许多去过北京故宫的朋友都知道，故宫里的一些大殿前，庭院中都摆放着一个个大金属缸。这些大缸腹宽口收、容量极大，而且装饰精美，两耳处还加挂着兽面铜环。那么，这些大缸是做什么用的呢？原来这是当时故宫里的一种防火设施。很早以前，人们就想出了在门前放置大缸以及时救火的办法，只要时常将水注满，发生火情时就可以随时就近取水灭火。那时，人们称大缸为“门海”。从字面上不难理解。“门海”即是门前之大海。他们认为，门前有了大海就不会再发生火灾了，因此，大缸又被称作“吉祥缸”、“太平缸”。

Many friends who have been to the Imperial Palace in Beijing know that in front of some big halls in the Imperial Palace, there are big metal tanks in the courtyard. These VATS have wide belly, large capacity and exquisite decoration. They are also decorated with copper rings on animal faces. So, what are these big tanks for? It turned out that this was a fire prevention facility in the Imperial Palace at that time. A long time ago, people came up with a way to put a large tank in front of the door and put out the fire in time. As long as the water is filled up frequently, when there is a fire, water can be taken nearby at any time to put out the fire. At that time, people called the VAT "Menhai". It's not hard to understand literally. The "gate sea" is the sea in front of the gate. They think that there will be no more fire if there is a sea in front of the door. Therefore, the big tank is also called "auspicious tank" and "Taiping tank".

在清代，宫中的铜缸是由内务府统一管理的。每天一早，内务府官员便命令苏拉（杂役）从井内汲水，一担一担地把所有大缸灌满，以备防火之用。每年到了小雪季节，宫内的太监就要在铜缸外套上一层特制的棉套，上面再加上厚厚的缸盖；同时，铜缸下面的汉白玉石基座里还要放置一盆炭火，并保证使其昼夜不息地燃烧着。这样，通过双重保暖措施防止缸内的存水结冰。保暖工作一直要到第二年的惊蛰时节才能结束，那时大地回春，气候已经逐渐转暖，太监们就会解去棉套，撤去炭火。为了保证宫中有足够的水源用于灭火，当时在宫中设置了许多大缸。据《大清会典》记载，宫中共有大缸三百零八口。但世事沧桑，由于各种原因的破坏，如今只剩下了二百三十一口了。这些大缸共分为铁、铜和鎏金铜三种。一般来讲，铁缸是明代时铸造的；铜缸有明代的，也有清代的；鎏金铜缸则均是清代铸造的遗物。其中，以铜缸居多，所以人们习惯地称宫中的大缸为铜缸。

In the Qing Dynasty, the copper tanks in the palace were under the unified management of the Ministry of internal affairs. Every morning, the officials of the interior government ordered Sula (the worker) to take water from the well and fill all the big tanks with one load of water for fire prevention. Every year, in the light snow season, the eunuch in the palace will coat the copper cylinder with a special cotton sleeve, plus a thick cylinder head; at the same time, a basin of carbon fire will be placed in the base of the white marble under the copper cylinder, and it will be kept burning day and night. In this way, double heat preservation measures are adopted to prevent the water in the cylinder from freezing. The work of keeping warm can not be finished until the second year of hibernation, when the earth returns to spring and the climate has gradually warmed, the eunuchs will remove the cotton padded jacket and the charcoal fire. In order to ensure that there is enough water in the palace to put out the fire, many large tanks were set up in the palace at that time. According to the book of the Great Qing Dynasty, there are three hundred and eight VATS in the palace. But the vicissitudes of the world, due to the destruction of various reasons, now there are only two hundred and thirty-one people left. These vats are divided into three types: iron, copper and gilded copper. Generally speaking, iron jars were made in Ming Dynasty; copper jars were made in Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty; gold-plated copper jars were all relics of Qing Dynasty. Among them, most of them are copper tanks, so people are used to calling the big tanks in the palace as copper tanks.

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Hebei Tangxian HSBC copper carving handicraft factory integrates scientific research, development and design, common casting, one-off integral casting and precision casting. Our factory has strong technical force and advanced equipment. We not only attach importance to the original artistic style of Chinese bronzes, but also inherit the original artistic taste of cultural relics. While inheriting and carrying forward the ancient culture, we will further customize various copper and iron handicrafts for new and old customers.