However, it is said that oil lamps were still used in the age of nineteen ancient poems, and it suddenly occurred to me that there seems to be no such thing as candles in ancient China. In ancient books of Han Dynasty, wax and candle were generally discussed separately, but the word candle was rarely used together.
However, "there are occasional yellow wax cakes in Han tombs", which shows that lanterns in Han dynasty generally inject grease into lamps, but wax can also be used to burn lamps, and the wax in wax lamps can be used as ointment after melting. People finally found an example, which was mentioned in the excavation report of Nanyue king's tomb in the Western Han Dynasty. By the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the wax platform first appeared in the Han tombs in Guangzhou. It proves that slender columnar candles have entered the ranks of lighting products at that time.
Finally, there were candles at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, but they were not widely used and their shapes were different from those of modern times. Furthermore, whether candles were used in the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties is an unsolved mystery. Candles mentioned in the literature were first mentioned in the Jin Dynasty. "The Book of Jin Zhou Zhuan" wrote that someone "cast his candle". Shi Shuo Xin Yu tells the story of Shi Chong cooking with candles. After the Jin Dynasty, there were many references to candles in the literature. As for before the Jin Dynasty, there was still a lack of reliable written records. In fact, there were only a few archaeological materials, such as the archaeological materials mentioned above.
In the middle, "Kou Zhun has never lit an oil lamp since he was a teenager. Drinking at night is especially good, although the dormitory also lights candles. After every dismissal, people go to the official residence and see the tears in the toilet, which often pile up. " It can be seen that in the Song Dynasty, oil was still very expensive.
An article said: "Miscellany of Xijing" said that "the king of Fujian and Yue offered 200 honey candles" and thought that "honey candles are candles", but I thought this was an isolated case after all, not to mention the records in Miscellany of Xijing can only be used as a reference.
Look at the raw materials of candles, such as 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. But the quantity is probably small, and the use is not universal, so lamps and candles are still made of grease, or a layer of wax is hung outside the grease candle to reduce the tearing of the candle, or a little wax is mixed in the grease. Some data show that the melting point of grease candles is relatively low, so the candles at that time were relatively thick and short. This may be why the candles of the candle lamps in the Han Dynasty stone reliefs are short and thick, rather than the slender shapes depicted in the murals of Li Shou's tomb in the Tang Dynasty.
Candles were invented in the Han and Wei Dynasties. Yi's poem "Cold Food" says: "Candles are passed in the Han Palace at dusk, and light smoke is scattered into the Five Emperors' Mansion. In the old custom, fire is forbidden in the Cold Food Festival, and the candle in the palace is divided into five princes' houses, which shows your pet.