Lanterns are an ancient Chinese traditional handicraft, a kind of lamp, which can be used for lighting, beautifying the environment and creating a festive atmosphere. Lanterns originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2000 years ago. Every year around the fifteenth lunar month of the first lunar month, people hung red lanterns symbolizing the meaning of reunion to create a festive atmosphere.
Later, the lantern became a symbol of Chinese celebration. Through the inheritance and development of the lantern artists in the past, a variety of varieties and superb craftsmanship have been formed. From the categories: palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, chandeliers and so on. In terms of shape, there are characters, landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, fish and insects, etc. In addition, there are walking lights for people to enjoy.
Chinese lanterns combine arts such as painting art, paper cutting, paper tying, and piercing. Among the lanterns made in ancient China, palace lanterns and gauze lanterns are the most famous.
Lanterns are closely linked to the lives of Chinese people. There are lanterns everywhere in temples and living rooms. According to historical records, it is after the Qin and Han dynasties in China that the paper lantern was invented after the paper was invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Chinese lanterns are not only used for lighting, they are also often a symbol. For example, the palace lantern represents the wedding celebration; the bamboo stick lantern announces that it is a funeral occasion; and the umbrella lantern (the surname lantern), because the voice of "lamp" and "ding" are the same, it means that Ding thrives. Therefore, in the past, every family had a surname lamp hanging under the eaves and in the living room. At today's welcoming game, there are still two big lanterns in front of the gods, which is the continuation of this custom.
However, the lantern is most reminiscent and hopeful for the Lantern Festival. The custom of watching lanterns in the Lantern Festival originated in the early years of the Han dynasty. In the first year of the Tang and Kai Dynasties, in order to celebrate Cathay Pacific ’s people ’s safety, the lanterns were tied together. . When Zhu Yuanzhang built the capital of Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, he even set off 10,000 water lamps on the Qinhuai River; Yongle Dynasty set up a lamppost on the Daoshan Mountain at the Wumen Gate, and set up a "lamp market" outside the Huamen Gate, making Beiping a "Dengshikou" street . After the Republic of China, although the lantern festival is still there, it is much more bland. Fortunately, due to China's fever, lanterns are gradually playing an important role in home decoration. It is made of cloth, plastic, iron wire, and the shape and color of the lantern are also very different from the traditional ones.
In addition to lighting, lanterns have other meanings. Every year when the first month private school (ancient school) starts, parents will prepare a lantern for their children, which will be lit by the teacher, symbolizing the bright future of the students. Later it evolved into the custom of lanterns during the Lantern Festival. Because the pronunciation is similar to "Ting Ding", the lantern is also used to pray for a child. In the era of Japanese occupation, patriots painted folk stories on lanterns and taught their children and grandchildren to understand their own culture.
