Qian Deng Li Residence

Qian Deng Li Residence

The Qian Deng Li Residence is a cultural heritage site protected by Suzhou Municipality.

In May 2005, the Li Residence on South Street in Qian Deng Town was converted into the Qian Deng Museum. It is China’s first museum dedicated to ancient lamps, housing 1,133 lamps from various dynasties, spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Republican era. All are part of the private collection of Beijing native Yin Xiaolin. Displayed on shelves and in cabinets, the collection is a dazzling sight to behold, truly magnificent.

Qian Deng Museum (Li Residence)

The Qian Deng Museum is currently also the largest “ancient lamp museum” in China. The oil lamps displayed here belong to a bygone era that grows ever more distant, yet they carry an extraordinarily rich traditional culture. Each lamp seems to tell a wealth of historical stories, illustrating the arduous journey of humanity’s progression from ignorance to modern civilization.

The oldest lamp on display in the museum is a primitive natural stone lamp, dating back over 7,000 years. On a round, plate-like stone are small holes resembling eyes, into which some bean oil is poured. A wick is lit, producing a tiny flame.

The heaviest lamp is the Han Dynasty stone monkey-top lamp. Carved from a cube of stone over 30 centimeters in size, it features monkey head carvings around the base, and a recessed oil well on top where four wicks can be lit simultaneously.

The most interesting lamp is the Qing Dynasty iron-hook celadon rat lamp. Shaped like a rat, with a wick in its mouth and a tail serving as a handle, its belly holds the oil.

These lamps are all of significant value. On August 5, 2009, the Li Residence was designated as a cultural heritage site protected by Kunshan City.

Qian Deng Town: Qian Deng was formerly known as Qian Dun. According to the "Songnan Zhi" (Chronicles of Songnan) written by Chen Yuanmo in the Qing Dynasty, located 36 li southeast of Kunshan County in Chuan Township, there was a body of water called Qian Dun Pu. It was so named because, as the Songjiang River flowed eastward from Wumen, there were nearly a thousand islets or mounds along both banks of the river—hence the name Qian Dun. In the second year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1910), it was renamed Qian Dun, with two legends about the origin of the new name: one claims it was a refined literary term, while the other says it was due to the abundance of madder herbs growing on the mounds. In April 1966, with approval from the Jiangsu Provincial People's Committee, it was renamed Qian Deng, a name it has retained to this day.

Qian Deng is located in the Yangtze River Delta, under the jurisdiction of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. It covers an area of 84 square kilometers and has a population of 130,000, among whom… More detailed information about Qian Deng Town++