Lantern Festival Taiwan – February 12, 2025

History of Lantern Festival Taiwan

The Lantern Festival symbolizes peace, hope, and new beginnings. Traditional red lanterns symbolize prosperity and good fortune in Southeast Asian culture. The sky lantern is the center of attraction of the Pingxi Lantern Festival and without it, there would be no festival to celebrate. We can as well trace the beginnings of the Pingxi Lantern Festival to the events that made the sky lantern a Taiwanese cultural heritage. Sky lanterns are the miniature version of a hot air balloon. They are made out of paper with a wire construction for the fire that lifts the lantern.

According to historians, the sky lanterns first came into use in the third century B.C. in China as an essential warfare and military protection tool. It was believed to have been invented between 220 A.D. and 280 A.D. by Zhuge Liang, a chancellor and military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period. As the chancellor was also known by the courtesy name, Kongming, the sky lantern was also referred to as kongming lanterns. According to Chinese myth, Liang first used sky lanterns to send an S.O.S. message when enemy troops surrounded him.

How the sky lanterns became commonplace is open to many speculations. Local tradition believes sky lanterns appeared with the arrival of Chinese settlers in 1821. During the Qing Dynasty, the Pingxi district was one of the many districts difficult for the provincial government to control and protect as they were remote and far from the seat of power. Therefore, to protect themselves during the post-harvest season, the villagers would hide in the mountains and leave behind their strong men to defend their village. At the end of all this, the men would release sky lanterns to inform the villagers that they could safely return home. This act eventually evolved into the annual Pingxi Lantern Festival.

In 1990, the Tourism Bureau began deploying civilian and local government resources to host the sky lantern celebrations, turning them into a celebration of tradition and increasing their popularity.

The world’s first Lantern Festival is believed to have been introduced by Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty who was a firm believer of the Buddhism philosophy. When Emperor Ming saw a group of Buddhist monks decorating temples with lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month, he commanded the entire palace and temples to be lit with lanterns.

By combining national and regional resources, the tourism industry of Taiwan established its first Taiwan Lantern festival in 1990. Some people also refer to it as the Yuan Xiao Festival. The major aim behind this event is to promote the traditional culture and folklore among the common people. The earlier civilizations would organize an event with firecrackers to pay tribute to Guan Yu for his achievements and valor.

Many folklore is attached to the celebration, a prominent one is the story of Yuansiao, the maid. The legend says that a maid by the name of Yuansiao was trapped under the thumb of Emperor Wu. She was forbidden from ever seeing her family. When a minister took notice of her condition, he hatched a plan to reunite the poor girl with her family for one night. He told the Emperor that great perils threaten him and his health, lest he lights up the city with lanterns on his birthday. The Emperor gave in to the request and allowed for the procession to happen. On his birthday, every worker was allowed to leave the palace to help with the ritual, which gave Yuansiao the maid an annual opportunity to be reunited with her family.

This event was usually held in the holy temple of Wumiao located in the District of Yanshuei. The highlight of this event is the Fengpao ceremony. This is when numerous firecrackers are burnt and hung in the temple of Wumiao on a wooden stand at a great height. This ceremony commences at six in the evening and is carried out till five the next morning. Numerous people attend the event to witness the popular Fengpao ceremony. The fireworks display attracts many tourists, which resembles the image of hundreds of bees released from a hive.