During the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, a kind of "Zhai Fan" appeared, which was made of colorful pheasant tail feathers, so it was called "Feather Fan". The early fans were not used for enjoying the cool, but as etiquette tools for rulers, so they were also called "etiquette fans". After the Qin and Han Dynasties in China, the shape of the fan was mainly square, round and hexagonal, and the fabric of the fan was silk, which was also called "Gong Shan" because it was widely used in the palace.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, ten thousand fans, feather fans and a few paper fans prevailed in the world. After the Song Dynasty, folding fans gradually became popular. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhejiang, Suzhou and Sichuan were rich in folding fans, and inscriptions and paintings were also popular here. This exquisite skill was introduced to Europe from the Ming Dynasty, and then it became popular all over the world.
The Ming Dynasty, as the beginning of the popularization of folding fans, may be due to the advocacy of Ming Chengzu during Yongle period. There are many folding fans unearthed from the tombs of captaincy in modern Ming dynasty, which can be confirmed by the above records.
Folding fans are found all over the country, such as Hangzhou fan, Cao fan, Sichuan fan, Pan fan, Square fan, Yellow fan, Qingyang fan, Liyang Song fan, Painting fan, Wuling yarn-clamping fan, Yin's paper-wheat fan and Wu fan. And there are many spring fans with different functions.
The production of fan stocks and plates is becoming more and more sophisticated, and each has its own famous artists; Fan calligraphy and painting are widely loved and recognized by scholars. If the folding fan originated in Japan, it has been truly sinicized and has become an inseparable part of China culture.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Fan