THE SHUH COUNTRY ,,;; 



This celebration was held with the idea of avoiding calamity 

 and bloodshed by appeasing the spirit of the New Year 



2nd.— On this date, the T'ai Sheo had breakfast on the 

 east side of the city, at the I Chong Si (& & ^) He had 

 dinner at the T'ai Ts'i Si (*»#); after which the female 

 slaves served tea. During this interval a certain Cheo Chi 

 Shuen (ft Z »fc) of Kuing Cheo (Xfl *H), who was a famous poet 

 and musician, usually sang ballads of his own composition, 

 and also taught the female slaves to sing these ballads! 



5th. — On this date the silk worm market was opened. 

 In ancient times the Shuh King Ts'an Ts'ong (ft H) began 

 to feed the silk worms on this date. The T'ai Sheo (ic e 5 s ) 

 spread a banquet on the silk worm market in memory of 

 Ts'an Ts'ong (M H), who was greatly honoured. The whole 

 Province at one time being called the Kingdom of Ts'an 

 Ts'ong. 



15th. — This was called the Shang Yuan Tsieh (±yt%), 

 ■or lantern festival. Ancient writers record the fact that 

 T'ang Ming Huang (Jt W Ji) observed this festival in Si An 

 Fu m £ M). 



The story goes that a. certain taoist priest informed him 

 that the lantern festival celebrations in Ch'en tu excelled 

 his in grandeur. On the Emperor refusing to believe his 

 word, it is said that the priest transported him to Ch'en tu 

 by means of some magic trance, showed him the illuminations, 

 and took him back again to his Capital. In the reign of 

 Han T'ong (A.D. 860) it was customary to begin the festival 

 on the second day of the New Y'ear. At this time there were 

 musical performances day and night for half a month. It 

 is said, however, that these prolonged celebrations were only 

 held in years of peace and plenty. The Shuh King, Meng 

 Ch'ang (s£*&), also observed the feast of lanterns; but no 

 dates were fixed for its commencement. In the Sung 

 Dynasty, the reign of K'ai Pao (19 M) (A.D. 968), a decree 

 was promulgated to the effect that the lantern festival was 

 to be observed for three nights only; so from that time 

 onward it has been the general custom to observe the festival 

 for three nights only. In the Yuan (7c) Dynasty the T'ai Sheo 

 kept this festival by dining at the T'ai Ts'i-sii in the morning, 

 and at the Wu Men Leo (3£ F1 $) in the evening. 



On the evening of the 14th the T'ai Sheo viewed the 

 Ao Shan Teng (f? tU @). The hour at which the celebrations 

 closed depended wholly upon the will of the T'ai Sheo. 

 The most highly decorated and brilliantly lighted place being 

 the Chao Choh-si (W ft #). At a later date Chang Kong-urn 

 'ift &flc) arranged a gathering for winding up the lantern 



