NUS Museum Collections Online
B2012-0013-001-0.jpg; B2012-0013-001-0; ;
CollectionStraits Chinese Collection
Object numberB2012-0013-001-0
TitleTian Gong Deng
DescriptionThe 天公灯 (tian gong deng) is a lantern for worship of the Heavenly Emperor (Tian Gong, 天公), also known as the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang Da Di, 玉皇大帝), who is regarded by Daoist as the supreme deity who presides over heaven and earth. In 1879, J.D. Vaughan, a police magistrate and Assistant Resident in the Straits Settlement, recorded his observations of the practice of worshipping the heavens: “At daylight the servant [or] a member of the family lights a few incense sticks, comes to the front of the house and bows to the sky three or four times, holding the lighted sticks above the head. This obeisance is in honour of God… A few of these lighted joss sticks are stuck into niches at the outer door of the house… After the morning worship the house is thrown open and swept clean; the men go about their daily avocations, and the women prepare breakfast.” Wee Lin recalls that as a child in the 1950s, he was occasionally rostered to perform the rites of lighting joss sticks to appease the various deities throughout the house. Three of these were for the Jade Emperor, and after the necessary incantations were recited, the joss sticks were put into the holder on the wall. An incense stick was also placed on each side of the pintu pagar doorway for the Door Gods. (NUS Baba House, Architecture and Artefacts of a Straits Chinese Home, Page 21)
Object categoryLighting
MaterialWood, Glass
Dimensions
H: 37 cm
Dia: 28 cm
Credit lineGift of Ms Agnes Tan Kim Lwi