Cultural practices, experiences, and power are becoming a focus of contemporary cultural discourses. This study is aimed at re-examining the underlying modes and inner logics of the hegemonic practices in the period of Martial Law in Taiwan by exploring data about the lantern festival and related customs. Applying the method of content analysis, this study found four characteristics underlying the hegemonic practices and social domination at the time: (1) manipulation of craftsmen’s livelihood (2) selective incorporation of Taiwanese cultural heritage, (3) homogenizing the cultural and ideological institutions, and (4) saturation of constructed consensus in the society. These findings partially explain why the KMT government could sustain its power through the control of cultural reproduction systems. The tactic indicates that the KMT government is no more than “a reign of outsiders disguised by its cultural kinship”.