Kongming Lantern, also called Sky Lantern, is said to have been invented by Zhu Gekongming (Zhuge Liang) during the Three Kingdoms period. At that time, Zhu Gekongming was besieged by Sima Yi in Yuping, unable to send troops out of the city for help. Kong Ming calculated the wind direction, made a floating paper lantern, tied with the message for help, and then escaped as expected, so later generations called this lantern Kong Ming Lantern. Another way of saying this is that this lantern looks like a hat worn by Zhu Gekongming, hence its name.
During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, ancestors were introduced into Taibei County, Pingxi Township and Shiliao District of Taiwan Province Province from Hui 'an and Anxi counties in Fujian, that is, the upper reaches of Keelung River. According to the oral accounts of the elders in Shiliao area, bandits occurred in Shiliao area in the early Qing Dynasty. Being located in the mountainous area, all the villagers fled to the mountains. After the bandits left, the people who stayed in the village used sky lanterns as signals at night to inform the villagers who had taken refuge in the mountains that they could go down the mountain and go home. This is also the way to report peace to the villagers. Since the Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, villagers in ten regions celebrate the Lantern Festival every year and report peace to villagers in neighboring villages. Therefore, villagers in ten areas also call sky lanterns "blessing lanterns" or "safety lanterns".
The structure of Kongming Lantern can be divided into two parts: the main body is mostly bamboo grates, followed by cotton paper or paper paste, and the underframe is bamboo grates. Kongming lanterns can be large or small, round or rectangular. Generally speaking, Kongming lanterns are barrel-shaped made of bamboo pieces, surrounded by thin white paper, and their openings are downward.
When taking off with a light, tie a piece of coarse cloth or gold paper stained with kerosene or peanut oil in the middle of the bracket at the bottom, and light the fuel before flying. After the fire in the lamp burns for a while, it will produce hot air and the lanterns will expand. After flying, the whole lantern will soar in Ran Ran. If the weather is clear and the kerosene at the bottom burns out, the Kongming Lantern will automatically descend.