Lantern Festival

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lantern Festival

Applicant: Liulin County, Shanxi Province

Item No.: 978

Project No.: Ⅹ - 71

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Shanxi Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Liulin County, Shanxi Province

Protection unit: Liulin Cultural Center

Lantern Festival (Liulin plate Festival)

Applicant: Liulin County, Shanxi Province

Lantern Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival", "Yuanxi Festival" and "Lantern Festival", is a traditional Chinese festival, which is popular all over the country. In China, the first month of the lunar calendar is Yuanyue, which is called "Xiao" in ancient times. Therefore, the 15th day of the first full moon in a year is called "Yuanxiao Festival".

Since the Han Dynasty, China has been lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival, which has gradually developed into a custom. In the Tang Dynasty, this custom became more popular. The sentence "fire trees and silver flowers, star bridges and iron locks open" describes the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival in Chang'an. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival has become an important part of people's life, and it will enjoy lanterns continuously for 10 days. In the Qing Dynasty, the Lantern Festival is a folk festival enjoyed by all the people, Fireworks and firecrackers will be set off during the lantern watching activities.

There are also some traditional activities in the Lantern Festival: one is "guessing lantern riddles", also known as "playing lantern riddles", which first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The riddles are to be guessed and the winner will be awarded; the other is to eat yuanxiao, which was originally known as "fuyuanzi", also known as "tangtuan" or "Tangyuan", a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. It is filled with stuffing and eaten after being cooked in water, Eating Lantern Festival symbolizes the family reunion, harmony and happiness. The Lantern Festival in some places also has the custom of "walking through all kinds of diseases", also known as "baking all kinds of diseases" and "dispersing all kinds of diseases". People walk together on the Lantern Festival, or cross the bridge with each other, or go to the suburbs, symbolizing the elimination of diseases and disasters, peace and prosperity. Since modern times, traditional performances such as playing dragon lantern, playing lion, walking on stilts, rowing dry boat, twisting Yangko, playing Taiping drum and so on have been added to the Lantern Festival activities, which makes the Lantern Festival have a new development in the inheritance.

The Lantern Festival, which has a history of more than 2000 years, is not only popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also highly valued in overseas Chinese communities. In addition to the Han nationality, Manchu, Korean, Hezhe, Mongolian, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen, Hui, Xibo, Tibetan, Bai, Naxi, Miao, Yao, she, Zhuang, Buyi, Li, Gelao and other ethnic minorities also celebrate the Lantern Festival, with their own characteristics.

Liulin pan Hui, also known as "Tianguan Hui" and "Xiaozi Hui", is a popular folk cultural activity in Liulin County and Mucun village, Shanxi Province. Activities are held from the 13th to the 26th of the first lunar month, with the Lantern Festival as the climax. During this period, the streets and alleys were on duty by sections, with lanterns and colorful lanterns, high colored plates, and social fires, or accompanied by Yangko, singing, or nine tunes and dragon fighting. People gathered together to celebrate the festival and pray for good weather in the coming year.

The plate will be spread around the plate. The plate is a combined attic style antique architectural model, which is actually equivalent to the enlarged divine attic. It is exquisitely made, generally three to four meters high, and is divided into four corners, six corners, single-layer and double-layer styles. It is mostly made of fine and hard wood. This small wooden attic has several or even more than a dozen shrines dedicated to the God of heaven, God of wealth, empress dowager, Guanyin Bodhisattva and other gods.

Liulin Panzi club has a history of more than 500 years, and generally operates in the form of neighborhood investment. According to reports, during the period of the Republic of China, there were no less than 50 dishes in Liulin. At present, there are more than 200 Liulin plates. The oldest preserved one is the wooden plate made by Jiangqu of Mucun in 1900.