In the manufacture of lanterns the Chinese surely excel all other people; the variety of their forms, their elegant carving, gilding, and coloring, and the laborious ingenuity and taste displayed in their construction, render them among the prettiest ornaments of their dwellings. They are made of paper, silk, cloth, glass, horn, basket-work, and bamboo, exhibiting an infinite variety of shapes and decorations, varying in size from a small hand-light, costing two or three cents, up to a magnificent chandelier, or a complicated lantern fifteen feet in diameter, containing several lamps within it, and worth three or four hundred dollars. The uses to which they are applied are not less various than the pains and skill bestowed upon their construction are remarkable. One curious kind is called the tsao-ma-tăng, or ‘horse-racing lantern,’ which consists of one, two, or more wire frames, one within the other, and arranged on the same principle as the smoke-jack, by which the current of air caused by the flame sets them revolving. The wire framework is covered with paper figures of men and animals placed in the midst of appropriate scenery, and represented in various attitudes; or, as Magaillans describes them, “You shall see horses run, draw chariots and till the earth; vessels sailing, kings and princes go in and out with large trains, and great numbers of people, both afoot and a horseback, armies marching, comedies, dances, and a thousand other divertissements and motions represented.”
One of the prettiest shows of lanterns is seen in a festival observed in the spring or autumn by fisherman on the southern coasts to propitiate the gods of the waters. An indispensable part of the procession is a dragon fifty feet or more long, made of light bamboo frames of the size and shape of a barrel, connected and covered with strips of colored cotton or silk; the extremities represent the gaping head and frisking tail. This monster symbolizes the ruler of the watery deep, and is carried through the streets by men holding the head and each joint upon poles, to which are suspended lanterns; as they follow each other their steps give the body a wriggling, waving motion. Huge models of fish, similarly lighted, precede the dragon, while music and fireworks—the never-failing warning to lurking demons to keep out of the way—accompany the procession, which presents a very brilliant sight as it winds in its course through the dark streets. These sports and processions give idolatry its hold upon a people; and although none of them are required or patronized by government in China as in other heathen countries, most of the scenes and games which please the people are recommended by connecting with them the observances or hopes of religion and the merrymaking of the festive board.
In the middle of the sixth moon lanterns are hung from the top of a pole placed on the highest part of the house. A single small lantern is deemed sufficient, but if the night be calm, a greater display is made by some householders, and especially in boats, by exhibiting colored glass lamps arranged in various ways. The illumination of a city like Canton when seen from a high spot is made still more brilliant by the moving boats on the river. On one of these festivals at Canton, an almost total eclipse of the moon called out the entire population, each one carrying something with which to make a noise, kettles, pans, sticks, drums, gongs, guns, crackers, and what not to frighten away the dragon of the sky from his hideous feast. The advancing shadow gradually caused the myriads of lanterns to show more and more distinctly and started a still increasing clamor, till the darkness and the noise were both at their climax; silence gradually resumed its sway as the moon recovered her fulness.
ARRANGEMENT AND STYLE OF PROCESSIONS.
The Chinese are fond of processions, and if marriages and funerals be included, have them more frequently than any other people. Livery establishments are opened in every city and town where processions are arranged and supplied with everything necessary for bridal and funeral occasions as well as religious festivals. Not only are sedans, bands of music, biers, framed and gilded stands for carrying idols, shrines, and sacrificial feasts, red boxes for holding the bride’s trousseau, etc., supplied, but also banners, tables, stands, curiosities, and uniforms in great variety. The men and boys required to carry them and perform the various parts of the ceremony are hired, a uniform hiding their ragged garments and dirty limbs. Guilds often go to a heavy expense in getting up a procession in honor of their patron saint, whose image is carried through the streets attended by the members of the corporation dressed in holiday robes and boots. The variety and participators of these shows are exceedingly curious and characteristic of the people’s taste. Here are seen splendid silken banners worked with rich embroidery, alternating with young girls bedizened with paint and flowers, and perched on high seats under an artificial tree or apparently almost in the air, resting upon frames on men’s shoulders; bands of music; sacrificial meats and fruits adorned with flowers; shrines, images, and curious rarities laid out upon red pavilions; boys gaily dressed in official robes and riding upon ponies, or harnessed up in a covered framework to represent horses, all so contrived and painted that the spectator can hardly believe they are not riding Lilliputian ponies no bigger than dogs. A child standing in a car and carrying a branch on its shoulder, on one twig of which stands another child on one foot or a girl holding a plate of cakes in her hand, on the top of which stands another miss on tiptoe, the whole borne by coolies, sometimes add to the diversion of the spectacle and illustrate the mechanical skill of the exhibitors. Small companies dressed in a great variety of military uniforms, carrying spears, shields, halberds, etc., now and then volunteer for the occasion, and give it a more martial appearance. The carpenters at Canton are famous for their splendid processions in honor of their hero, Lu Pan, in which also other craftsmen join; for this demi-god corresponds to the Tubal-cain of Chinese legends, and is now regarded as the patron of all workmen, though he flourished no longer ago than the time of Confucius. Besides these festivities and processions, there are several more strictly religious, such as the annual mass of the Buddhists, the supplicatory sacrifice of farmers for a good crop, and others of more or less importance, which add to the number of days of recreation.
THEATRICAL REPRESENTATIONS AND PLAY-ACTORS.
Theatrical representations constitute a common amusement, and are generally connected with the religious celebration of the festival of the god before whose temple they are exhibited. They are got up by the priests, who send their neophytes around with a subscription paper, and then engage as large and skilful a band of performers as the funds will allow. There are few permanent buildings erected for theatres, for the Thespian band still retains its original strolling character, and stands ready to pack up its trappings at the first call. The erection of sheds for playing constitutes a separate branch of the carpenter’s trade; one large enough to accommodate two thousand persons can be put up in the southern cities in a day, and almost the only part of the materials which is wasted is the rattan which binds the posts and mats together. One large shed contains the stage, and three smaller ones before it enclose an area, and are furnished with rude seats for the paying spectators. The subscribers’ bounty is acknowledged by pasting red sheets containing their names and amounts upon the walls of the temple. The purlieus are let as stands for the sale of refreshments, for gambling tables, or for worse purposes, and by all these means the priests generally contrive to make gain of their devotion.[385]
Parties of actors and acrobats can be hired cheaply, and their performances form part of the festivities of rich families in their houses to entertain the women and relatives who cannot go abroad to see them. They are constituted into separate corporations or guilds, and each takes a distinguishing name, as the ‘Happy and Blessed company,’ the ‘Glorious Appearing company,’ etc.
The performances usually extend through three entire days, with brief recesses for sleeping and eating, and in villages where they are comparatively rare, the people act as if they were bewitched, neglecting everything to attend them. The female parts are performed by lads, who not only paint and dress like women, but even squeeze their toes into the “golden lilies,” and imitate, upon the stage, a mincing, wriggling gait. These fellows personate the voice, tones, and motions of the sex with wonderful exactness, taking every opportunity, indeed, that the play will allow to relieve their feet by sitting when on the boards, or retiring into the green-room when out of the acts. The acting is chiefly pantomime, and its fidelity shows the excellent training of the players. This development of their imitative faculties is probably still more encouraged by the difficulty the audience find to understand what is said; for owing to the differences in the dialects, the open construction of the theatre, the high falsetto or recitative key in which many of the parts are spoken, and the din of the orchestra intervening between every few sentences, not one quarter of the people hear or understand a word.
The scenery is very simple, consisting merely of rudely painted mats arranged on the back and sides of the stage, a few tables, chairs, or beds, which successively serve for many uses, and are brought in and out from the robing-room. The orchestra sits on the side of the stage, and not only fill up the intervals with their interludes, but strike a crashing noise by way of emphasis, or to add energy to the rush of opposing warriors. No falling curtain divides the acts or scenes, and the play is carried to its conclusion without intermission. The dresses are made of gorgeous silks, and present the best specimens of ancient Chinese costume of former dynasties now to be seen. The imperfections of the scenery require much to be suggested by the spectator’s imagination, though the actors themselves supply the defect in a measure by each man stating what part he performs, and what the person he represents has been doing while absent. If a courier is to be sent to a distant city, away he strides across the boards, or perhaps gets a whip and cocks up his leg as if mounting a horse, and on reaching the end of the stage cries out that he has arrived, and there delivers his message. Passing a bridge or crossing a river are indicated by stepping up and then down, or by the rolling motion of a boat. If a city is to be impersonated, two or three men lie down upon each other, when warriors rush on them furiously, overthrow the wall which they formed, and take the place by assault. Ghosts or supernatural beings are introduced through a wide trap-door in the stage, and, if he thinks it necessary, the impersonator cries out from underneath that he is ready, or for assistance to help him up through the hole.