◎ Notes in the Old Study by Lu You
After Tian Deng became the magistrate of a shire, he resented being called by his name, and would get irritated when others offended him by calling by name. Many of his officials were beaten up because of this. To avoid the wrath of their magistrate, the people in the shire referred to “lights (pronounced “deng” in Chinese)” as “fire”.
When the Lantern Festival came, the authority specifically allowed the public to view the lanterns (pronounced “denglong” in Chinese) in the capital of the shire, and posted a notice on the street that read, “This shire
will display fire for three days.”
