1 BC
Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC) was the first emperor of the Chinese Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). His mausoleum, which was rediscovered in the 1990s, twenty-two miles east of Xi'an, contained candles made from whale fat. The word zhú 燭 in Chinese originally meant torch and could have the Warring States Period (403–221 BC); some excavated bronzewares from that era feature a pricket thought to hold a candle. The Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) Jizhupian dictionary of about 40 BC hints at candles being made of beeswax, while the Book of Jin (compiled in 648) covering the Jin Dynasty (265–420) makes a solid reference to the beeswax candle in regards to its use by the statesman Zhou Yi (d. 322). An excavated earthenware bowl from the 4th century AD, located at the Luoyang Museum, has a hollowed socket where traces of wax were found.
Wax from boiling cinnamon was used for temple candles in India.
Generally these Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds.
Japanese candles were made from wax extracted from tree nuts.
Read more about this topic: History Of Candle Making, 300