1928: The Rise of Giants

In the 1934rd year of the Republic of China (), it was the Lantern Festival.

The chilly spring weather could not stop people's enthusiasm for viewing the lights. Both the old city and the foreign concessions were packed with people that night.

The streets and alleys are crowded with people, and there are various food stalls along the way. The lantern market sells both traditional candle and paper lanterns as well as modern glass electric lamps.

Young students, white-collar workers, wealthy people, and ordinary people all came out of their homes and onto the streets. There were even quite a few foreigners who followed the local customs.

Of course, there are also thieves and gangsters who take advantage of the festive atmosphere to commit pickpocketing and kidnapping cases.

Ye Zhuohua rode on his father's neck and pointed to the distance and shouted excitedly: "Dad, Dad, look, the lights over there are moving!"

"That's a revolving lantern." Ye Luo said with a smile.

Ye Zhuohua looked curious: "Why is it called a revolving lantern?"

Ye Luo explained: "Because there is a horse painted on each side of this lantern, it looks like a horse running when it rotates, so it is called a revolving lantern."

Ye Zhuohua added: "But the one I saw didn't have a horse. It was painted with Sun Wukong. It should be called Sun Wukong Lantern."

Ye Luo was sweating profusely, and he was too lazy to explain any more: "You can also call it Sun Wukong Lantern."

Bai Xiuzhu, Ruan Lingyu, Hu Die and Lin Ruxian walked together, each holding a lantern in their hands, and together with John King Fairbank and Wilma Fairbank, they helped two foreigners learn about the Lantern Festival in English.

As they walked, Ye Luo told his son about the myth of Lantern Festival: "A long time ago, wild beasts harmed people everywhere, so people organized to resist. One day, a sacred bird got lost and was shot dead by an uninformed hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he found out, and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, in order to burn all the people and livestock to death. The Emperor of Heaven's daughter was kind-hearted and could not bear to see the people suffer, so she risked her life to secretly tell the people the news. After hearing this story, people came up with an idea. On the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days of the first lunar month, every household decorated with lanterns, set off firecrackers and fireworks. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven would think that people were burned to death."

"Oh," Ye Zhuohua laughed, "The Emperor is so stupid."

Everyone quickly gathered together to guess lantern riddles. The stall owner greeted them enthusiastically, "Guess the lantern riddles. It's 10 cents per guess. If you guess correctly, you will get a prize. Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to try it?"

Ye Luo took out a dollar and said with a smile: "Everyone try it."

Bai Xiuzhu walked to a lantern and saw the words written on it: There is a house beside the lake and a fence beside the flowers. Guess a plant.

She thought hard for a long time and said to the stall owner, "Is it a willow tree?"

The stall owner smiled and said, "Madam, your guess was not quite right. Do you want to try again?"

Bai Xiuzhu turned around and asked Ye Luo: "Brother Luo, can you guess it?"

Ye Luo smiled and said, "The gourd."

The stall owner immediately opened the paper under the lamp, and sure enough, the answer was "gourd". He handed Ye Zhuohua a candied haws and said respectfully, "This gentleman is very knowledgeable, and he guessed it right at the first try. You just gave me 1 yuan, and you can guess eight more times."

"I want some too! I want some candied haws too!" Ye Hao and Ye He, who were held by Hu Die and Ruan Lingyu, also shouted.

Ye Luo walked to the lamp next to him and saw the words on it: Double Ninth Festival is approaching, autumn eyes are across, married to a foreign land and now returning home. Guess a vegetable.

Ye Luo was a little unsure, and after thinking for a while he said, "Radish?"

The stall owner gave me a thumbs up and said, "Sir, you are amazing. You can guess this! This puzzle is very difficult. The prize is two candy bars."

Ye Hao and Ye He received two candied haws and clapped their hands in joy: "Dad is so awesome, Dad is so awesome!" Just as everyone was happily guessing lantern riddles, Fairbank asked: "Second Master, why is the Lantern Festival in the Republic of China more lively than the Spring Festival?"

Ye Luo sneered: "Maybe the government doesn't allow us to celebrate the Spring Festival."

The Lantern Festival during the Jinling National Government period was indeed surprisingly lively, with the atmosphere far exceeding that of the Spring Festival.

The main reason is that the government prohibits celebrating the Spring Festival, so people have to celebrate the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival together.

As a result, the Lantern Festival every year has become a carnival for the people, often leading to all kinds of chaos. On the night of the Lantern Festival, people can only go out on foot because it is so crowded that even rickshaws cannot pass.

How crazy was the Lantern Festival in the Republic of China?
There is a saying: Gentlemen are forbidden to play with dragon lanterns, and ordinary idiots should save themselves the trouble. I remember last year in Fanxi Street, the cuckolds and bitches all went crazy!

This is a bamboo branch poem written by a gossiper from Hunan. The poem, "Gentlemen are forbidden to play with dragon lanterns," tells the story of how clamshell lanterns were introduced to Changsha by the Beiyang warlords and merged with the local dragon lanterns.

"Clam spirits" are often dressed as prostitutes. Due to the provocative nature of their performances, they are severely condemned by people of justice and the government is determined to ban them, but they continue to occur every year.

Speaking of the Lantern Festival in the Republic of China, the most ridiculous one was in 1912.

At that time, the Republic of China had just been established, and the government announced the abolition of the lunar calendar and the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, and even designated January 1th of the Gregorian calendar as the Lantern Festival.

The government publicized this widely and called on everyone to come out and celebrate the Lantern Festival. However, it was pitch black, freezing cold, and there was not even a ghost to be seen on the streets.

why?
Because January 1th in the Gregorian calendar is more than a month away from the Spring Festival, and it is also the end of the lunar month, so the moon cannot be seen in the sky at all.

"Dong dong dong dong!"

There were sounds of gongs and drums coming from afar; it was the dragon-lantern dancing team coming over. Many people holding lanterns followed them, and the whole street was in a frenzy.

"boom!"

There were dots of light exploding in the sky. It seemed that some rich businessman was setting off fireworks. The children looked up at the sky and screamed with joy.

Looking at the lively atmosphere around him, Ye Luo couldn't help but think of the July 7 Incident three years later.

The prosperous Republic of China at this moment was about to fall under the iron hoof of the Japanese invaders, and there would no longer be such a scene of universal celebration.

Ye Luo took his wife and children to watch the dragon dance performance, and then went to the Haihe River to release lanterns. They didn't go home until the early hours of the morning until everyone was reluctant to leave.

The next afternoon, Ye Luo took Fairbank to the library.

The car drove into the old town and soon saw a huge policy propaganda poster on the wall of a house. The poster showed a huge louse with a human hand holding a dagger inserted into the louse's abdomen, and flies, mosquitoes and other pests hanging next to it.

There are also text descriptions on the poster. The top reads "Eliminate the epidemic and its messengers", and the side reads "Respond to the Chairman's call and let the whole nation launch a new life movement, pay attention to hygiene, clean diligently, and get healthy."

Immediately afterwards, officials from the city hall appeared on the street in suits and ties, each holding a broom in his hand.

Bai Xiongqi, who was mainly responsible for taking the lead, said while sweeping the street: "Everyone listen, whether you are an official or a worker, you must conscientiously implement the new life movement of the party leader. What is the new life? The first thing is to love cleanliness. Today I will lead the brothers to do it, and you will have to do it yourself in the future. You must sweep the inside and outside thoroughly."

Dozens of officials in suits were sweeping the streets together. The scene was so beautiful that Ye Luo couldn't bear to watch. (End of this chapter)