Shicheng Lantern Show
A city of lights, A night of family delights.
🏮The Lantern Festival Legend
⭐ Origins
No later than the eleventh year of the Baoda reign in the Southern Tang (953), Han people from the Central Plains migrated southward to Shicheng, bringing with them the lantern culture. As it blended with local indigenous traditions, the custom of lantern festivals gradually took shape.
Legend
It is said that Yinglong, the divine dragon under the command of the Yellow Emperor, had the power to bring rain and dispel disasters. To honor him, the people crafted “stalk dragon lanterns” from bundles of straw and danced with them in the fields to pray for rain. This practice is regarded as the earliest prototype of the Shicheng Dragon Lantern tradition.
Folk
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, lantern artistry merged with folk music, dance, and opera, giving rise to dozens of varieties such as dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, tea-basket lanterns, snake lanterns, and clam-shell lanterns. These displays served both as offerings to the gods and as entertainment for the people.
🌟The lanterns say, "Goodnight, goodnight!" But our happy hearts still shine so bright!
📚Resources:
Baidu Baike
China Heritage Digital Museum
Sohu
Jiamei News