What is a Gong Lantern?

The so-called Palace Lanterns Palace Lanterns, as the name suggests is the palace lights, mainly some of the fine wood for the skeleton inlaid with silk and glass, and outside the painted with a variety of patterns of painted lamps, also known as the Palace Lanterns. It is one of the characteristic handicrafts of Chinese colored lanterns. It is famous for its elegance and nobility, full of palace style. The production process is complex, generally the first fine wood for the skeleton, made of octagonal, hexagonal or quadrangular type, and then between the skeleton set with silk gauze and glass, and outside the painting of a variety of designs, generally larger, hanging in the hall on the beam. As a result of long-term use for the court, in addition to lighting, but also with fine and complex decorations to show the emperor's wealth and luxury. Orthodox palace lights light type for octagonal, hexagonal, quadrangular type, each side of the painting screen pattern content for the dragon and phoenix, longevity, good luck and so on.

Palm lanterns in China has been thousands of years of history, has become a symbol of traditional Chinese culture. Palace lanterns as China's handicraft production of special crafts, enjoy a reputation in the world, until today in some of the luxury halls and homes can still be found in the palace lantern modeling decorations. Legend has it that Liu Xiu, Guangwu Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, built the capital of Luoyang, after the unification of the world, in order to celebrate this achievement, in the palace lights and colorful, big feasts, lamps, each presented a beautiful appearance. "Palace lights" name, thus born. Emperor Yang of the first year of the first month of the first five years of the first year, in Luoyang, Chen set up a hundred plays, all over the palace lights, banquets, the whole city lights and colors, half a month never stop. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, every Lantern Festival, the family treasure lights hanging high, everywhere bright lights, everyone roaming lamps, marigolds and marigolds. This custom, spread to the whole country, spread overseas. Gong Lantern production technology from the palace into the people. In the Qing Dynasty, the palace lantern because of the precious even became the emperor to reward the princes and ministers of the gift. The Qing Dynasty Wild History contains: "Customized at the end of the year, the princes and ministers, are given. Ministers before the imperial court are given years of peace purse, lamps and lanterns of several pairs." Ming and qing dynasty palace lanterns are mainly made of fine wood as the frame, carved pattern, or carved lacquer as the frame, inlaid with gauze, glass or glass silk. Qing Tanzui "Dianhai Yuheng Zhi" in the "material silk lamp" (i.e., glass lamp) production, imported into the capital, as well as the rise and fall in folk details, "material silk lamp out of Yongchang, said to take the medicinal material decocted, extracted silk weaving for the lamp, so it is called material silk. The material is purple quartz, blunt magnet, ochre genus, not a class. Beginning out of the money can, this into the upper, not to make outsiders burned. Can go, began to practice for the; Gu more refined, grow a few two or three times, the price is very expensive, the burner died, his son passed on its law, people compete to burn, the price is more cheap, for the people can not be fine carry on. Eunuchs are not taken."