Among the vast galaxy of many traditional festivals of the Chinese nation, the Lantern Festival, with its unique symbol of burning lanterns and the theme of reunion, which symbolizes family reunion, carries the profound cultural memory of the Chinese nation.
However, when we look back at history from a modern perspective, it is not difficult to find that just like the character Chengcai in "Soldiers Assault" is often misinterpreted by the audience, many cultural details and spiritual core of the Lantern Festival have been simplified or even misinterpreted over the long years.
Accurate cultural interpretation must be like verifying historical facts, brushing aside superficial phenomena and restoring the rich and complex true appearance of history.
An examination of the origins: the original humanistic aspirations behind the lights
The origin of the Lantern Festival cannot be covered by a single event, but the integration of multiple cultural factors in a long history.
Academic circles generally believe that its prototype can be traced back to the sacrificial activities for "Taiyi God" in the Han Dynasty.
"Historical Records and Music Book" records that "the Han family often worships Taiyi in Ganquan on the first Xin day of the first lunar month", "their sacrifices begin at dusk" and "continue until dawn". Such bright lights during night sacrifices laid the initial foreshadowing for later generations of Lantern Festival lantern viewing.
At the same time, the influence of the spread of Buddhism to the east cannot be ignored.
Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty advocated Buddhism and issued an edict stipulating that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, "lanterns should be lit to represent the Buddha." Because of this, this sacrificial ceremony was recognized and supported as an official ritual system.
It has a deeper cultural foundation. Its origin is the awe of the "fire" and the worship of the "star" by the ancestors. The act of lighting lanterns at the beginning of the New Year symbolizes the use of light to drive away the haze and evil spirits of winter, and then pray for a good harvest and prosperity in the new year.
Such a diverse source of origin has enabled the Lantern Festival to hold sacrificial rituals, spread religion, and include folk customs and wishes from the earliest moments of its birth. Just as the shrewdness of a grown man is his instinctive way to survive in a complex environment, the complex source and origin of the Lantern Festival is also an expression of the vitality of its cultural existence.
Historical evolution: from palace confinement to market carnival
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the bright lights of the Lantern Festival began to gradually move from the palace to the upper class. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it ushered in its first high-level period in its development process.
During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, a grand and grand performance of hundreds of operas was held outside Duanmen in Luoyang. The theater stretched for eight miles and used as many as ten thousand musicians. The scale of the performance was truly astonishing to the extreme, and people couldn't help but admire it!
During the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was officially established, as well as the night-time system with one day before and one day before and after it, for a total of three days. The curfew was eliminated and people were allowed to watch the lanterns all night long.
What describes the real scene of the Lantern Festival night in Chang'an City at that time is "Fire trees and silver flowers are closing, and the iron locks of the star bridge are opening" written by the poet Su Weiwei.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was extended to ten days, making it the longest Lantern Festival in Chinese history.
The evolution trajectory of Chengcai from the Seventh Steel Company to the Red Third Company appears to be a personal decision at first glance, but in fact it is the individual’s pursuit of a better living space in the torrent of time. Just like the Lantern Festival has moved from the palace to the people, it is also a necessary result of the changes in social structure and the rise of the citizen class.
Folk Etiquette: Philosophy of Life in Three Packs of Cigarettes
The three packs of cigarettes that the man named Chengcai always carries in his pocket are a tool for him to manage relationships when he adapts to society. It is such a detail that just reflects the social etiquette contained in the folk customs of the Lantern Festival, as well as the core wisdom of human relationships.
The traditional Lantern Festival customs are definitely not just about eating, drinking, and having fun. It is a set of sophisticated mechanisms for regulating social relationships.
For example, there is a custom of sending lanterns. The mother's family will give a lantern to their married daughter, which means "the entrance of a new child." This is a blessing for the continuation of the family bloodline. Neighbors give each other lanterns, which is a bond that enhances community sentiment and builds harmonious and good-neighborly relations.
For another example, there is a custom of "eliminating all diseases". During the Lantern Festival, women will invite each other and go out together to play. They walk through city gates and bridges. The purpose is to remove various diseases and make the body strong and healthy. This is not only a collective health wish, but also a rare space for social interaction and outdoor activities for women under the constraints of feudal ethics.
The seemingly ordinary act of eating Yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls) contains the meaning of "reunion" and is a highly concentrated expression of family ethics. By sharing food, the family's sense of identity is effectively strengthened and the bond between blood relatives is strengthened.
These folk customs were created by the ancestors when there was no strong external force to rely on. The purpose is to maintain social harmony and protect their own well-being. It is a kind of "survival wisdom", which is exactly the same as the logic of "relying on one's own" to become successful.
Regional Differences: Festival Variations of One Country’s Land and Water
As people often say, "Ten miles have different winds and hundreds of miles have different customs." The Lantern Festival shows a variety of different regional styles on the land of China. This echoes the internal logic of Chengcai and Xu Sanduo, who have different choices due to their different origins.
When celebrating the Lantern Festival in the northern region, most of them are characterized by a relatively rough and bold style, just like the Shehuo performance in Shaanxi. The scene is very grand and spectacular, and the movements presented are particularly exaggerated. It combines the high platform, the core and the gongs and drums. The fusion of a performance form fully demonstrates the tension contained in life on the Loess Plateau; as for the Jiuqu Yellow River Array Lantern Festival, with its relatively complex formation and mysterious symbolic meaning of blessing, it has attracted a large number of people to "turn the lanterns" to seek good luck.
In the southern region, the characteristics displayed are more exquisite and delicate. For example, Zhejiang has Xia Shi lanterns which are famous for their eight techniques of "needle, twist, knot, tie, carve, draw, paste and mount". The craft is extremely complicated and the finished product is exquisite and clear; in Fujian, There are traveling god games in Guangdong and other places. This kind of activity involves taking the statues of gods out of temples and letting them parade throughout the country, so that people and gods can feel joy together, and the sense of community identity has been unprecedentedly strengthened in such activities.
In Sichuan, there is a unique custom of "stealing green vegetables". During the Lantern Festival night, young men and women will go to other people's vegetable gardens and steal some vegetables. If they encounter the stolen vegetables, not only will they not be angry, but they will think that this is a good omen.
These folk activities have obvious differences in appearance, but their core goals are highly consistent, which is to hope for good weather, a good harvest, and long for community safety.
Together they constitute the rich aspects of the Lantern Festival, a national intangible cultural heritage .
Spiritual core and contemporary inheritance: the extraordinary light of ordinary people
A comprehensive review of the Lantern Festival's past experiences and folk customs reveals that its most critical spiritual value lies in the longing for "light" and the persistence of "reunion".
This kind of light comes from the bright moon in the sky, it comes from the lights on the ground, and it comes from every ordinary person. Every ordinary person has beautiful expectations for the future life.
Chengcai may not be as pure as Xu Sanduo, nor as desperate as Wu Liuyi, but he has always relied on his own efforts to find a way out. His resilience that is unwilling to sink and actively adapt to the environment is the epitome of countless ordinary people who are striving to move forward in the changes of the times.
The Lantern Festival was originally used for sacrificial lights, and then gradually evolved into a traditional cultural symbol that is now celebrated by the whole people. Its vitality comes from this. It is not only an elegant gathering activity for the elite, but also a spiritual home for thousands of ordinary people who have no "backers" to create and pass on in their own way.
In the contemporary era, we use modern light and shadow related technologies to re-present the traditional form of lantern festivals, and through means that can fully integrate various media for communication, the ancient folk customs can be introduced to the younger generation. The essence of this is still the desire for the light and warmth that embodies the most simple feeling.
When we read Lantern Festival again, it is not only to review history again, but also to rediscover and affirm the efforts and values of every ordinary individual that are covered up by the grand narrative.
Just like Chengcai finally found his own proper direction in the grassland class 5, the Lantern Festival will also be bound to show new vitality and brilliance through continuous creative transformation and innovative development in the specific soil of contemporary society, and then continue to illuminate the path of the Chinese nation's spiritual return.
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