Chinese flying lanterns - 孔明燈 (kongmingdeng)

After the Mid-Autumn festival (中秋節) celebration dinner the night before, all of us went into the garden to see the lanterns as well as the fireworks that were being set off by the neighbours. We also wanted to send off some Chinese flying lanterns or 孔明燈  (kongmingdeng).

The Chinese flying lanterns - 孔明燈  (kongmingdeng) - are miniature hot air balloons with their own fuel. The lanterns are of paper with a holder for the fuel. Candles were used in the past but now, blocks of flammable wax are the main sources of the fuel.

 

It was said to have been invented by Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) (181-234 A.D.) and who was the Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The flying lantern was also named after him - he was also known as 孔明 (Kong Ming). Zhuge Liang was already famous as a military strategist but only after  Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中) published his famous classic, Romance of Three Kingdoms (三国演义) in the 14th century, did  he became a god-like hero to the Chinese readers. 

According to history, Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) floated thousands of these Chinese flying lantern (孔明燈 - kongmingdeng) across the army camps of enemy kingdoms to frighten and confuse their soldiers before launching his armies against them.

Today, we use these Chinese flying lantern (孔明燈 - kongmingdeng) for a more leisurely pursuit - FUN!  It is also popular with the Chinese to write their wishes on the lanterns and then sending their wishes up to heaven.

Mid-Autumn Festival II or 中秋節 II

Today being Mid-Autumn Festival or 中秋節 (Zhongqiujie), I wonder how many of you are old enough to remember this mooncake as being the most commonly available and eaten ...

This is the White Mooncake and made of rice flour, sugar and water. This is the main choice available for normal folks in the not-so-distant poorer days of yesteryears! The slightly more expensive variety comes with roasted black sesame seeds in the cake mix.

When I was a young boy, my mum used to make them at home. The rice flour was toasted and then knead into a dough with caster sugar and water. 

The two-pieces mould was of brass - a flat round pan with a heavy top that fitted nicely into the pan. The top piece had the design for the mooncakes and there were a number of top pieces with different designs. A weighed ball of dough was placed into the base pan and then shaped to fit the base. The top piece was then placed into the pan and pressure was applied on the top piece of the mould to fix the shape of the mooncake and to create the pattern. Once done, you have the white moon cake. 

Sad to say, the brass moulds are no longer available - mum threw them out years ago once such mooncakes cakes became available commercially at a reasonable price! :-(

Nowadays, such mooncakes are rarely eaten and, if eaten, it's purely for nostalgia - considering that it is not very tasty, just sweet.  Still, eating it brings back memories of a long lost childhood. 

Such mooncakes are still in production though as they are being used for religious ceremonies on this day - the mooncake in the picture was used for our ancestor worship ceremony this morning.

Tonight, we will have a family gathering - steamboat, BBQ and, of course, the lanterns for the children. Part of the fun will also include the release of the Chinese flying lanterns (孔明燈) (kongmingdeng).

Enjoy!