History and Culture of Fans

History of the Fan: The fan was initially a ceremonial tool, used by the ruling class to show off their status and privileges. The fan was originally a practical object, with its thinness and lightness and large area, it could be fanned for coolness. China has always had a tradition of decorating everyday objects, so the fan handle was carved on the fan bone, and calligraphy and painting were added to the front and back of the fan.

Earlier carvings and paintings by ordinary craftsmen to complete, slowly a variety of talented and imaginative artists to participate in the fan has evolved into a practical function of the artwork, so that people have been envious of the heart, the treasure of the intention to become a large collection of today's category.

Fan culture: the early fan is not used to cool, but used as a ruler of ceremonial tools, so also known as "ceremonial fan". After the Qin and Han dynasties, the fan is mainly used in the palace, it is also known as the "Palace Fan", the Sui and Tang dynasties, prevalent in the world is mainly playboy fan and feather fan, as well as a small number of paper fans.

After the Song Dynasty, folding fans became popular. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhejiang, Suzhou, Sichuan and other places produced a lot of folding fans, inscriptions and paintings are also emerging in this. This exquisite skill was introduced to Europe from the Ming Dynasty, and then became popular all over the world.

Fan culture is not only in China, near China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, India and other countries have been the development of fan culture, and even the European royal ladies, depending on the fan as a status symbol, especially in Spain, France, the most important fan culture.

Extended information

Fan function: fan is generally used to fan heat, but think carefully, the fan seems not only used to fan heat, it should also have some other aspects of the use.

Ge Liang likes to hold a goose feather fan. The goose feather fan is very elegant. The fan is gently shaken, and there is a scheme. Since Zhuge Liang likes to use the fan since, many strategists, staff also like to use the fan, the fan has become a symbol of Confucian wisdom.

During the Qing Dynasty, Ji Xiaolan often shook his fan to recite poems and make pairs, as if the fan shook a good section of the wonderful words. Funny is that many literati in order to use the fan show, often regardless of the season to take the fan, so there are a lot of "wearing winter clothes, shaking the summer fan" people.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Fans

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese Fans