How can you forget these folk customs and memories?

"In the first month, on the first day of the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there are lanterns..." This catchy folk song sings the joy and folk customs of the Lantern Festival. The word "nao" reflects the unrestrained, joyful and passionate Lantern Festival. Generally speaking, the New Year is completed when the fifteenth day comes. Therefore, in the eyes of ordinary people, its importance is second only to the Spring Festival.

Speaking of the most lively place to celebrate the Lantern Festival in the history of Shenyang, it is Siping Street (today’s Zhong Street). Today, let’s talk about the things that Shenyang people enjoy during the Lantern Festival.

Siping Lantern Market was once among the "Eight Scenic Spots of Shengjing"

The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Lantern Festival lantern viewing activities flourished. In the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was highly valued. There were many styles of lanterns and lantern viewing activities became more lively. In the Ming Dynasty, lantern viewing was required for 10 consecutive days during the Lantern Festival.

In the Qing Dynasty, although the lantern viewing event only lasted for three days, the scale of the event was very large and the event was unprecedented. This situation was even more true in Shengjing at that time.

Zhan Hongge, a famous collector of historical documents and cultural and historical consultant of Shenyang Evening News, said that before the Qing Dynasty, Shenyang had the custom of making and placing lanterns. According to Liu Shiying's "Capital Chronicle" of the Qing Dynasty, in the early Qing Dynasty, Shengjing, the capital of the capital, held a lantern festival on the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The custom of people watching lanterns at night was followed from generation to generation and gradually became large-scale.

The famous poet Yao Yuanzhi wrote a poem "Ode to the Lantern Festival" that describes the scene of the street lamp market in Siping, Shengjing: "The bees and butterflies among the flowers are wild with joy, and the night is long with the fragrance of BMWs. The headlights on the twelfth floor "Like fire, the moon on Siping Street is like frost." The poem describes the lively scene of lantern viewing in Shengjing during the Lantern Festival during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.

It is understood that as early as the early Qing Dynasty, Emperor Shunzhi settled in Beijing as the capital. Shenyang, as the accompanying capital, held lantern festivals together with Beijing. In the late Guangxu and Xuantong years of the Qing Dynasty, Siping Street (now Zhong Street) became the most prosperous commercial street in Shengjing. Every year during the Lantern Festival, a lantern market was held on this street, and crowds of people watched the lanterns. During the late Guangxu and Xuantong years of the Qing Dynasty, Shenyang's lantern culture reached its peak. The Siping Lantern Fair at that time was comparable to the Beijing Lantern Festival.

The grand occasion at that time was described in "Ode to Poems of Shengjing" in the late Qing Dynasty: "Watching the horses in Siping, thousands of lanes were empty for three days." It can be said that Zhongjie was the most carnival place in Shenyang at that time.

It is worth mentioning that at that time, lanterns and Yangko dancing were a perfect match. Miao Runfu, a poet in the late Qing Dynasty, recorded this in his "Hundred Odes of Shenyang": "In the New Year, Yangko is sung again, and Niuni competes to praise Mrs. Jiang. Who is the host and who is the guest, everyone listens to Fengyang gong."

Zhan Hongge introduced that in the early years of the Republic of China, the Siping Lantern Market became one of the "Eight Scenic Spots in Beijing". On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the entire Siping Street is filled with lanterns of various shapes, and crowds of people watch the lanterns, making it very lively. .

Recalling those days, Zhang Zuolin also had a love for lanterns

After Zhang Zuolin took charge of the Northeast, he was particularly fond of lanterns. His subordinates liked him and found Li Mingyan, who was then the superintendent of the Fengtian Provincial Education Association. , and asked him to be responsible for assisting the Imperial City Lighting Market in completing the overall plan, including positioning, site layout, coordination of public security, and also responsible for advising the lantern officials. As a school supervisor, he lived up to expectations and made the Imperial City Lantern Festival a success. He also introduced lantern making as a handicraft class in the school, allowing more young people to learn the skills of making lanterns.

According to records, at the Shengjing Lantern Festival, Zhang Zuolin’s favorite was a box lantern. Box lanterns are lanterns, but they are more like a theater box that can play plays. There are up to a dozen layers of lamps inside the box lamps, and each layer tells a different folklore and dramatic story. When placing the box lamp, use a long bamboo pole to lift the lamp high, and then light the fuse. As the fuse burns, the sets of lamps will fall one after another, making a sound and sound. As the soot and sparks fell, another small stage fell down with a "bang", and the second performance began. When he saw the wonderful things, the commander took the lead in applauding them and rewarded the lantern artists generously. It is said that he once rewarded the lantern artists with 3,000 yuan.

At that time, businesses opened on the sixth day of the first lunar month, and the shops on both sides of Siping Street hung light ropes under the eaves. On the ropes, ruler-long colored papers were written with auspicious words such as "Good weather and good weather". The whole street was filled with red flags and colored paper fluttering in the wind, and the festive atmosphere was very strong. Shops start making lanterns on the sixth day of the first lunar month, and each house must put up at least 5 lanterns. These lanterns are made of two layers of tulle and painted with figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, etc. Some merchants also use ice and snow piles to make ice lanterns for buildings, towers, pavilions, pavilions and other scenery as well as figures such as old men, women, boys and girls. There are also fish lanterns, sheep lanterns, lotus lanterns, revolving lanterns, etc., which are so exquisite that the entire Siping Street merges into a river of lights.

Northern style lanterns are unique

It is worth mentioning that Shenyang’s lantern making technology has been inherited for more than 300 years and has its own system. At present, there are two largest lantern-making industries in China: one is the Sichuan Zigong lanterns from the south, and the other is the Shenyang lanterns from the north. The northern style lantern art is unique. It is characterized by grand shapes and rich local colors. While maintaining the characteristics of Han lanterns, it incorporates the customs and characteristics of northern ethnic minorities such as the Manchu. There are hundreds of styles preserved and many production processes. Up to 16 links.

Take the dragon lantern as an example. The dragon scales of the northern style dragon lantern are bent from a skeleton. The bent scales are even and strong. The dragon body is made of dragon scales tied and stacked one by one. When the lantern is turned on, the dragon body is completely transparent and integrated. The scales of the dragon in the south are cut from floral paper, and the dragon body needs to be supported by a wooden frame. After the lights are turned on, the horizontal and vertical ribs and supports in the dragon body can be seen at a glance, and the edges and corners of the body are not as rounded as in the north.

It is understood that at present, "Shenyang Traditional Lantern Making Technique" and "Siping Street Lantern Market" have both been included in the municipal intangible cultural heritage list.

Nanhu Park Lantern Festival is a unique memory for Shenyang people

In addition to enjoying lanterns on Zhongjie, Nanhu Park was also a good place for Shenyang people to enjoy lanterns. I think back then, the lantern festival in Nanhu Park was a common memory for generations of Shenyang people. Many people had left precious black and white or color photos under the lanterns. In the photos, they showed babbling children riding on the shoulders of their parents to watch the lantern festival. , have grown up now, but the custom of watching the lanterns every Chinese New Year is still imprinted on everyone’s lives. When it comes to the Nanhu Park Lantern Festival, the deepest impression is the crowding and shivering cold. It’s so cold. Basically, everyone watching the lanterns talks with a white “fairy spirit” when they walk around. ".

It is understood that between 1983 and 1987, Shenyang held 5 large-scale lantern festivals, which were located in Zhongjie, Nanhu Park, Zhongshan Park and other places. The big factories in Shenyang were responsible for the production and installation for tourists. Enjoy. At this time, the concept of lamps had changed from the original hanging type to a large floor-standing mechanical lantern. The characters on the high platform were lifelike and seemed to be alive when running on the track. The lamp integrating sound, light and electricity immediately became people's favorite... …

In order to enrich the cultural and entertainment environment for Shenyang citizens and create a unique winter tourism brand card for Shenyang, the Nanhu Park New Year Ice and Snow Lantern Festival has returned since last year. This is the first time that Nanhu Park has held the New Year Lantern Festival again after 15 years.

Shenyang Evening News, Shenyang Daily Media Senior Reporter Bai Xin Photography Chief Reporter Chang Shenggang