The Legend of the Lantern Festival

About this story

This is a Chinese folk tale about how the Lantern Festival began. In the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the witty official Dongfang Shuo helps a homesick palace maid named Yuanxiao: he spreads word that fire from heaven will burn the capital, Chang'an, on the fifteenth night of the first month, and persuades the emperor to light up the city and open its gates, so her family finds her under the lanterns. Dongfang Shuo was a real man, remembered as a great wit in the Book of Han and in the Records of the Grand Historian (in a section added later by Chu Shaosun), but Yuanxiao and the fire from heaven appear in no ancient book and were made up by later storytellers. In the folk version Yuanxiao once thinks of throwing herself into the well; this version leaves that out and tells a warm story about missing home and coming together.

Tips for telling it

• Tell it over sweet rice dumplings at the Lantern Festival, and pause when the little sister spots the lantern so children can guess what happens next.
• Tell older children that Dongfang Shuo was a real person, but this story was invented long after his time.
• Make a small paper lantern with your child's name on it, or try a few lantern riddles together.

Questions people ask

What is the legend of the Lantern Festival?

The best-known folk tale says the witty official Dongfang Shuo got Emperor Wu of Han to light up Chang'an with lanterns and fireworks on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, so a homesick palace maid named Yuanxiao could find her family. The festival's real origins are debated, but by the Sui and Tang dynasties its lantern nights were grand city-wide celebrations.

Why do people eat tangyuan at the Lantern Festival?

In the folk tale, it's because Yuanxiao's sweet rice dumplings were the best. In history, eating round glutinous-rice balls on the fifteenth night was already popular in the Song dynasty, and their round shape stands for family togetherness. In northern China they are usually rolled and called yuanxiao; in the south they are usually wrapped by hand and called tangyuan.

Is the story of Dongfang Shuo and Yuanxiao true?

No. Dongfang Shuo was a real official at Emperor Wu's court, famous for his wit, and the Book of Han tells his life story, but the palace maid Yuanxiao and the fire from heaven are not in any ancient record. The tale was told by later generations.