故宫铜大缸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便及时救火的办法，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。人们认为，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”。

The bronze vat of the Imperial Palace was a fire-proof facility in the Imperial Palace at that time. A long time ago, people came up with a way to place large tanks in front of the door in order to 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". Literally, it is not difficult to understand that "Menhai" is the sea in front of the gate. It is believed 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，内务府官员便命苏拉（杂役）从井内汲水，整体大型铜大缸加工，一担一担地把所有大缸灌满，铸铜大缸市场报价，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棉套，上面再加上厚厚的缸盖。同时在铜缸下的汉白玉石基座里放置一盆炭火，并保证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，宫中有大缸308口。但世事沧桑，黄铜大缸市场价格，由于各种原因，如今只剩下231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。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 draw water from the well, process the whole large copper VAT, fill all the vat with one load and one load, and make market quotation for the large copper vat for fire prevention. Every year, in the light snow season, the eunuch in the palace will put a layer of cotton jacket on the copper cylinder, plus a thick cylinder head. At the same time, a basin of carbon fire is placed in the base of the marble under the copper cylinder to ensure that it burns day and night. In this way, double thermal insulation 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 308 large tanks in the palace. However, due to various reasons, there are only 231 brasses left in the market. 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 made in 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.

宫中设置大量铜缸的最初意图是用来防火，但实际存在的价值绝不仅仅局限于消防，它同时还是宫内大殿、庭院中不可或缺的陈列品。清代宫中各处陈设吉祥缸的质地、大小、多少都要随具体的环境而定。鎏金铜缸设置在皇帝上朝议政的太和殿、保和殿两侧以及用于“御门听政”的乾清宫外红墙前边，而在后宫及东西长街，就只能陈设较小的铜缸或铁缸了。

The original intention of setting up a large number of copper tanks in the palace is to prevent fire, but the actual value is not limited to fire, it is also an indispensable display in the palace hall and courtyard. In the Qing Dynasty, the quality, size and quantity of auspicious jars in the palace were determined by the specific environment. The gilded copper tanks were set on both sides of the Taihe hall and Baohe hall where the emperor was discussing politics and in front of the red wall outside the Qianqing palace, which was used for "the imperial gate to listen to politics". In the rear palace and the East-West long street, only smaller copper tanks or iron tanks could be displayed.

汇丰厂家铸造出了一批批的精美铜雕工艺品，我厂铸造的产品，放置于国内各地及东南亚地区，每天观看到我厂工艺品者无计其数。在为一些知名景区铸造的大型雕塑作品，令游客驻足，让世人惊叹其铸造工艺的精湛。

HSBC factory has produced a batch of exquisite copper carving crafts. Our products are placed in various parts of China and Southeast Asia. There are not many people who watch our crafts every day. The large-scale sculptures cast for some famous scenic spots make the tourists stop and the world marvel at the exquisite casting technology.