The fan is commonly used to drive away heat and stay cool on summer days. Traditional Chinese fans have profound cultural connotations which are closely associated with bamboo crafts and Buddhism. China has always enjoyed the reputation of being a “Fan-making Kingdom”.
History
Chinese fans boast an extensive history of over thousands of years. As far back as in the Shang Dynasty, the embryonic form of Chinese fan had already taken shape. Originally, Chinese fans were not used for relieving summer heat, but for symbolizing the status and power of the user.
Real fan-making started during the Western Han Dynasty. The calligraphy on the fan cover was first recorded in the story of Wang Xizhi（the most famous calligrapher of China）who wrote inscriptions on lady’s fans.
Folding fans appeared in the Song Dynasty and gained popularity among literati and officials during the Ming Dynasty. They wrote poems or even painted on the fans. These fans with poems or paintings on them serve as artistic symbol for social status. The paintings cover a wide range of subject matters including landscapes, flowers, figures, and so on. During the Qing Dynasty, being widely favored by men of letters, the Chinese fan was in full bloom.
Types
According to the materials, shape and usage, Chinese fans can be divided into numerous categories. The listed below are some characteristic and common ones:
Feather Fan: The feather fan emerged in China around the Shang Zhou Dynasty over 3,000 years ago. The primary and most suitable materials used for this type of fan are feathers from large birds, such as quills of fleck willets, tail feathers of the black wide goose, tail feathers of the magnificent peafowl, wing feathers of the round fleck owl, tail feathers of the crane and the white or gray goose.
Bone Folding Fan: It is made of the buffalo rib and is mainly produced in Suzhou, Changzhou, Jiangxi and Guangzhou. After skiving, sawing, digging, blanching, shaping, carving and polishing, the bone looks exactly like ivory.
Bamboo Fan: It is usually woven with thin bamboo strips from a mountain side. When the fan is finished, it is as smooth as silk. It can be square, round or hexagonal in shape, and usually acquires a reddish hue after five or six years.
Palm-Leaf Fan: The palm leaf fan is always round, big and strong, with a long handle and bearing a vivid pea green color. Local people turn the leaf upside down and put weight on it to make it smooth. They then cut it into a round shape and hang brocade thread along its edge. The handle of the palm-leaf fan is the stem of the palm leaf, which is why it is called a natural handle -- albeit a very rough one.
Silk Dancing Fan: Most silk dancing fans are used for drama and dancing. The frame of the fan is mainly made of bamboo, sandalwood or cow bone. The cover is always made of various kinds of silk with flowers and grass patterns that are sometimes adorned with a flashing aluminum sheet. Some of them are decorated with silk lace along the edge and they are most commonly used by women.
