What is the traditional method of making candles in ancient times? The more detailed, the better.

The method of making candles in ancient times was simple: collect enough beehives (beeswax), melt them, pour them into molds, and add wick ropes.

Candles originated from torches in primitive times. Primitive people painted things like fat or wax on bark or sawdust, and then tied them together to make torches for lighting. Beeswax, which appeared around the 3rd century BC, may be the embryonic form of candles seen today. In the west, there was a time when bees were kept in monasteries to make beeswax. This is mainly because Catholicism believes that beeswax is a symbol of virgin conception, so it is regarded as pure light and enshrined on the altar of the church. According to the existing literature, the time of beeswax production in China is roughly the same as that in the West. Japanese introduced this kind of candle from China in Nara period (7 10 ~ 784). Compared with modern candles, ancient candles have many disadvantages. Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "How to Cut Candles in the West Window". Why do poets cut candles? At that time, the wick of the candle was made of cotton thread and stood upright in the center of the flame. Because it is impossible to burn out carbonization, it is necessary to cut off the remaining wick ends with scissors from time to time.

The raw materials of candles include yellow wax and white wax. Yellow wax is beeswax, and white wax is wax secreted by termites. It is generally believed that the use of ash originated in the Tang Dynasty, and textual research began in the Han and Wei Dynasties. The above-mentioned "occasional yellow wax cake in Han tombs" is material evidence, so the use of beeswax is earlier than that of white wax. There are records about beeswax or beeswax in Shennong Herbal Classic, Zhang Hua's Natural History and Tao Hongjing's Bielu of Famous Doctors, which are used as medicines. From this perspective, the wax used in the Eastern Han Dynasty was beeswax. However, the number is probably small and the use is not common.