 2: Eating Tang-yuan, it means the family reunion, people eat Tang-yuan, and hope it can help their family reunion.
Lantern Festival customs 3: Watching fancy lanterns, Lantern Festival is the Chinese Valentine’s Day in the ancient China, the lovers go to the street which decorate with lanterns and coloured ribbons together, and watching the fancy lanterns.
Lantern Festival customs 4: Sending Lanterns, some blessing text were wrote on the lanterns to give the people who received the lanterns a good blessing.
Lantern Festival customs 5: Greeting the immortal of toilet, Chinese women use a red Shau Kei as a sedan chair, and greet the immortal of toilet (This immortal died under torture when she is alive).
Lantern Festival customs 6: Crossing the bridge for no illnesses, Chinese women go across the bridge with each other women, they believe this can help them no illnesses in the next year.
Lantern Festival customs 7: Stealing crops, Young women who steal men’s crops believe it would help them to keep the health of the their silkworm, improving the production of silk.
Lantern Festival customs 8: Hunting festival, 36 young women will pose as 36 different prey and dance beside the bonfire, the men arm with hunting weapons and dancing around the prey.

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Lantern Festival facts

Risa Harada — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:03:15 +0000

My English is not very good that it seems to me that the Lantern Festival facts means some interesting and useful information about the Lantern Festival, if it’s correct, please ready this post. If I make a mistake about this words please tell me the really means, I’ll fix it soon.

dragon boat lantern

The Lantern Festival began in Han dynasty(A.D. 25 - A.D.220 )
The Lantern Fstival was hold every 15th day of the 1st lunar month.
The four important festivals in China are the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Drgon-boat Festival and the Mid-autumn Festival.
Chinese Lantern Festival and the Tanabata Festival is the Ancient Chinese Valentine’s Day.
In the morning of Japanese Lantern Festival, there is a habit of eating small beans congee, Japanese believed that beans can avoid evil things.
China is known for silk in ancient time, rats often eaten silkworms that time, so that people cook a pot of gruel for the rats specifically in the Lantern Festival to avoid their silkworms being eaten.
Taiwan, South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore is the areas that most frequent celebrated the Lantern Festival

Maybe you are interested in:

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When is Chinese Lantern Festival 2010

Risa Harada — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:53:41 +0000

When is Chinese Lantern Festival 2010? The time is very close, the date of traditional Chinese Lantern Festival in 2010 is February 28, 2010. I hope it can help you.

Chinese Lantern Festival

Maybe you want to know more details about:

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Chinese Light Festival

Risa Harada — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:11:35 +0000

If you are finding the words ‘Chinese Light Festival‘. And visited this post from Search Engine, I think you make a mistake between the words Light and Lantern, In China, Chinese Light Festival‘s correct name is ‘Chinese Lantern Festival‘. In Netherlands, there was a activity which was called ‘china festival of lights’ , this is for taking ‘Chinese Lantern Fetival’ easier for foreigners to understand.

Chinese Lanterns

You can click here to get more details about Chinese Lantern Festival.

You can aslo click here to get more Lantern Festival pictures or Lantern Festival Vide .

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Lantern Festival poem

Risa Harada — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:44:12 +0000

Ancient poets had countless poems of praising Lantern Festival, and now it is still fun to read.

New Year’s Day by Wang Anshi

Wang Anshi (December 8, 1021 – May 21, 1086) was a Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted controversial, major socioeconomic reforms. These reforms constituted the core concepts and motives of the Reformists, while their nemesis, Chancellor Sima Guang, led the Conservative faction against them.

The noise of crackers sends away the old last year,
The spring wind makes wine warm for New Year;
The bright sun shines hundred thousands of houses,
New charms replace the old ones to protect us.

At Lantern Festival by Ouyang Xiu

Ouyang Xiu was one of the major players in the Qingli Reforms of the 1040s and was in charge of creating the New History of the Tang Dynasty. He was also regarded as one of the great masters of prose of the Tang and Song era. He was also a noted writer of both shi and ci poetry.

Lights were bright as day last year
In the market of flowers,
And the moon was mounting to the willows’ tops above us,
We lovers meeting to keep their tryst after dusk just here.
The bright lights and the moon look as good as last year,
But She cann’t be seen now at Lantern Festival,
Tears making wetmy sleeves, Coming down my cheers.

Counter-translation:

In the 15th night last year,
The flower market was lit up by the lanterns bright as day.
When the moon climbed to the top of the willow tree,
I met my date on time –just after the nightfall.

In the 15th night this year,
The moon, the lanterns were same there.
I could not find my last year’s date,
My festival dress sleeves were wet with tears.

In Tang Dynasty, the Chinese Lantern Festival has developed into a grand event, the Tang poets described grand occasion of lantern festival, their poems contain happiness and bustling scene.

Tang poet Su Weidao

Lantern Festival poem in Tang Dynasty:

元夕 [唐]苏味道

火树银花合，星桥铁锁开。
暗尘随马去，明月逐人来。
游妓皆秾李，行歌尽落梅。
金吾不禁夜，玉漏莫相催。

This poem described a scenery of Lantern Festival in the evening at Chang-an town, to the effect that:

The light is brightly, tonight the no-go area is opening.
The horse gallop that stirred up the dust,the moon seemed to follow the people.
The young singing girls look more beautiful, they walk and sing songs.
The capital guards does not work tonight, the drum will not urge the people back home.

十五夜观灯 [唐]卢照邻

锦里开芳宴。兰缸艳早年。
缛彩遥分地。繁光远缀天。
接汉疑星落。依楼似月悬。
别有千金笑。来映九枝前。

This poem described the atmosphere of Lantern Festival, and the beautiful light of lanterns in the evening, to the effect that:

People were busying worship the immortal of year after Chinese New Year, they putting on new clothes and eating food, However, the recreational activities were relatively few;

The Lantern Festival broke this dull atmosphere, brought the New Year and the first month’s celebrations to a climax;

The Lantern Festival let the earth to be very colorful, or even have the stars which were in the sky togethered into one place, the distance (light) like the stars fell to the ground, the light relying on floor it seems like the moon.

Beautiful girls’ laughter add more glory to this holiday.

Read the oldest lantern peom.

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Lantern Riddles

Risa Harada — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:29:11 +0000

Lantern riddles are riddles that were written on the lanterns that are displayed during the Chinese Lantern Festival or Chinese middle autumn festival and so on. The full name of ‘Lantern Riddles‘ are ‘riddles written on lanterns‘.

Chinese Lantern Riddles

People in the festival must guess the answer from a word , a poem or a phrase, guessing the riddles are as hard as fighting with a tiger, so that lantern riddles have another name - ‘lantern tigers’ .

Three essential features of lantern riddles

Unique formats: The lantern riddles consiste of three parts, the riddles, the suggest, and the answer.
Different meaning: There are many different meaning in a Chinese character. If you want to get the answer of lantern riddles, you must ponder deeply with a different meansing of the words in the riddles.
The answer is not repeat:There is no repeat character between the riddles and the answer.

Some example of Lantern Riddles

English Lantern Riddles

Riddles: What’s full of holes but still holds water?

Answer: a sponge

Riddles: What building has the most stories?

Answer: A Library

Riddles: Which is faster, hot or cold?

Answer: Hot’s faster. You can catch a cold

Riddles: When is your mind like a rumpled bed?

Answer: When it is not made up.

Riddles: What is it that everybody does at the same time?

Answer: grow older

Chinese Lantern Riddles

Riddles: ‘不负中秋夜明月’

Suggest: 成语

Answer: 胜利在望

Riddles: ‘灯会元宵初’

Suggest: 化学词语

Answer: 烷

Riddles: ‘春节第一日’

Suggest: 字谜

Answer: 夫

Now, I think you can understand the different between Chinese lantern riddles and English Riddles, Chinese lantern riddles are so hard to get the answer, for a Chinese character has too many meaning.And it is impossible to translate from Chinese Lantern riddles to English riddles.

If you want to find more Chinese Lantern riddles, you can google this word ‘灯谜’.