What is the object of light to the Chinese? What is the history of the object of light in a Chinese context? What does the object of light represent for scholars and thinkers of different schools of Chinese thought, in history and in Chinese culture? What are the particular circumstances of the trades and the artisans creating the object of light in China from times past and in modern times? What inspiration can we take, from these stories, these events and transmission of traditions and heritage of Chinese artisans, for our experiments (contemporary and personal) concerning trans-cultural design? This thesis is developed in two parts. The first part "The object of light in China" consists of three chapters: the first chapter examines the question of the object of light among Chinese, above all the object of lighting. Then it’s a study on the establishment of the object of light among the artisans, and also social context in which the artisans work in China. The second part concerns "Experiments on the object of light within trans-cultural design" and is divided into three chapters: experimentation on the object of light: lighting, how the different fields of creation can be applied to different uses and present object / space for children to play - another sort of light without light. This second part is mainly the representation of my practice around the subject of the object of light and its processes.