The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival was also called the Shangyuan Festival in ancient times. The Shangyuan Festival originated in the Western Han Dynasty and became very lively in the Tang Dynasty.

The most famous poem describing the Lantern Festival is "The Fifteenth Night of the First Month" by Su Weiwei.

Su Weiwei was the prime minister in Wu Zetian's later period. He could write poetry at the age of nine and became a Jinshi at the age of 20. Wu Zetian valued talents and liked to select talented people as prime ministers. Su Weiwei was one of them. He served as prime minister for 7 years.

When Su Weiwei was in office, he was cautious and hesitant in doing things. He had a famous saying: Don’t try to be decisive and clear when doing things. If you make mistakes, you will be blamed. It’s better to be ambiguous and hold both ends.

Su Weiwei does not make his position clear when dealing with things. He is afraid of making wrong judgments and being framed, so he prefers to be ambiguous and is known as "Su Fulang".

He was demoted to the governor of Yizhou during the Tang Zhongzong period because of his appearance in front of Wu Zetian. He, Du Shenyan, Cui Rong, and Li Qiao are known as the "Four Friends of Articles". Among his descendants, the most famous are the three Sus of the Song Dynasty: Su Xun, Su Shi, and Su Che.

Su Weiwei’s song "The Fifteenth Night of the First Month" describes the prosperity of the Lantern Festival during the Tang Dynasty.

During the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty, Yuanxiao was not eaten as it is today. Eating Yuanxiao only started after the Song Dynasty. What are the characteristics of the Shangyuan Festival in the Tang Dynasty? It has two characteristics: one is to put out lanterns, and the other is to stay up late at night. It is a carnival for ancient people.

Let's take a look at this song "The Fifteenth Night of the First Month":

Fire trees and silver flowers bloom, and the iron locks of the star bridge open.

The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the person.

All the players and performers are in plum blossoms, and all the singers are in plum blossoms.

Jinwu can’t help but stay at night, and the jade leaks don’t urge each other.

Fire trees and silver flowers bloomed, and the iron locks of the star bridge opened.

The fire tree means that the tree is as bright as fire, and the silver flower means that when viewed from a distance, the lights look like silver flowers. On the day of the Lantern Festival, the trees in the imperial city are hung with lanterns. Under the starry sky at night, the moonlight and lights blend together, creating a colorful scene that makes people forget to leave.

The ancients said, "Work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets." This sentence means that you work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets. It means that people should comply with the laws of nature.

But on the other hand, the ancients relied entirely on the moon for lighting, and without moonlight they would not be able to see. Couldn't the ancients light candles? In ancient times, candles were very expensive and ordinary people could not afford to light them. It was not as simple as turning on a light now.

When it comes to the Lantern Festival, in order to celebrate the festival, every household, from dignitaries to common people, lights up lanterns, which is very lively. Xingqiao was the most important bridge in Luoyang City at that time. To the north of the bridge is the imperial city, and to the south is the residential area. In normal times, the iron locks on the bridge are locked and people are not allowed to move freely.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the iron locks on the Star Bridge will be opened, because all the civil and military officials in the imperial city, as well as the beauties in the harem, will come out to enjoy the lanterns with the people and celebrate the joy of the whole world. festival.

The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the person.

A young man on the street rode a horse and ran into the distance. Under the light, he saw clouds of dust rolling up and disappearing behind the horse's tail. The moonlight shines on the horseman, and also on everyone, and follows them all the time.

These two poems go from near to far, first describing the horseman in front of him, and then the moon in the sky in the distance. These are the scenes in the poet's eyes, including a young man, a horse, a bright moon, and crowd.

All the players and performers are in plum trees, and all the singers are in plum blossoms.

Youji refers to a singing girl, Meili means lush Lihua, Xingge means singing while walking, and Luomei is a popular song in the Tang Dynasty. The singers on the street are as gorgeous as flowers. They sing the song "Falling Plum Blossoms" as they walk. It's so lively!

These two lines of poems are the carnival scene in the poet's eyes. It can be imagined that the singers are singing and dancing to celebrate the festival. The enthusiasm of people on the upper reaches of the river is rising, pushing the joy of the festival to a climax.

Jinwu can’t help but stay at night, and jade leaks don’t urge each other.

Jinwu refers to Jinwu Guards, who were the official guards of the Tang Dynasty. In ancient times, at night, the imperial city was under martial law and the guards had to patrol at night. People can only stay at home and cannot go out at will, and the streets are deserted. However, on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days of the first lunar month, Jinwu Guards could not stay at night, and the people could enjoy themselves as much as they liked.

Since the night is not forbidden, everyone can enjoy themselves and have fun, but the poet immediately changed the subject to "Don't rush each other with jade leaks". Yu leaks are urging people that the time is up.

A jade leak is a drip leak made of jade and is an ancient timepiece. The jade leaks are dripping down drop by drop, and time is passing quietly. Such a beautiful night is about to pass!

The poet is lamenting that the moment of indulgence and joy is about to pass. From carnival to ordinary life, from today to tomorrow, from youth to gray hair, the loss of time is a natural law. , this is the normal state of life.

Therefore, the poet keenly feels that people are powerless in the face of the laws of nature, followed by a touch of melancholy.

This poem "The Fifteenth Night of the First Moon" describes the prosperous scene of the Lantern Festival. The poet Su Weiwei starts with the colorful scenes and ends with his own inner feelings. The description is vivid, delicate and highly contagious. .

This five-character poem has eight lines in total, using two lines to rhyme. Kai, Lai, Mei, and Ji at the end of the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth lines rhyme, making it read with a sense of rhythm. .

Although the poet has been away from us for thousands of years, the poem he left behind allows us to understand that the Tang Dynasty can really be called the "Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty".