The Wandering Lantern is the only Nuo dance art in Shandong Province. It was originally a sacrificial dance. This is a huge puppet dance. The puppet is over 3.6 meters tall, wearing a black gauze and holding a court scepter. It is the image of an official appointed by the court in the feudal period. The puppet's head is made of a pottery jar with two holes for eyes. A lamp is lit in the jar, and the puppet looks like a torch from a distance. Because the puppet is huge, the performance is rough, and it walks "wandering", it is vividly called the "Wandering Lantern". Why does Nanguli Village, Guli Town, Xintai City produce this unique dance? It is said that there is such a legend circulating in the local area. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a family moved to Nanguli Village. They came all the way from the south and found that the local soil was unique, so they built a kiln here to make pottery. Later, the old pottery maker passed away. In order to pray for the peace of his soul, his children and grandchildren specially fired a large water jar and eight small water jars, and made them into large and small pot lamp puppets. Each lamp is held up by one person, who leads the funeral procession to drive away evil spirits, avoid plague, and clear the way for the soul of the deceased old man. Since then, this dance has spread to the surrounding villages and towns, and has been passed down and evolved for more than a thousand years. Why does the funeral of the god "Fang Xiangshi" who drives away ghosts and avoids plague need an image of an official appointed by the court to lead the funeral? Who is the prototype of this 1? According to the inheritor Li Tianshun, this has to start from an even older legend. In ancient legends, there was a god named Fang Xiangshi, who is rarely mentioned nowadays. "Soushen Ji Volume 16" records: "In the past, Zhuanxu had three sons who died and became plague ghosts: one lived in the river and became a malaria ghost; one lived in Ruoshui and became a ghost; one lived in the palace of people and was good at shocking children and became a little ghost. So in the first year, Fang Xiangshi was ordered to lead the Nuo to drive away the plague ghost." In ancient times, Fang Xiangshi was an important idol worshipped by the people and was the god of driving away ghosts and avoiding plague. Another version of the story holds that Fang Xiangshi was originally a wizard who exorcised ghosts, and later evolved into an ancient official name. The Fang Xiangshi in the Han Dynasty stone reliefs usually has this image: a human body with animal feet, like a bear but not a bear, with eyes wide open, naked, squatting, running and catching, and is a symbol of the leader of the ghost-fighting in the tomb. The folk legends about ghosts and gods have been passed down orally. With the evolution of time, the Fang Xiangshi seen in the wandering lanterns today is far from the description in ancient books. There is no disagreement on one point: this must not be a handsome god with kind eyes. It can be imagined that in order to drive away the plague ghosts, the ancients must have made idols with faces that are more hideous than the imagined ghosts. They placed their desire for peace on this rough but righteous "Fang Xiangshi". According to records, when the wandering lanterns were passed down to the Qing Dynasty, they had formed a complete routine, which is exactly the same as the image we see today. From entertaining gods to entertaining people, the Nuo dance, which was led by Fang Xiangshi, not only exists in Xintai, but also spreads to other places. In Shandong, the ox scapula and deer scapula divination bones unearthed from the Dawenkou culture and Longshan culture sites prove that as early as five or six thousand years ago, there were "witches" who entertained gods with dances, which later became masked dances performed by wealthy families during funerals. The Analects of Confucius says: "The villagers perform Nuo, wearing court clothes and standing on the steps. Nuo is used to drive away epidemics according to Zhou rituals, and Fang Xiangshi is in charge of it." This means that when the Nuo ritual was held among the people, Confucius also stood solemnly on the roadside steps in his best clothes to show respect. In addition to the wandering lanterns in Xintai, similar dances are also popular in Rizhao, Weifang Zhucheng and other places, and are called "living adults" or "shaking big men". In Xintai, the puppets of the wandering lanterns wear black gauze, court clothes, and hold court tablets in their hands. Later, they gradually evolved into folk dances for the New Year, which entertain the people while expressing good wishes. Judging from the appearance of the puppet's official hat and court dress, the "adult" in the wandering lantern is the costume of the emperor during the Ming Dynasty. According to the inheritor Li Tianshun, its tall and mighty appearance reflects the people's awe of the court and the emperor. However, in the festival performance, the concept of being close to the people is integrated into it. In the Spring Festival celebrations from the third day of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the "adult" with a tall and majestic appearance is placed at the head of the celebration team, dancing and having fun with the people, and is very cute. Its actions and behavior are humble, and it bows and worships whenever it comes to a merchant's store. Where the "adult" worships, people laugh and joke, and regard it as auspicious, meaning "the heavenly official blesses", and they must burn paper and fire cannons to thank him. This solo dance is magnificent, the atmosphere is warm, and the participation is strong. It boldly embodies the concept of being close to the people in ancient society, and openly shows the harmonious scene of officials and people having fun together and praying for blessings and auspiciousness. The people-friendly concept of the Wandering Lantern, a historical symbol of the prosperity of the ceramic industry, comes not only from its performance, but also from the unveiling of the "adult's" robe and the observation of the internal structure of the Wandering Lantern, which makes people more surprised by the wisdom of the people in life. Li Tianshun introduced that before dancing the Wandering Lantern in previous years, they would go to the people's homes in the village to collect "things". Although the "adult" is a huge creature, its production utensils are completely from the daily life of the people. The round chair and the round stool are stacked together to form a tall human body; the head is an ordinary pottery jar, which is fixed upside down on the round stool to make a giant head; the hollow facial features are reflected by the candle in the jar, and the performance at night is both vivid and spiritual; the official hat on the head of the "adult" is modeled after the grain liter, which means "step by step". All the materials are picked up from the lives of the people, and they are made locally, and they are given beautiful meanings. The key part of the puppet, the head, is made of pottery, which not only implies the meaning of "the blessing of the heavenly jar (official)", but also a symbol of the local history, economy and culture. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the kiln industry here and in the neighboring Yaogou Village and Wanyaotou Village was quite developed, and the kiln sites are still preserved today. By the Song Dynasty, Xintai, which belonged to Yizhou in Jingdong Road, had a very prosperous ceramic manufacturing industry. At this time, various folk cultural activities became increasingly active. Locals used lantern performances to display pottery making techniques to achieve an "advertising effect", which seems to be similar to the current "culture sets the stage, trade plays the show". (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)