【素材】Unit 5 Section B 文档Sky lantern（人教）-1

Sky lantern A sky lantern also known as Kongming lantern or Chinese lantern is a small hot air balloon made of paper with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended In Asia and elsewhere around the world sky lanterns have been traditionally made for centuries to be launched for play or as part of long established festivities The name sky lantern is a translation of the Chinese name ti n d ng 天灯 Sky lanterns have also been referred to as sky candles or fire balloons however the latter term is also used to refer to balloon munitions used during World War II According to the sinologist and historian of science Joseph Needham the Chinese experimented with small hot air balloons for signaling from as early as the 3rd century BC during the Warring States period Traditionally however their invention is attributed to the sage and military strategist Zhuge Liang 181 234 CE whose courtesy name was Kongming He is said to have used a message written on a sky lantern to summon help on an occasion when he was surrounded by enemy troops For this reason they are still known in China as Kongming lanterns 孔明灯 However some claim that the name actually comes from the lantern s resemblance to the hat Kongming is traditionally shown to be wearing Sky lanterns a