How to make Kongming Lamp
a.Use a paper knife to pare the bamboo strip into one that is under three milimeters in thickness.Then, bend it into a ring and secure the ends with cotton string or glue.The bamboo has flexibility so the bamboo ring may not be round.Use a small fire to make it softer and secure it when it's a perfect circle.
b.Use the sharp-tipped tong to take off the insulating tape from the wire to obtain the thin brass wires.But the brass wires can't be too thin, or it'd be broken when burned.Twist three brass wires into one to solve this problem.
c.Cut a thin piece of paper into a piece shown in the illustration.Glue the side of the first piece with the side of the second one, and then the third one, fourth one...until it becomes a sphere-like object with holes on each end and a diameter of about sixty centimeters.Then cut out a round shape of thin paper to cover the hole on top of the sphere. When the glue is dry, blow up the balloon, find a thin and narrow bamboo strip, bend it into a ring that's the size of the hole on the bottom of the sphere.Inside the ring, place two thin wires perpendicular to each other and tie them tight on the ring.Glue the ring on the side of the hole.The balloon can't leak air.
d.Tie the brass wires on the two side of the bamboo ring,then glue the chimney onto the ring.Tie some cotton onto the brass wire,damp it with alcohol, light it and let it go.The lamp can't be too small, or it would be hard to fly in the air.