Celebrating the Lunar New Year with You | An Appreciation of the Comic Series “One Hundred Illustrations of Ancient Customs” (Part 2)

The Year of the Rabbit, Gui Mao, has arrived! All the staff of the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou City extend their New Year greetings to you. Wishing you a year filled with abundant wealth, boundless good fortune, and great prosperity!
 

During the Spring Festival, our museum’s official WeChat account will continue to share the illustrated series “One Hundred Scenes of Ancient Customs,” showcasing the rich cultural essence and historical legacy of Chinese folk traditions, and accompanying you every step of the way.

Have a joyful and happy New Year!

09. Silkworm Divination (Song Dynasty)

This year, on the Lantern Festival, my home is where I dwell; in the village, no lanterns shine—only the rain.
 

Beyond the stream, amid the grove of shrines, faint sounds of flutes and drums drift—yet who knows if any travelers still linger?
 

Sons and daughters weave jade into silk, with auspicious words placed within, unspoken yet full of prayer.
 

May my son quickly rise to office, and may my little daughter only have a bountiful silkworm harvest.

— Song Dynasty, Yang Wanli: “On the night of the Lantern Festival, people traditionally make silkworms out of rice flour, inscribe auspicious phrases upon them, and place them inside to divine the year’s fortune and misfortune; this practice is called ‘silkworm divination.’ I have composed a long poem in jest.”


 

Walking the Hundred Illnesses to the City Wall (Ming Dynasty)

To ward off all ills, she walks the neighborhood, her hairpin and skirt securely fastened.
 

Yet the phoenix‑patterned shoes are slender and exquisite; even without support, she climbs high upon the battlement.

——Ming Dynasty, Liu Duishanren, “Bamboo Branch Poems of Jin City”


 

Guessing Lantern Riddles (Qing Dynasty)

Swallows carry letters, spring lanterns pose riddles—how short the night feels, as if the heavens themselves were too narrow.

— Qing Dynasty, Zheng Banqiao, “Nian Nu Jiao: Hongguang”


 

Please, Goddess Zigu (Qing)

With leisure in my heart, I see no signs of the nation’s renewed prosperity; ashamed, I follow the villagers in their festival to honor Zigu.

— Tang Dynasty, Li Shangyin, “On the Fifteenth Night of the First Month, Hearing That Lanterns Are Lit in the Capital but Unable to Go and See Them”


 

Walking the Hundred Diseases and Touching Door Nails (Qing Dynasty)

The lady’s golden‑capped, swan‑tail hair is full and plump; she carries her long sleeves as she walks slowly across the bridge.
 

At the front door, everyone vies to touch the nail—this year, who will be the one to bear a son?

——Qing Dynasty, Li Fuqing, “Bamboo Branch Poems of the Capital”


 

Sending Off Poverty (Tang Dynasty)

Year after year, on this very day, I pour wine and bow in the street.
 

From ten thousand households to a thousand doors, all gaze forth—no one fails to see off the old year.

——Tang Dynasty, Yao He, “Three Poems on Sending Off Poverty on the Last Day of the Month”


 

Spring Society (Song Dynasty)

The sounds of the xiao and drums follow as the spring festival draws near, while simple attire and ancient customs still endure.

— Song Dynasty, Lu You, “A Visit to Shanxi Village”