What are the folk crafts in Luoyang?

Luoyang folk handicrafts: "Emperor" dragon lantern Luoyang dragon lantern began in the Han Dynasty, when performances were divided into "five-color dragons" of red, black, green, white and yellow. At present, the "Nanguan Dragon" in the old city of Luoyang is the only dragon dance in my country with a white beard to commemorate the strange celestial phenomenon when Zhao Kuangyin was born as the "True Dragon Emperor" in Luoyang. The "giant dragon" in Dongguan is more than 50 meters long. When special candles are lit, the dragon's body will neither go out nor burn, and it swims and soars in the night and in the sea of ??people. Although the dragon lantern in Luoyang is not long, it has only eight sections, one for the head, one for the tail, and six for the body. But each section must be connected with red silk cloth, so that the total length can reach more than 10 meters. The materials for making dragon lanterns are bamboo strips and wooden sticks, and some dragon whiskers made of ramie float on the dragon's lips. With such a dragon lantern appearance, it would probably be of little interest if displayed during the day. The wonderful thing is that dragon lantern dances are mostly performed at night. The dragon lantern has a built-in candle, and the dragon has a soul and becomes alive! When dancing, the image is lifelike. The book says that in some places oil paper rolls are used as lighting objects. It takes a lot of work to make oil paper rolls. First, roll the straw paper into the size of a finger, more than a foot long, fold it in half and twist it into a twist, and then fry it in boiling oil. The frying temperature must be controlled well. If it is tender, it will not withstand burning. If it is old, the flame will be small and easily blown out by the wind. This kind of thing must be done by the skillful girl and the agile wife. The day before the lantern dance, they got together, cutting paper, rubbing flowers, lighting fires, and frying oil paper. They were very busy. The dragon lanterns in Luoyang are very different from dragon lanterns in other places. They are made of paper instead of cloth. Think about it, there is fire in the dragon's body. If you use cloth, you are afraid of being burned by the fire. Wouldn't it be even more dangerous to use paper? But Luoyang people are so adventurous, and this is what makes Luoyang dragon lanterns so impressive. It is said that before the Song Dynasty, people in the Dongguan area of ??Luoyang were good at making paper flowers, and the business was booming. At the end of the Five Dynasties, merchants who made paper flowers shipped the paper flowers to Kaifeng and big cities in other provinces for sale. As a result, when they went outside, they saw that everyone was playing with dragon lanterns, so they followed their example and learned how to make dragon lanterns first. The dragon scales of dragon lanterns in other places are all made of cloth. Dongguan people thought, since we can make paper flowers, why not use paper instead of cloth as an innovation? Therefore, the dragon lanterns made in Luoyang are very cool, different from anyone else, and have a strong local color. There are many dragon lantern performances in Luoyang, but the Nanguan dragon lantern and the Huoshao street dragon lantern are the most distinctive. In particular, the dragon lanterns that burn the streets are famous far and near because they are related to Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, was born in the eight-hole kiln of Jiamaying, Dongguan. Legend has it that when he was born, a red light shone in the sky in the middle of the night, making it look like a fire burning from a distance. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Jiamaying was renamed Huoshao Street. Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangyi was also born here. After he took over and ascended the throne, he changed Huoshao Street into Shuanglong Lane. Later, the people of the Song Dynasty built the Taizu Temple in Shuanglong Lane, and the dragon lantern was changed from the original single dragon dance to the two dragon dance together. But there are differences between these two dragon lanterns. One is a fire dragon with a red body and a curly tail, symbolizing Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin; the other is a green dragon with a broom tail, symbolizing Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi. Two dragon lanterns dance on the street at the same time, one behind the other, meandering and echoing each other, which is very spectacular. According to "Luoyang City Chronicles": Before liberation, the Huoshao Street Dragon Lantern Society was located in the Taizu Temple. The "head" was mostly a local gentleman. Every year during the Lantern Festival, City God's Festival, and Cold Food Festival, dragon lanterns would be performed on time. During the performance, drums shook the sky, firecrackers blasted, and there were more than a hundred sticks and fire bombs on the scene. It was majestic and very powerful. There are a total of nine dragon dancers. The dragon head weighs more than 40 kilograms and is played by a strong man. The dragon tail is even heavier, about 60 kilograms. This reporter has seen dragon lantern dances twice, both on the Lantern Festival night in the 1980s. I remember one time in the square in front of the city hall, two dragon lanterns jumped into the "dance floor" surrounded by the audience. Firecrackers burst out, drums rumbled, and the conductor's whistle was vaguely heard. Following the whistle, the dragon lantern flies up and down, one section rises, one section falls, one section lifts up, one section bends down, like a dragon going out to sea, wagging its head and tail, swimming as much as it wants. After a while, I suddenly heard a whistle blowing loudly and saw the dance posture change. I saw the leader holding the wooden pole with beads tied to the waist and fixing it in one place to spin in a circle. The dragon lantern quickly rotated with him as the center. The lead ball spins faster and faster, the dragon head bites tightly, the dragon body and tail follow closely, the wind is so fast, the tiger and the tiger are in the wind, dancing straight until the lights are extinguished one by one, in the blink of an eye, the sky is dark and the earth is dark, and all the dragon dancers are panting. . I think the person playing the tail of the dragon has the hardest time. He is on the outside and runs several times the route of the dragon head. He cannot keep up without the speed of the 100-meter race. After one game, even the "scud" needs to be replaced. . It turns out that for the dragon head and dragon tail dancers, one must miss the A and B parts. This is probably similar to a troupe performance. The main character has many arias, which is too tiring, and the A and B parts must be replaced. It is said that those who dance the dragon's head and tail dance well will have prosperous heirs, many children, and good luck, so young men are competing to dance the dragon's head and dragon's tail, and have to train themselves in the most difficult positions. No wonder, they are all "descendants of the dragon"! The image of the dragon is both majestic and agile. It is regarded as a divine creature that can move clouds and bring rain, eliminate disasters and bring blessings. It is reasonable for people to compete in dragon dance to express their worship of dragons. As for saying that dancing well will lead to more children and good fortune, it is just to encourage the younger generations to take up the leading roles and contribute to the Dragon Lantern Society. On the 14th and 15th day of the first lunar month, most of the dragon lanterns have been burned by the continuous firecrackers. Some of them look "invisible", with only the bamboo strips skeleton left.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, some places will hold a Huilong Ceremony. This is the end of the Lantern Festival, and the scene is frantic. It is not finished until we return to the temple late at night. At that time, the dragon's body was no longer useful, except for the dragon's head, which was burned and sent to heaven. The dragon head is placed high on the temple beam, ready to be used again next year.

Folk crafts--Luoyang Tang Sancai, Luoyang cloth tiger,