Zigong Lantern Festival And Public Entertainment
The Lantern Festival, to the soul of the lantern color, view lights, enjoy lights, play lights, dance lights is the basic content of this festival. Although the name is "Lantern Festival", in fact, its activities do not stop at the lantern viewing, guessing riddles, eating yuanxiao. Since the advent of the festival of Lights, various events such as folk entertainment and song and dance performances have been incorporated throughout the generations, adding to the joyous atmosphere of the festival.
Various cultural entertainment activities were held during the Lantern Festival, which had been active since the Tang Dynasty. Tang Zhang Hu "the fifteenth day of the first month night light" said: "Three hundred people even sleeve dance, a word in the sky." Beautiful folk dances and melodious songs accompanied people through the happy Lantern Festival night. During the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty, the folk also rose up the "hook" play, namely tug of war. "Feng Shi Wen Jian Ji" describes the first month of the Tang Dynasty Wangri folk to more than ten meters long hemp rope, two points to tie hundreds of small rope, people divided into two teams, "two hook pull together, a large group of neutral flag as the boundary, drum noise, so that the phase traction, but for the loss, called tug-of-war". This kind of hook play became an important part of the Lantern Festival entertainment in the Tang Dynasty.
Acrobatic activities during the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty were also colorful. "Tokyo Menghua Lu" describes the acrobatic items have hit the pill, Cuju, stepping on the pole, Zhao savage "pour cold to eat", Zhang Jiu Ge "swallow iron sword", Li Weining's medicine puppet, Xiao Jianer "spit five colors of water", and so on. These acrobatic performances undoubtedly add to the splendor of the Lantern Festival. During the Lantern Festival, there are countless songs and dances, such as bamboo horse, Murata music (Yangko), drought dragon boat, fish dragon dance, and puppetry, shadow puppetry, acrobatics, etc., which are very lively. Praiseworthy also similar to the color of shadow puppet lamp, silk lamp, walking lamp, etc., popular among people. Fan Chengda wrote in the Lantern Market: "Wutai is a prosperous place in ancient times and prefers lantern shows. Before the Spring Festival, the day after tomorrow, it will be fine. We will put lanterns on the streets." In the lantern market, dancing girls play the most. At the beginning of the lamp every night, xiao and drum are played together, and singing girls and dancing girls show their skills. Rich businessmen, rich, foppish, have to buy a laugh after huan, to the deeper four drums to stop. Jiang Baishi said in a poem, "The lights have faded and the moon is cold. Dancers often return late at night. Because not dancing, more to the street shadow look ".
Honeysuckle fire tree, light moon cross, drum Rao noisy sky, dance music Pian Wen. Since ancient times, the Lantern Festival has always been a common theme in the poems of poets and mokers. For example, Yan Ermei was quoted as saying in the "Shun Tianfu Records" of the Ming Dynasty: "Spring in Beijing, Yangko dance during the lantern season. Recently consecrate the Red Cloud Hall, not afraid to stop the street will pass." Yuan "Miscellaneous ode" : "Lights all over Ao Shan moon street, gongs and drums as thunder. It is clear to sing the music of the field, half is the poetry of the faint wind." Qin Songling's "Shangyuan Ci" : "Nine Ququ Xiao drum Yin eyes thunder, a total of the Marquis dance team to come. I have driven the lion to the West, and I am returning as if it were late at night." These verses vividly depict the happy scene of the Yuan night snack and record the activities of various folk songs and dances.
