As one of traditional Chinese handicrafts, once you see the Chinese lantern, you will know it is a symbol of China. The fascinating and warm light provided by a Chinese lantern will make you understand why they're so popular and well known.

The origin and history development

Chinese Lantern, an important sort of ancient lamps, was recorded to be widely used and reach its peak in the eighth century during the middle Tang dynasty. Yet it was initially crafted as early as the West Han Dynasty (202BC~8AD). Later in the East Han Dynasty (25 AD - 220 AD), Chinese paper lantern was invented.

Chinese Lantern Festival also originated from Han Dynasty, with the purpose of making an opportunity for family reunion and marking the end of Lunar Chinese New Year. Lantern, naturally, was one of the absolutely necessarily decorative and functional components of the festival. According to legend, Emperor Tang Minghuang used to ask the palace maids to hang lanterns to decorate the royal Shangyang Palace so as to celebrate Lantern Festival and prayed for "a stable society and a wealthy and strong country". When Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), made Nanjing the capital city, he asked his men to put hundreds of thousands of water lanterns on the Qinhuai River. Also in Ming Dynasty, but during the reign of Emperor Yongle, after the government moved to Beijing, lamp posts were placed on the Meridian Gate (Wu men), and a lantern fair was set up out of Hua Gate.

Originally, Chinese people hung lanterns in front of their doors to drive away evil spirits. As to today, the lantern has become a symbol of traditional Chinese culture, playing an important role in celebrations and ceremonies, and remain popular. With the “China craze” in many counties, Chinese lanterns are chosen as the house decorations by many foreigners who are fascinated with Chinese culture. However, the material of lanterns change from paper, bamboo to cloth, plastic and iron thread. The color and shape of lantern also turn to be different and varied.  

Characteristics of Chinese lantern

With a history of more than 1800 years old, the workmanship of Chinese lantern is a perfect combination of Chinese painting, paper-cutting, paper arts, embroidery, sewing, as well as the lighting function. The materials to make Chinese lantern include bamboo, wood, rattan, straw, animal horns, metal, silk, damask, etc. Sometimes Chinese lantern is symbolic. For examples, bamboo lanterns usually stand for the funeral. The lanterns hung at temples are yellow, symbolizing the calmness and peace. The red lanterns and palace lanterns are the symbol of wedding and celebration.   

The most famous types of Chinese lantern

Traditionally, Chinese lantern mainly falls into five categories, palace lantern, gauze lantern, bamboo lantern, family name lantern and pendent lantern. The shapes are varied from human figure, landscape, to flowers, animals and fish. Zou Ma Deng Lantern, adorned with a revolving circle of paper horses, has been favored by all walks of life. Geographically, there are Beijing style lantern, Suzhou style lantern, Fuzhou style lantern and Quanzhou style lantern. Two of the most famous styles of lanterns come from the capital Beijing in Northern China, and Suzhou in East of China.

Beijing palace lanterns

As the name suggests, palace lantern was hung in the royal palaces at the very beginning. It is made by thin wood as the skeleton and then covered with cloth and glass. The best traditional Beijing palace lanterns require rosewood as the skeleton and traditional-patterned thin silk or glass as the covering. Besides lighting function, the palace lanterns are also valuable collections for Chinese lantern collectors. Now they are hung in halls or other spacious rooms to add to the antique atmosphere.

Suzhou-style lanterns

In contrast with Beijing palace lanterns, Suzhou-style lanterns usually have a rustic style. They boast a time-honored history and a delicate beauty. Early in the Song Dynasty, lanterns developed into an individual crafts industry in the area. Suzhou lanterns have various appearances, ranging from bird, flower, and fish to pavilion, terrace, tower and even human figures. Suzhou lanterns are famous for their various colors, refined processing, ingenious structure, exquisite sculpture and grand magnificence.

Chinese lantern and Chinese Lantern Festival

Lantern, especially the red lantern, always reminds Chinese people of a grand traditional Chinese festival - Lantern Festival. On that day, Chinese families will get together to celebrate the grand festival and enjoy beautiful lantern at the night of the day.

Kite is a symbol of the Chinese handicraft. Flying a kite is a very popular activity in all generations in China. It is easy to find the scene that when in the holidays, there are large numbers of people gathering to the squares and holding lines to control beautiful kites in the blue sky.

History

Chinese kite originated from the Warring States Period (476 BC-221 BC). The deft craftsman Lu Ban was said to be the inventor. His invention had the bird' s name of ‘Yuan', a kind of bird of hawk family with a long, often forked tail and a long pointed winds. He made the kite out of the thin wooden or bamboo strips.

After the Han Dynasty (206 BC -220 AD), paper was introduced into the kite-making and replaced the wood and bamboo. Hence, the kite got the name ‘Zhi Yuan', as ‘Zhi' in Chinese means paper. And during the Five Dynasties Period (907 A D -960 AD), people tied the bamboo whistle to the kite. When the kite is flying, the airflow can make the whistle sounded like Kucheng playing, hence the name ‘Fengcheng'.

As the civilization advanced, making and playing the kite became very popular in Weifang area, Shandong Province，in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Weifang's kite has reached its heyday during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Every year in spring when the Tomb-sweeping day comes, the weather become warm. All most every household went out to fly the kite and have a picnic in sunny and windy days. It was an exuberant folk activity and a good time to display the kites as well as enjoy the warm weather and the fresh air. The tradition has been well kept until today and becomes the world-famous Weifang International Kite Festival, which is held from 20th to 25th in April every year.

Kites in Weifang

Since Weifang has the tradition and history of kite, it is famous for its kite making. The kite making in Weifang is exquisite in style, beautiful in painting and good in quality. What's more, it has abstracted the strongpoint of wooden New Year's Painting, making its appearance more colorful, vivid, and elegant.

The masterpiece of Weifang kite is giant centipedes kite with Chinese dragonhead. It is as long as 100 Chi. Making such a giant fly needs the skill. Firstly, the head part should be raised than the tail part, and then use the power from the body parts to make the head rose higher. The connections between the body parts have specially designed, which ensures the kite fly.

Besides Weifang, Beijing, Tianjing, and Nantong in Jiangsu Province are also famous for their characteristic kites. Craftsmen usually make the kite according to the different animals, traditional mythologies and famous novel characters.

Benefit of Flying Kite

Flying kite in spring day is benefit to health, it’s a good way to stretches the physique, and reduce backache. When people flying kite, it can distract them from their troubles, help them forget the stressful environments and reconnect them to nature.

Recommended Time for Flying Kite

Spring is the most suitable season for flying kite. Flying kite requires modest wind, and warm day, that’s why it’s better to fly kite in spring days. Cloudy day and rainy day is not bright enough for flying kite, gloomy day may make people susceptible to myopia.