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The Light of Yuan Hsiao: Origins of the Chinese Lantern Festival
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10432 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1993 |
2,147 Words |
| Author
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Galen Harris Valle
Galen Harris Valle is a free-lance writer living in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, whose focus, is life in Asia. |
The celebration of Chinese New Year is a month long observance that begins on the sixteenth day of the last month of the old year and culminates on the fifteenth day of the first month of the new year with the celebration called Yuan Hsiao Chie--the Festival of the Night of the First Full Moon.
In English, this celebration has, over time, come to be known as the Lantern Festival, due to the custom of carrying illuminated lanterns outside to parks and temples. Traditionally, lanterns are made of bamboo and are illuminated with candles. Now, however, the more aesthetically pleasing bamboo lanterns have mostly given way to durable, brightly colored plastic lanterns. Lit by flashlights, they take the form of cars, boats, and airplanes among others. When seen in a park by the thousands, even these modern lanterns are a spectacular sight.
Some lanterns bear riddles. The origins of this practice are rooted in myth. It is said that in ancient times, an arrogant mandarin criticized a Chinese merchant named Wang Shao for his poor clothing. Wang Shao decided to take revenge on the mandarin on the night of the Lantern Festival by presenting him with a lantern bearing this riddle:
Its head is sharp, body
slight,
And it is as white as
silver.
Its weight is light,
Has eyes on its tail.
It sees only clothing--
not men.
The mandarin was infuriated, thinking that the riddle described him. Having taken his revenge, Wang Shao explained that the answer was a needle.
Another custom prevalent during the festival is the eating and giving of tang yuan, the rice dumplings also known as yuan hsiao. The term dumpling covers a wide variety of Chinese foods; in this case, sesame paste or peanut syrup. Yuan hsiao are said to represent the moon and family togetherness.
Another popular event during Chinese New Year is the Rocket Festival held in the Taiwanese village of Yen Shui, near Tainan. Yen Shui was a prosperous river port until, about 190 years ago; it suffered a deadly plague that killed scores of villagers. Kuan Yu, the god of war, was
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