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148-590: Many Lulin leaders became important members of the Gengshi Emperor's government, but infighting and incompetence (both of the emperor and his officials) in governing the empire led to the fall of the regime after only two years, paving the way for the eventual rise of Liu Xiu ( Emperor Guangwu ) of the Eastern Han. The name Lulin comes from the Lulin Mountains (in modern Yichang , Hubei), where

296-411: A Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. During the festival, people around China will prepare different gourmet dishes for their families and guests. Influenced by the flourished cultures, foods from different places look and taste totally different. Among them,

444-563: A famous emperor of the Former Han and the son of Emperor Jing and Lady Tang. As a descendant of Liu Fa, this also made Liu Xiu third cousin to the Gengshi Emperor . Liu Qin was married to the daughter of one Fan Chong (樊重), and he and his wife had three sons – Liu Yan , Liu Zhong (劉仲), and Liu Xiu. Liu Qin died early, and the brothers were raised by their uncle Liu Liang (劉良). Liu Yan was ambitious, and ever since Wang Mang usurped

592-535: A few loyal followers. In the winter of 25 AD, he surrendered to the Chimei, and was eventually killed. Most Lulin leaders eventually became lost in obscurity, but some who were initially friendly with Liu Xiu joined him and became officials in his government. They were largely not given important posts, however, in his new dynasty. The regime of the Gengshi Emperor has been termed the Xuan Han (玄漢) by historians, after

740-546: A form of a blessing and to suppress both the ageing and challenges that were associated with the coming year, to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers may also give bonuses in the form of red packets to employees. The money can be of any form, specifically numbers ending with 8 (Mandarin: ba 八), which sounds similar to fa (Mandarin: 发 ), meaning prosperity, but packets with denominations of odd or unlucky numbers, or packets without money are usually not allowed due to bad luck. The number 4

888-418: A form of alimony, rewarded him with great wealth. Not having the heart to depose both mother and son, Emperor Guangwu initially left Guo's son, Jiang, as the crown prince. However, Crown Prince Jiang, realizing that his position was precarious, repeatedly offered to step down. In AD 43, Emperor Guangwu agreed and made Liu Yang (劉陽), the oldest son of Empress Yin, crown prince instead. Former Crown Prince Jiang

1036-463: A founding emperor of a dynasty who did not kill, out of jealousy or paranoia, any of the generals or officials who contributed to his victories after his rule was secure. Liu Xiu was the sixth generation descendant of Emperor Jing of the Western Han dynasty . He was the son of Liu Qin (劉欽), magistrate (縣令 i.e., head official) of Nandun County (南頓縣), near present-day Xiangcheng , Henan. Liu Qin

1184-554: A frontal assault against Wancheng (宛城), the capital of Nanyang Commandery—and suffered a major loss. Liu Yan and Liu Xiu, along with their sister Liu Boji (劉伯姬), survived, but their brother Liu Zhong and sister Liu Yuan died in the battle. Liu Yan's allies, seeing his defeat, considered leaving him, but Liu Yan was able to persuade them, along with another branch of the Lülin, the Xiajiang Force (下江兵), to join him. In AD 23, they had

1332-421: A glutinous new year cake ( niangao ) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days. Some families visit local temples hours before midnight to pray for success by lighting the first incense of the year. Today many households hold parties. Traditionally, firecrackers were lit to ward off evil spirits. The household doors are sealed and not reopened until dawn in a ritual called "opening

1480-426: A living and therefore they were forced to rebel. Some, in order to flatter Wang Mang, told him that these were simply evil resistors who needed to be killed, or that this was a temporary phenomenon. Wang listened to those who flattered him and generally relieved those who told the truth from their posts. Further, Wang made no further attempts to pacify the rebels, but instead decided to suppress them by force. In reality,

1628-469: A longer Chinese New Year holiday will celebrate and welcome the gods that were previously sent on this day. This day is the god of Wealth's birthday. In northern China, people eat jiaozi , or dumplings, on the morning of powu (Chinese: 破五 ; pinyin: pòwǔ ). In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers. It is also common in China that on

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1776-603: A major problem on his hand, however, in winter 23, as he faced a pretender for the Han throne. A fortune teller in Handan named Wang Lang claimed to be actually named Liu Ziyu (劉子輿) and a son of Emperor Cheng . He claimed that his mother was a singer in Emperor Cheng's service, and that Empress Zhao Feiyan had tried to kill him after his birth, but that a substitute child was killed instead. After he spread these rumors among

1924-406: A major victory against Xin forces, killing Zhen Fu (甄阜), the governor of Nanyang Commandery. By this point, many other rebel leaders had become jealous of Liu Yan's capabilities, and while a good number of their men admired Liu Yan and wanted him to become the emperor of a newly declared Han Dynasty, they had other ideas. They found another local rebel leader, Liu Xuan, a third cousin of Liu Yan, who

2072-564: A new year. The money was called sui nian qian ( 随年钱 , "money based on age"). In the chapter, "Ending of a Year" ( 歲除 ) in Wulin jiushi ( 武林舊事 ), concubines of the emperor prepared a hundred and twenty coins for princes and princesses to wish them longevity. New Year's celebrations continued under the Yuan dynasty , when people also gave nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes") to relatives. The tradition of eating Chinese dumplings jiaozi ( 餃子 )

2220-438: A number of regional powers that he had to deal with. These included: Of these powers, Gongsun Shu's Chengjia was wealthy and powerful, but Gongsun was content to maintain his regional empire and not carry out any military expeditions outside his empire. Instead, he sat by as Emperor Guangwu carried out his unification campaign. Emperor Guangwu, hesitant to carry out annihilation campaigns, largely preferred first trying to persuade

2368-629: A princely title—Prince of Shuoning—from him, and also tried to persuade Dou to join him. Dou refused, and attacked Wei in coordination with Emperor Guangwu's forces. After some initial successes, Wei's small independent regime eventually collapsed under overwhelming force and was reduced severely. In AD 33, Wei died and was succeeded by his son Wei Chun (隗純). In the winter of AD 34, Shuoning's capital Luomen (落門, in modern Tianshui , Gansu ) fell, and Wei Chun surrendered. Emperor Guangwu then turned his attention to Chengjia. He commissioned his generals Wu Han, Cen Peng (岑彭), Lai She (來歙), and Gai Yan (蓋延) to go on

2516-522: A rare blot on Emperor Guangwu's rule occurred. He had once again commissioned Ma Yuan to go on an expedition—against the indigenous people of the Wulin Commandery (modern northwestern Hunan and eastern Guizhou ), who had rebelled. While Ma was on the expedition, however, a number of Ma's political enemies made false accusations against Ma. Emperor Guangwu, believing these accusations, began investigating Ma, who happened to die of illness while on

2664-594: A rebellion. He had a brother, Liu Xiu who, by contrast, was a careful and deliberate man, who was content to be a farmer. Around this time, there were prophecies being spread about that the Lius would return to power, and many men gathered about Liu Yan, requesting that he lead them. He agreed to do so. He then joined his forces with the Lulin's Xinshi and Pinglin Forces, and they captured a number of villages and pillaged them. In

2812-536: A red string, and the money is called Ya Sui Qian ." The term is still used by Chinese people today. The money was presented in two forms: coins strung on red string or colourful purses filled with coins. In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that the Chinese New Year would fall on 1 Jan of the Gregorian Calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition. In 1967, during

2960-676: A special breakfast on this day in some Chinese homes. The concept of the "La month" is similar to Advent in Christianity. Many families eat vegetarian on Chinese New Year eve, the garlic and preserved meat are eaten on Chinese New Year day. On the days immediately before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash away the dirt on nin ya baat " (Chinese: 年廿八，洗邋遢 ; pinyin: nián niàn bā, xǐ lātà ; Jyutping: nin4 jaa6 baat3, sai2 laap6 taap3 (laat6 taat3) ), but

3108-473: A substitute, large-scale fireworks display have been launched by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore. The second day, entitled "a year's beginning" (simplified Chinese: 开年 ; traditional Chinese: 開年 ; pinyin: kāinián ), oversees married daughters visiting their birth parents, relatives and close friends, often renew family ties and relationship. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have

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3256-620: A symbol of good luck, and people started sending them to friends on New Year's Day, calling them by a new name, bai nian tie . The Chunlian (Spring Couplets) was written by Meng Chang , an emperor of the Later Shu (935–965 AD), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ：" 新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春 " ("Enjoying past legacies in the new year, the holiday foreseeing the long-lasting spring"). As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu , Volume 2: on

3404-456: A thriving view." The practice of worshipping ancestors on New Year's Eve is maintained by Chinese people to this day. Han Chinese also started the custom of visiting acquaintances' homes and wishing each other a happy new year. In Book of the Later Han , volume 27, a county officer was recorded as going to his prefect's house with a government secretary, toasting the prefect, and praising

3552-638: A two-pronged attack on Chengjia—Wu and Cen leading an army and a navy up the Yangtze river from modern Hubei , while Lai and Gai led an army south from modern Shaanxi . Instead of fighting the Eastern Han expedition on the battlefield, Gongsun tried to repel them by assassinating their generals—and he was initially successful, assassinating Cen and Lai and temporarily causing the Eastern Han forces to halt. However, Eastern Han forces regrouped, and in 36 they had Gongsun surrounded in his capital Chengdu (成都, modern Chengdu , Sichuan ). However, initial attempts to siege

3700-538: A weekend, as in the case of 2013, where the New Year's Eve (9 February) falls on Saturday and the New Year's Day (10 February) on Sunday. Depending on the country, the holiday may be termed differently; common names in English are "Chinese New Year", "Lunar New Year", "New Year Festival", and "Spring Festival". For New Year celebrations that follow Chinese-inspired calendars but are outside of China and Chinese diaspora (such as Korea's Seollal and Vietnam's Tết ), see

3848-437: A year-end rush of business prior to Chinese New Year. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets . Purchasing new clothing and shoes also symbolize a new start. Any hair cuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word "hair" (fa) and the word for "prosperity". Businesses are expected to pay off all

3996-450: Is auspicious into dumplings such as dates, which prophesy a flourishing new year; candy, which predicts sweet days; and nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes"), which foretells a rich life. In the Qing dynasty , the name ya sui qian ( 壓歲錢 , "New Year's Money)" was money given to children during New Year's. The book Qing Jia Lu ( 清嘉錄 ) recorded: "elders give children coins threaded together by

4144-636: Is considered an unlucky day to have guests or go visiting. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told. In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal. Other areas that have

4292-525: Is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra , lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. People normally return to work by the eighth day, therefore

4440-404: Is especially unlucky , because it is sounded as si (Mandarin: 死 ), which means death. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Kowloon, Beijing, Shanghai for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain precincts of the city. As

4588-403: Is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories where there is a sizeable Chinese population. Since Chinese New Year falls on different days of the week each year, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. In some countries, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day if the New Year (as a public holiday) falls on

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4736-520: Is still a commonly-used translation for people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Along with the Han Chinese inside and outside of Greater China , as many as 29 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China also celebrate Chinese New Year. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines celebrate it as an official festival. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing

4884-520: Is that bai nian tie was derived from the Han dynasty's name tag, men zhuang ( 門狀 , "door opening"). As imperial examinations became essential and reached their heyday under the Tang dynasty, candidates curried favour to become pupils of respected teachers in order to get recommendation letters. After obtaining good examination marks, a pupil went to the teacher's home with a men zhuang to convey their gratitude. Eventually, men zhuang became

5032-455: Is usually accompanied with a dinner feast , consisting of special meats as a main course and an offering for the New Year. This meal is comparable to Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner. In northern China, it is customary to make jiaozi or dumplings which are eaten at midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese sycee . In the South, it is customary to make

5180-639: The Cultural Revolution , official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. The State Council of the People's Republic of China announced that the public should "change customs" and have a "revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival." Since people needed to work on Chinese New Year's Eve, they would not need holidays during the Spring Festival. In 1980, the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations were reinstated. Chinese New Year

5328-568: The Spring Festival (see also § Names ), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar . Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring , this festival traditionally takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve , the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival , held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on

5476-523: The Tang dynasty , people established the custom of sending bai nian tie ( 拜年帖 , "New Year's greetings"), New Year's greeting cards. It is said that the custom was started by Emperor Taizong of Tang . The emperor wrote " 普天同慶 " ("whole nation celebrates together") on gold leaves and sent them to his ministers. Word of the emperor's gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. Another theory

5624-550: The Trưng sisters . In AD 43, he defeated the Trưng sisters and killed them . (According to Vietnamese historians, they committed suicide by jumping into a river.) Emperor Guangwu also had to deal with periodic minor battles against the Xiongnu to the north. However, throughout his reign, there were no major wars with Xiongnu. Nevertheless, because of raids by Xiongnu, Wuhuan , and Xianbei ,

5772-607: The Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). In the Lüshi Chunqiu , in Qin state an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called "Big Nuo ", was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. Later, Qin unified China , and the Qin dynasty was founded; and the ritual spread. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one's house thoroughly in the days preceding Chinese New Year. The first mention of celebrating at

5920-599: The Yellow River . The Emperor considered dispatching a general to try to pacify the region, and his cousin Liu Ci (劉賜), who had succeeded Liu Yan as prime minister, endorsed Liu Xiu for that task. Liu Yan's political enemies, including Li and Zhu, opposed, but after Liu Ci repeatedly endorsed Liu Xiu, the Gengshi Emperor relented and, in autumn of AD 23, he sent Liu Xiu to the region north of the Yellow River. Liu Xiu

6068-934: The new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture . It has influenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year , such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Korean New Year , and the Ryukyu New Year . It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries that house significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia. These include Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,

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6216-461: The winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month occurs ). In more than 96 per cent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring ( lichun ) according to the calendar. In the Gregorian calendar , the Chinese New Year occurs on

6364-451: The 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu 's attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year. The sixth day is Horse's Day, on which people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by throwing out the garbage stored up during the festival. The ways vary but basically have the same meaning—to drive away the Ghost of Poverty, which reflects the general desire of

6512-414: The Chimei out, and then block them off at Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang , Henan ). With their path blocked and their troops exhausted, the Chimei leaders surrendered. Emperor Guangwu spared them, including their pretender Liu Penzi. Chimei was the largest of the enemy forces that Emperor Guangwu had to deal with in his campaign to reunify the empire under the rule of his Eastern Han Dynasty, but there were

6660-488: The Chinese people to ring out the old and ring in the new, to send away the previous poverty and hardship and to usher in the good life of the New Year. The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common person's birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng ,

6808-578: The Eastern Han dynasty), and soon his general Deng Yu (鄧禹) also captured the modern Shanxi , further reducing the Gengshi Emperor's strength. Feeling trapped, a number of the Gengshi Emperor's generals conspired to kidnap him and flee back to their home region of Nanyang. These conspirators included Zhang Ang, Liao Zhan, Hu Yin (胡殷), Shentu Jian (申屠建), and the warlord Wei Xiao (隗囂). They were discovered, and most were executed, but Zhang occupied most of Chang'an, forcing Gengshi Emperor to flee, just as Chimei forces were approaching. The Gengshi Emperor then made

6956-559: The Gengshi Emperor was back in the capital, he issued a general pardon, which calmed the situation for a while. At this time, Chang'an was still largely intact, except for Weiyang Palace, destroyed by fire. However, the Gengshi Emperor's timidity quickly caused problems. When the imperial officials were gathered for an official meeting, the Gengshi Emperor, who had never seen such solemn occasions, panicked. Later, when generals submitted reports to him, he asked questions such as, "How much did you pillage today?" This type of behavior further reduced

7104-595: The Gengshi Emperor's personal name Liu Xuan, in order to distinguish the numerous dynasties named "Han" in Chinese history. The Eastern Han established by the Emperor Guangwu, instead of the Xuan Han, is typically considered to be the legitimate restoration of the Han dynasty. Emperor Guangwu of Han Emperor Guangwu of Han ( Chinese : 漢光武帝 ; 15 January 5 BC – 29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu ( 劉秀 ), courtesy name Wenshu ( 文叔 ),

7252-458: The Guanzhong (關中, modern central Shaanxi ) region, which they had taken over when they overthrew the Gengshi Emperor. They pillaged the Guanzhong region for supplies, but as eventually the supplies ran out, they were forced to withdraw east in an attempt to return home to what is now modern Shandong and northern Jiangsu . Emperor Guangwu, anticipating this, set up his forces to harass and tire

7400-519: The Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. The soldiers largely deserted and went home, unable to be gathered again. Wang Yi had to withdraw with only several thousand men back to Luoyang . This was a major blow to Xin, psychologically; after this point on, there would be no hope for it. The very first major incident of infighting in Gengshi Emperor's regime would happen in this time, though. The Gengshi Emperor

7548-599: The Han throne in AD 8 and established the Xin dynasty , Liu Yan was constantly considering starting a rebellion to restore the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu, in contrast, was a careful man who was content to be a farmer. However, his brother-in-law Deng Chen (鄧晨), the husband of his sister Liu Yuan (劉元), who believed in a prophecy that a man named Liu Xiu would be emperor, constantly encouraged him to be more ambitious. In AD 22, with virtually

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7696-523: The Kunyang rebels eventually agreed. Liu Xiu carried out his action, and when he returned to Kunyang, he began harassing the sieging Xin forces from the outside. Wang Yi and Wang Xun, annoyed, led 10,000 men to attack Liu Xiu and ordered the rest of their troops not to move from their siege locations. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened,

7844-563: The Marquess of Wuxin (武信侯). Around this time, Liu Xiu married his childhood sweetheart, the famed beauty Yin Lihua . (According to Hou Han Shu , when Liu Xiu was younger, he visited the capital Chang'an ; he became impressed with the mayor of the capital ( zhijinyu , 執金吾) and, also impressed by Yin's beauty, he made the remarks: "If I were to be an official, I want to be zhijinyu ; if I were to marry, I want to marry Yin Lihua". He eventually

7992-470: The Marquess of Wuxin. The Gengshi Emperor then commissioned two armies, one led by Wang Kuang, targeting Luoyang, and the other led by Shentu Jian (申屠建) and Li Song (李松), targeting Chang'an directly. All the populace on the way gathered, welcomed, and joined the Han forces. Shentu and Li quickly reached the outskirts of Chang'an. In response, the young men within Chang'an also rose up and stormed Weiyang Palace,

8140-637: The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in many European countries. The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning

8288-523: The Western Han post of the governor of Xiyu. Emperor Guangwu declined, stating that his empire was so lacking in strength at the time that he could not expend efforts to protect Xiyu kingdoms. In response, the Xiyu kingdoms submitted to Xiongnu. While still under the Gengshi Emperor's reign, Emperor Guangwu married his childhood sweetheart Yin Lihua. Later, in AD 24, while he was on his expedition north of

8436-489: The Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the Kunyang rebels eventually agreed. Liu Xiu carried out his action, and when he returned to Kunyang, he began harassing the besieging Xin forces from the outside. Wang Yi and Wang Xun, annoyed, led 10,000 men to attack Liu Xiu and ordered the rest of their troops not to move from their siege locations. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses,

8584-475: The Xinshi and Pinglin Forces began to consider withdrawing from the coalition and fleeing. At that time, however, the Xiajiang Force arrived nearby, and Liu was able to convince Wang Chang, who was respected by the other Xiajiang leaders, that Liu was a capable military leader. The Xiajiang Force therefore joined the coalition, and this led the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces to stay in the coalition. Under Liu's command,

8732-533: The Yellow River and, as he predicted that the powerful Chimei would destroy Gengshi Emperor's government for him, he waited by for that to happen, not intervening on either side as that conflict was developing. He put Kou Xun in charge of the Henei (modern northern Henan , north of the Yellow River) region and made it the base for food and manpower supplies, while commissioning Deng with an expedition force to

8880-574: The Yellow River, he entered a political marriage with Guo Shengtong (郭聖通), the niece of a regional warlord, Liu Yang (劉楊) the Prince of Zhending. In AD 25, Guo birth him a son, Liu Jiang (劉疆). In AD 26, Emperor Guangwu was prepared to create an empress, and he favored his first love, Yin. However, Yin had not yet had a son by that point, and she declined the empress position and endorsed Guo. Emperor Guangwu therefore made Guo empress and her son Prince Jiang crown prince . But by AD 41, Empress Guo had lost

9028-433: The ancient Chinese. Poet and chancellor of the Tang dynasty , Lai Gu, also described this tradition in his poem Early Spring ( 早春 ): " 新曆才將半紙開，小亭猶聚爆竿灰 ", meaning "Another new year just started as a half opening paper, and the family gathered around the dust of exploded bamboo pole." The practice was used by ancient Chinese people to scare away evil spirits, since bamboo would noisily crack and explode from firing. During

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9176-533: The army to support a descendant of the Han imperial house to be emperor. The soldiers under Liu Yan's direct command and the Xiajiang leaders all supported Liu. However, the leaders of the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces were deeply jealous and suspicious of Liu's strict discipline, and wanted to instead support someone weak. They found a minor leader within the Pinglin Force—a descendant of the Han imperial house who

9324-451: The arrival of the Xin forces, withdrew to the small town of Kunyang (昆陽, in modern Ye County , Henan ) and one led by Liu Yan, which was still besieging Wancheng. The rebels in Kunyang initially wanted to scatter, but Liu Xiu opposed it; rather, he advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, while he would gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea,

9472-497: The article on Lunar New Year . For other countries and regions where Chinese New Year is celebrated but not an official holiday, see the table below. Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trend[s]. Buy yourself

9620-429: The breakup of the group into three "forces". These rebels at this time still generally lacked political ambition. They were, however, soon spurred on by someone who was. Liu Yan , a descendant of a distant branch of the Han imperial clan, who lived in his ancestral territory of Chongling (舂陵, in modern Xiangyang , Hubei), had long been disgusted by Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han throne, and had long aspired to start

9768-448: The campaign. With Ma dead and unable to defend himself, Emperor Guangwu stripped Ma of his marquess title and denounced him posthumously. (Ma's reputation was not restored until his daughter later became empress to Emperor Guangwu's son Emperor Ming .) In AD 57, Emperor Guangwu died. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Zhuang, who ascended the throne as Emperor Ming. Consorts and Issue: Chinese New Year Chinese New Year , or

9916-655: The celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner . It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Another practised custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets . Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness , wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes . In Chinese,

10064-401: The city was unsuccessful, and Wu, then in command of the expeditory force, considered withdrawing. Persuaded by his lieutenant Zhang Kan (張堪) that Gongsun was in desperate straits, however, Wu tricked Gongsun into believing that the Eastern Han forces were collapsing from fatigue, drawing him out of the city and engaging in battle. Gongsun was mortally wounded in battle, and Chengdu surrendered in

10212-428: The city's fortune through kau cim . The third day is known as "red mouth" (Chinese: 赤口 ; pinyin: Chìkǒu ). Chikou is also called "Chigou's Day" (Chinese: 赤狗日 ; pinyin: Chìgǒurì ). Chigou , literally "red dog", is an epithet of "the God of Blazing Wrath" (Chinese: 熛怒之神 ; pinyin: Biāo nù zhī shén ). Rural villagers continue the tradition of burning paper offerings over trash fires. It

10360-465: The color red and loud noises. Then the tradition grew when New Year was approaching, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors and used firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu , an ancient Taoist monk. Before the new year celebration

10508-403: The confidence of the people in his administration. Eventually, the Gengshi Emperor's incompetence (along with the incompetence of the officials he installed—mostly Lulin leaders) in governing even the territories around Chang'an but also elsewhere, caused the loyalty of the people in the outlying regions to peel away. By the end of AD 24, Liu Xiu, who had been sent by the Gengshi Emperor to pacify

10656-421: The cured meats of Chinese New Year are known as larou (simplified Chinese: 腊肉 ; traditional Chinese: 臘肉 ; pinyin: làròu ). The porridge was prepared by the women of the household at first light, with the first bowl offered to the family's ancestors and the household deities. Every member of the family was then served a bowl, with leftovers distributed to relatives and friends. It's still served as

10804-598: The day of New Year's Eve, the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor's bedroom door. It is believed that placing the couplets on the door to the home in the days preceding the new year was widespread during the Song dynasty . The famous Northern Song politician, litterateur, philosopher, and poet Wang Anshi recorded the custom in his poem " 元日 " ("New Year's Day"). 爆竹聲中一歲除， 春風送暖入屠蘇。 千門萬戶曈曈日， 總把新桃換舊符。 Amid

10952-406: The debts outstanding for the year before the new year eve, extending to debts of gratitude. Thus it is a common practice to send gifts and rice to close business associates, and extended family members. In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is observed, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and decorations used to adorn altars over the past year are taken down and burned a week before

11100-560: The deities are also considered taboo. Normal traditions occurring on the first day involve house gatherings to the families, specifically the elders and families to the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, and trading Mandarin oranges as a courtesy to symbolize wealth and good luck. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash known as lai see (Cantonese: 利事 ) or angpow ( Hokkien and Teochew ), or hongbao (Mandarin: 红包 ),

11248-499: The deities into reporting good things about the family. Prior to the Reunion Dinner, a prayer of thanksgiving is held to mark the safe passage of the previous year. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Some people do not give a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. The day before Chinese New Year

11396-425: The deities of the heavens and Earth on midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers, and lion dance troupes, were done commonly as a tradition to ward off evil spirits. Typical actions such as lighting fires and using knives are considered taboo, thus all consumable food has to be cooked prior. Using the broom, swearing , and breaking any dinnerware without appeasing

11544-414: The door of fortune" (simplified Chinese: 开财门 ; traditional Chinese: 開財門 ; pinyin: kāicáimén ). The tradition of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve is known as shousui (Chinese: 守岁 ). It is still practised and believed to add to parental longevity. The first day, known as the "Spring Festival" (simplified Chinese: 春节 ; traditional Chinese: 春節 ) is for the welcoming of

11692-469: The emperor's favor. She continuously complained about that fact, and this angered Emperor Guangwu. In AD 41, he deposed her and made Yin empress instead. Rather than imprisoning Guo (as is often the fate of deposed empresses), he made her son Liu Fu (劉輔) the Prince of Zhongshan and made her the Princess Dowager of Zhongshan. He made her brother Guo Kuang (郭況) an important official and, perhaps as

11840-509: The entire empire rebelling against Wang Mang's incompetent rule, Liu Yan prepared his rebellion. He planned, along with his brothers, and Li Tong (李通) and his cousin Li Yi (李軼), to kidnap the governor for Nanyang Commandery (roughly modern Nanyang , Henan ) and call for the people of the commandery to join him. When the young men of their home territory of Chongling heard about the rebellion, they were all scared to join—until they saw that Liu Xiu

11988-572: The face of competitors, he was able to defeat his rivals, destroy the peasant army of the Chimei , known for their disorganization and marauding, and finally reunify China in AD 36. He established his capital in Luoyang , 335 kilometers (208 mi) east of the former capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an), ushering in the Eastern Han (Later Han) dynasty. He implemented some reforms (notably land reform, albeit not very successfully) aimed at correcting some of

12136-409: The festival is commonly known as the "Spring Festival" (traditional Chinese: 春節 ; simplified Chinese: 春节 ; pinyin: Chūnjié ), as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun , the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the Chinese New Year. The name was first proposed in 1914 by Yuan Shikai , who

12284-535: The forces then made a surprise attack on Zhen's rear, seizing all of reserve food and arms of the government force. On the Chinese New Year of 23 AD, Liu crushed Zhen's forces and killed him and his assistant in battle. Encouraged by the victory, the Lulin leaders began to claim for themselves the title of generals, seize cities, create governmental organizations, and send out propaganda attacking Wang Mang. At this time, there were more and more calls within

12432-491: The further mistake of suspecting, without evidence, Wang Kuang, Chen Mu, and Cheng Dan of conspiring with Zhang; he executed Chen and Cheng by trickery, and Wang, in response, joined Zhang. Generals still loyal to the Gengshi Emperor were eventually able to evict Zhang from the capital, but by that time the situation was desperate. Zhang and his allies surrendered to Chimei and, working with them, attacked Chang'an again, which fell quickly. The Gengshi Emperor fled, only followed by

12580-418: The futility of resistance, surrendered and was created a marquess. By AD 30, all of eastern China was under Emperor Guangwu's rule. Wei, seeing that Eastern Han was gradually unifying the empire, inexplicably began considering independence. He tried to persuade Dou to enter into an alliance with him to resist Eastern Han; Dou refused. When Eastern Han started considering conquering Chengjia, Wei, apprehensive of

12728-537: The governor tried to retreat, his retreat route was temporarily cut off by Ma Wu, but Ma Wu allowed him to escape, not wanting to offend the government more than the rebels have done already. Instead, the Lulin rebels roved near the area, capturing many women, and then returning to the Lulin Mountain. By this point, they had 50,000 men. In 22 AD, the Lulin rebels suddenly suffered a serious plague of an unspecified nature, and at least 25,000 men died. This led to

12876-545: The implications of Chengjia's fall, tried to persuade Emperor Guangwu not to carry out a campaign against Chengjia, and later refused to lead his forces south against Chengjia. Emperor Guangwu, who in any case preferred peaceful resolution, repeatedly wrote both Wei and Gongsun with humble terms, trying to get them to submit to him, promising them titles and honors. Wei continued to nominally submit but act as an independent power, while Gongsun refused outright—but continued to be indecisive and took no actions while Eastern Han's rule

13024-621: The leaders of the enfamined people. They gathered local peasants in the Lulin Hills and formed the Lulin Army, which attacked landlords' estates to pillage food, and seized weapons from local troops. They were later joined by many others, including Ma Wu (馬武), Wang Chang (王常), and Cheng Dan (成丹). Within a few months, 7,000 to 8,000 men gathered together under their commands. They had their base at Lulin Mountain, and their modus operandi

13172-586: The main imperial palace. Wang died in the battle at the palace. After Wang Mang's death, the Gengshi Emperor moved his capital from Wancheng to Luoyang. He then issued edicts to the entire empire, promising to allow Xin local officials who submitted to him to keep their posts. For a brief period, nearly the entire empire showed at least nominal submission—even including the powerful Chimei (Red Eyebrows) general Fan Chong (樊崇), who, indeed, went to stay in Luoyang under promises of titles and honors. However, this policy

13320-474: The messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the second day of Chinese New Year, blessing business to strive in the coming year. As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung , a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing. A representative from the government asks Che Kung about

13468-438: The modern Shaanxi region, waiting for the confrontation between Gengshi Emperor and Chimei. In early AD 25, Deng, on his way west, seized the modern Shanxi region and put it under Liu Xiu's control, before crossing the Yellow River into modern Shaanxi. At this point, territories that Liu Xiu controlled were already impressive, compared to any other regional power in the empire broken apart by civil war—but he still carried just

13616-468: The most well-known ones are dumplings from northern China and Tangyuan from southern China. On the eighth day of the lunisolar month prior to Chinese New Year, the Laba Festival , a traditional porridge, Laba porridge (simplified Chinese: 腊八粥 ; traditional Chinese: 臘八粥 ; pinyin: làbā zhōu ), is served in remembrance of an ancient festival, called La , that occurred shortly after

13764-456: The new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before

13912-679: The new year starts on Little New Year , to be replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also "send gods back to heaven" (Chinese: 送神 ; pinyin: sòngshén ), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God , the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household's transgressions and good deeds. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order to "bribe"

14060-519: The newly constituted Han regime. The Han forces were at this point in two groups—one led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu, which, in response to the arrival of the Xin forces, withdrew to the small town of Kunyang (昆陽, in modern Ye County , Henan) and one led by Liu Yan, which was besieging Wancheng. The rebels in Kunyang initially wanted to scatter, but Liu Xiu opposed it; rather, he advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, while he would gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack

14208-491: The news about the Battle of Kunyang spread throughout the empire, the people rose everywhere else simultaneously, often killing the local government officials and claiming to be officials under the new Han regime. Within a month, nearly the entire empire slipped out of Xin control. Around the same time, Liu Yan was able to finally capture Wancheng. The Gengshi Emperor entered the city and made it his temporary capital. However,

14356-592: The niece of Liu Yang, and combined his forces. He mobilized their forces and won some major battles against Wang's generals. Meanwhile, a follower of Liu Xiu, Geng Yan , the son of the governor of Shanggu Commandery (上谷, roughly modern Zhangjiakou , Hebei ), had fled back to his father's commandery, and persuaded both his father Geng Kuang (耿況) and the governor of the neighboring Yuyang Commandery (漁陽, roughly modern Beijing ), Peng Chong (彭寵), to support Liu Xiu. Geng Yan, being supported by Gen Kuang's deputy Kou Xun (寇恂) and Jing Dan (景丹), and Peng's deputy, Wu Han , led

14504-428: The northern commanderies became largely unpopulated, as the people suffered great casualties and also fled to more southerly lands. With these engagements, Emperor Guangwu declined yet another foreign engagement. In AD 46, many Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia ) kingdoms were suffering under the hegemony of one of the kingdoms, Shache ( Yarkand ). They petitioned Emperor Guangwu to again reestablish

14652-497: The opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.) The second day also saw giving offering money and sacrifices to the God of Wealth (Chinese: 财神 ) to symbolize a rewarding time after hardship in the preceding year. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, " Cai Shen dao !" [The God of Wealth has come!]." Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward

14800-435: The order that servants in the inner palace must be eunuchs . Emperor Guangwu, however, had to deal with two campaigns against non-Chinese peoples. In AD 40, a Vietnamese woman named Trưng Trắc (Chinese: Zheng Ce (徵側)) and her sister Trưng Nhị (Chinese: Zheng Er (徵貳)) rebelled. Trưng Trắc claimed the title of queen, and she ruled over an independent kingdom for several years. In AD 41, Emperor Guangwu sent Ma Yuan against

14948-401: The other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. The soldiers largely deserted and went home, unable to be gathered again. Wang Yi had to withdraw with only several thousand men back to Luoyang . Once

15096-402: The palaces and governmental offices at Luoyang. Of all of the major Han officials following the restoration, Liu Xiu alone quickly showed his talent for organization, and his agency quickly grew to resemble its pre-Wang Mang counterpart. In any case, Gengshi Emperor's regime was only able to obtain nominal submission from many regions of the empire, and one of the troublesome regions was north of

15244-453: The people were badly shaken by Gengshi Emperor and his officials' misrule, declined and claimed that the region still needed to be pacified. In the autumn of AD 24, Liu Xiu, still ostensibly an official under Gengshi Emperor, successfully pacified some of the larger agrarian rebel groups and merged them into his own forces. He also started replacing officials loyal to Gengshi Emperor with those loyal to himself. He consolidated his power north of

15392-580: The people, the people of Handan began to believe that he was a genuine son of Emperor Cheng, and the commanderies north of the Yellow River quickly pledged allegiance to him as emperor. In the spring of AD 24, Liu Xiu was forced to withdraw to the northern city of Jicheng (modern Beijing ). Not long after, he faced rebellions in his immediate vicinity, and was nearly killed by rebels who pledged allegiance to Wang. He reached two commanderies in modern central Hebei that were still loyal to Gengshi Emperor— Xindu (信都, roughly modern Hengshui , Hebei ), whose governor

15540-413: The practice is not restricted to nin ya baat (the 28th day of month 12). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers do

15688-574: The prefect's merit. During the Jin dynasty (266–420), people started the New Year's Eve tradition of all-night revelry called shousui ( 守歲 ). It was described in Western Jin general Zhou Chu 's article Fengtu Ji ( 風土記 , 'Notes on Local Conditions'): "At the ending of a year, people gift and wish each other, calling it Kuisui ( 饋歲 , 'time for gifts'); people invited others with drinks and food, calling it Biesui ( 別歲 , 'sending off

15836-605: The rebels had their stronghold for a while. In 17 AD, the Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei, Hunan , and southern Henan) was suffering a famine that was greatly exacerbated by the corruption and incompetence of Xin officials. The victims of the famine were reduced to consuming wild plants, and even those were in short supply, causing the suffering people to attack each other. Two men named Wang Kuang (王匡) and Wang Feng (王鳳), both from Xinshi (新市, in modern Jingmen , Hubei) became arbiters in some of these disputes, and they became

15984-451: The rebels were forced into rebellion to survive, and they were hoping that eventually, when the famine was over, they could return home to farm. As a result, they never dared to attack cities. In 21 AD, the governor of Jing Province mobilized 20,000 soldiers to attack the Lulin rebels, and a battle was pitched at Yundu (雲杜), a major victory for the rebels, who killed thousands of government soldiers and captured their food supply and arms. When

16132-419: The region north of the Yellow River , was de facto independent, while the Chimei were approaching and readying for an attack on Chang'an. In the summer of 25 AD, Liu Xiu finally made a formal break with the Gengshi Emperor, after his generals and the Gengshi Emperor's generals fought over control of the Henei and Luoyang regions. He declared himself emperor (establishing the regime known in historiography as

16280-401: The regional warlords to submit to him. Wei and Dou did in AD 29, and as they were assisting Eastern Han forces to the north of Chengjia, Gongsun was further discouraged from trying to expand his empire. Also in AD 29, Liu Yong's son and heir Liu Yu (劉紆) was defeated by Eastern Han forces and killed. Also in AD 29, Peng's slaves assassinated him, leading to a collapse of his regime. Zhang, seeing

16428-445: The relationships between him and his generals and to protect their title and position so he therefore resolved to give the generals large marches but not give them official positions in his government. He rewarded them with great wealth and often listened to their advice, but rarely put them in positions of authority. He thereby reduced friction between him and his generals, thus allowing for their relationships to be preserved. In this, he

16576-456: The same in the Chinese language. After gunpowder was invented in the Tang dynasty and widely used under the Song dynasty , people modified the tradition of firing bamboo by filling the bamboo pole with gunpowder, which made for louder explosions. Later under the Song, people discarded the bamboo and started to use paper to wrap the gunpowder in cylinders, in imitation of the bamboo. The firecracker

16724-507: The sound of firecrackers a year has come to an end, The spring wind has wafted warm breath to the Tusu wine. While the rising sun shines over each and every household, People get rid of the old couplets and put up the new ones. The poem Yuan Ri ( 元日 ) also includes the word bao zhu ( 爆竹 , "exploding bamboo"), which is believed to be a reference to firecrackers, instead of the previous tradition of firing bamboo, both of which are called

16872-614: The start of a new year was recorded during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). In the book Simin Yueling ( 四民月令 ), written by the Eastern Han agronomist Cui Shi (崔寔), a celebration was described: "The starting day of the first month, is called Zheng Ri. I bring my wife and children, to worship ancestors and commemorate my father." Later he wrote: "Children, wife, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all serve pepper wine to their parents, make their toast, and wish their parents good health. It's

17020-509: The structural imbalances responsible for the downfall of the Former/Western Han. His reforms gave a new 200-year lease of life to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu's campaigns featured many able generals, but curiously, he lacked major strategists. That may very well be because he himself appeared to be a brilliant strategist; he often instructed his generals on strategy from afar, and his predictions generally would be accurate. This

17168-532: The title "general". Liu Xiu would be instrumental in the key victory that sealed Wang Mang's fate. Wang, aware that Gengshi Emperor was becoming a major threat, sent his cousin Wang Yi (王邑) and his prime minister Wang Xun (王尋) with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, intending to crush the newly constituted Han regime. The Han forces were at this point in two groups—one led by Wang Feng (王鳳), Wang Chang (王常), and Liu Xiu, which, in response to

17316-454: The title Prince of Xiao (which Gengshi Emperor had created him) and still ostensibly was controlling those territories as Gengshi Emperor's deputy, even as he was already engaging militarily against some generals (e.g. Xie Gong – 謝躬) loyal to Gengshi Emperor (During this incident, Liu Xiu succeeded to persuade Ma Wu (馬武), who was the deputy of Xie Gong, to join him.). In the summer of AD 25, after repeated urging by his followers, he finally claimed

17464-409: The title of emperor and the right to succeed to the Han throne—as Emperor Guangwu. Soon after Emperor Guangwu's ascension, the Gengshi Emperor's regime was destroyed by the Chimei, who supported their own pretender to the Han throne, Liu Penzi . The Chimei leaders, despite being militarily powerful, were however even less capable at ruling than the Gengshi Emperor, and they soon alienated the people of

17612-473: The two commanderies' cavalry and infantry forces south to join Liu Xiu. The combined forces gave Liu Xiu enough strength to make a direct assault against Handan, trapping and killing Wang Lang. After Wang's death, Gengshi Emperor made Liu Xiu the Prince of Xiao and summoned him back to the capital (then moved to Chang'an). Liu Xiu, persuaded by Geng Yan that he should be ready to set out his own course because

17760-670: The very first major incident of infighting in the Gengshi Emperor's regime would happen at this time. The Gengshi Emperor, along with the officials who were formerly leaders of the Xinshi and Pinglin Forces, was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji (劉稷), was particularly critical of the Gengshi Emperor. The Gengshi Emperor arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede. The Gengshi Emperor took this opportunity to execute Liu Yan as well. However, ashamed of what he had done, he spared Liu Yan's brother Liu Xiu, and in fact made Liu Xiu

17908-405: The villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of

18056-441: The winter of 22 AD, the ambitious Liu Yan then decided to make an initial assault against Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang Commandery, and he initially failed, suffering such a major loss at the hand of Zhen Fu (甄阜), the governor of Nanyang. His sister Liu Yuan (劉元) and brother Liu Zhong (劉仲) both died in the battle. Encouraged, Zhen then led his forces in pursuit, intending to crush the all Liu-Lulin rebels once and for all. Alarmed,

18204-472: The winter of AD 36. Liu's general Wu Han then killed more than 10,000 people. After Chengjia's fall, Dou turned over the lands under his control to Emperor Guangwu in AD 36, and was made prime controller. Lu, after initially submitting to Emperor Guangwu and made the Prince of Dai (as Emperor Guangwu maintained the fiction that Lu was actually from imperial lineage), eventually rebelled again, but, unable to succeed, eventually fled to Xiongnu in AD 42. The empire

18352-481: The winter solstice. Pickles such as Laba garlic, which turns green from vinegar, are also made on this day. For those that practice Buddhism, the Laba holiday is also considered Bodhi Day . Layue (simplified Chinese: 腊月 ; traditional Chinese: 臘月 ; pinyin: Làyuè ) is a term often associated with Chinese New Year as it refers to the sacrifices held in honour of the gods in the twelfth lunisolar month, hence

18500-402: The year'); on New Year's Eve, people stayed up all night until sunrise, calling it Shousui ( 守歲 , 'guard the year')." The article used the phrase chuxi ( 除夕 ) to indicate New Year's Eve—a phrase still used today. The Northern and Southern dynasties book Jingchu Suishiji describes the practice of firing bamboo in the early morning of New Year's Day, a New Year's tradition of

18648-414: Was Ren Guang (任光), and Herong, (和戎, roughly part of modern Shijiazhuang , Hebei ), whose governor was Pi Tong (邳彤). Ren's deputy Li Chong (李忠), Wan Xiu (萬脩) and Liu Zhi (劉植), who was powerful clan in the region, also joined him. Additionally, he began to make Liu Zhi persuade Liu Yang (劉楊) the Prince of Zhending, who held 100,000 troops, to join him. He entered into a political marriage with Guo Shengtong ,

18796-493: Was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty . He ruled over parts of China at first since his dynasty was formed through rebellion against the short-lived Xin dynasty , and through suppression and conquest of regional warlords, the whole of China proper was consolidated by the time of his death in AD 57. During his reign, Taoism

18944-630: Was a third cousin of Liu Yan, named Liu Xuan , who was claiming the title of General Gengshi (更始將軍) at the time. They decided to support Liu Xuan to be emperor, and Liu Yan, after initial opposition, decided to agree as well, not wanting to start a fight. In spring 23 AD, Liu Xuan was proclaimed emperor. Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Zhu, Liu Yan, and Chen were the top officials in this new regime. Wang Mang decided that he had to crush this rebellion once and for all. He sent his cousin Wang Yi (王邑) and his prime minister Wang Xun (王尋) with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, intending to crush

19092-457: Was able to accomplish both of these things and more.) Soon, Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty and its capital Chang'an fell to the Gengshi Emperor's forces, and Gengshi Emperor was acknowledged by virtually the entire empire as the emperor of the restored Han Dynasty. He initially planned to set his capital at Luoyang, and he made Liu Xiu governor of the capital region. Liu Xiu was commissioned to repair

19240-483: Was applied inconsistently, and local governors soon became apprehensive about giving up their power. Fan, in particular, left the capital and returned to his troops. In AD 24, the Gengshi Emperor moved his capital again, back to the Western Han capital of Chang'an. The people of Chang'an had previously been offended by the Gengshi Emperor's officials (the former Lulin leaders), who did not appreciate their rising up against Wang Mang but in fact considered them traitors. Once

19388-627: Was at the time the interim president of the Republic of China . The official usage of the name "Spring Festival" was retained by the government of the People's Republic of China , but the government of the Republic of China based in Taiwan has since adopted the name "Traditional Chinese New Year". The festival is also called "Lunar New Year" in English, despite the traditional Chinese calendar being lunisolar and not lunar . However, "Chinese New Year"

19536-410: Was being confirmed throughout the land. Realizing that neither Wei nor Gongsun would voluntarily submit, Emperor Guangwu started a campaign against Wei in the summer of AD 30—assisted by Wei's friend Ma Yuan , who had served as Wei's liaison officer to Emperor Guangwu and had tried in vain to persuade him not to take the course of independence. In response, Wei formally submitted to Gongsun and accepted

19684-480: Was claiming the title of General Gengshi (更始將軍) at the time and who was considered a weak personality, and requested that he be made emperor. Liu Yan initially opposed this move and instead suggested that Liu Xuan carry the title "Prince of Han" first (echoing the founder of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu). The other rebel leaders refused, and in early AD 23, Liu Xuan was proclaimed emperor. Liu Yan became prime minister. Liu Xiu, along with many other rebel leaders, carried

19832-400: Was entirely under Emperor Guangwu's rule. During the wartime, Liu's general Geng Yan massacred 300 cities. Although Emperor Guangwu had already created many of his generals and officials marquesses, in AD 37, after the conquest of the empire was largely complete, he readjusted their marches in accordance with their accomplishments. He also considered what would be the best way to preserve

19980-514: Was established under the Ming dynasty at the latest. It is described in the book Youzhongzhi ( 酌中志 ): "People get up at 5 in the morning of new year's day, burn incense and light firecrackers, throw door latch or wooden bars in the air three times, drink pepper and thuja wine, eat dumplings. Sometimes put one or two silver currency inside dumplings, and whoever gets the money will attain a year of fortune." Modern Chinese people also put other food that

20128-576: Was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of harvest in autumn. However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival , during which Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. In the Classic of Poetry , a poem written during Western Zhou (1045 BC – 771 BC) by an anonymous farmer, described the traditions of celebrating the 10th month of the ancient solar calendar , which

20276-471: Was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and was keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji (劉稷), was particularly critical of Gengshi Emperor. The Gengshi Emperor arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede. The Gengshi Emperor, encouraged by Li Yi (who had by that point turned against Liu Yan) and Zhu Wei (朱鮪), took this opportunity to execute Liu Yan as well. At this time, Liu Xiu

20424-456: Was fighting on the frontlines. When he heard about his brother's death, he quickly left his army and went back to the temporary capital Wancheng to beg forgiveness. When Liu Yan's followers greeted him, he only thanked them but did not speak of his feelings, but rather blamed himself and did not mention of his achievements at Kunyang. He did not dare to mourn his brother. The Gengshi Emperor, ashamed of what he had done, spared Liu Xiu and created him

20572-412: Was in autumn. According to the poem, during this time people clean millet-stack sites, toast guests with mijiu (rice wine), kill lambs and cook their meat, go to their masters' home, toast the master, and cheer the prospect of living long together. The 10th-month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year. The records of the first Chinese new year celebration can be traced to

20720-434: Was initially met with great gladness by the people north of the Yellow River. It was around this time that Deng Yu joined him (later to be his prime minister); other later important figures who joined him around this time included Feng Yi and Geng Chun (耿純). Deng, seeing that the Gengshi Emperor lacked the ability to rule, persuaded Liu Xiu to keep his sights broad and consider eventual independence. Liu Xiu would soon have

20868-508: Was made the Prince of Donghai. He also changed Prince Yang's name to Zhuang (莊). In AD 47, an opportunity arose with regard to Xiongnu. Xiongnu had a succession dispute, pitting the current chanyu, Punu (蒲奴) against his cousin Bi (比), the son of a former chanyu. In AD 48, Bi also claimed the title of chanyu, and submitted to Emperor Guangwu's authority. Punu also submitted, in response, and the divided Xiongnu stopped waging war against Han. In AD 49,

21016-443: Was made the official religion of China, and the Chinese folk religion began to decline. Liu Xiu was one of the many descendants of the Han imperial family. Following the usurpation of the Han throne by Wang Mang and the ensuing civil war during the disintegration of Wang's Xin dynasty, he emerged as one of several descendants of the fallen dynasty claiming the imperial throne. After assembling forces and proclaiming himself emperor in

21164-433: Was matched perhaps only by Emperor Taizu of Song . As the emperor of the unified empire, Emperor Guangwu's reign was marked by thriftiness, efficiency, and laxity of laws. For example, in AD 38, his official Liang Tong (梁統) submitted a petition to restore the criminal laws of late Western Han Dynasty—which were far more severe. After discussion with other officials, Emperor Guangwu tabled Liang's suggestion. But he originated

21312-412: Was often emulated by later emperors who fancied themselves great strategists but who actually lacked Emperor Guangwu's brilliance—usually to disastrous results. Also unique among emperors in Chinese history was Emperor Guangwu's combination of decisiveness and mercy. He often sought out peaceful means rather than bellicose means of putting areas under his control. He was, in particular, one rare example of

21460-647: Was part of the rebellion as well, figuring that if even a careful man like Liu Xiu was part of the rebellion, the rebellion was carefully planned. However, the news of the plan leaked out, and Li Tong and Li Yi barely escaped with their lives (but their family was slaughtered). Liu Yan changed his plan and persuaded two branches of the Lülin – the Xinshi Force (新市兵) and Pinglin Force (平林兵) to join forces with him, and they had some military success. Encouraged, Liu Yan made

21608-457: Was still called bao zhu ( 爆竹 ), thus equating the new and old traditions. It is also recorded that people linked the firecrackers with hemp rope and created the bian pao ( 鞭炮 , "gunpowder whip") in the Song dynasty. Both bao zhu ( 爆竹 ) and bian pao ( 鞭炮 ) are still used today to celebrate the Chinese New Year and other festive occasions. It was also during the Song dynasty that people started to give money to children in celebration of

21756-478: Was the son of Liu Hui (劉回), vice governor in charge of military affairs for Julu Commandery (鉅鹿都尉). Liu Hui was the son of Liu Wai (劉外), governor of Yulin Commandery (鬱林太守). Liu Wai was the son of Liu Mai (劉買), known posthumously as Marquess Jie of Chongling (舂陵節侯). Liu Mai was the son of Liu Fa (劉發), known posthumously as Prince Ding of Changsha (長沙定王). The Prince of Changsha was a brother of Emperor Wu ,

21904-403: Was to attack and pillage villages far from the cities for food. This carried on for several years, during which they grew to tens of thousands in size. Wang sent messengers issuing pardons in hopes of causing these rebels to disband. Once the messengers returned to the Xin capital Chang'an , some honestly reported that the rebels gathered because the harsh laws made it impossible for them to make

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