The reason why Chinese fans are so popular is that, in addition to being able to fan the wind and enjoy the coolness, it is also inseparable from the elegance and exquisiteness of the fans and the art of calligraphy and painting on the fans. Fans have a long history in our country. According to historical records, "The Yellow Emperor made the Wuming Fan", which can be said to be early. Feathers from the Western Zhou Dynasty were made into "lupine fans" that already had aesthetic and decorative functions. Light and simple bamboo fans began to be used in the Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, the Wan fan with bamboo as the picture frame and silk as the fan surface appeared. The Wan fan, also known as the Tuan fan, is suitable for calligraphy and painting. It is mostly made of bone, jade, ivory, etc. as handles and decorated with tassels, making it look precious and elegant. This kind of fan has been popular in my country for more than a thousand years, and is especially loved by ladies in the boudoir. Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty recorded in "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties" that the famous scholar Yang Xiu was painting a fan for Cao Cao. He accidentally dropped an ink dot and drew it into a fly. It can be seen that painting on fans was popular at least in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The folding fan actually originated from Japan, and its manufacturing inspiration was derived from the opening and closing of bat wings. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the folding fan was introduced to my country as a tribute, but it was not widely used yet. It was quite prosperous in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was easy to carry and had the wonderful effect of being comfortable and folding, so it became a favorite among literati. The fan bones are made of precious materials such as ivory, tortoise shell, sandalwood, etc. The fan surface can be sprinkled with gold, mixed with gold, pounded with gold, or painted with incense. Some even ask skilled craftsmen to carve on the surface of the fan bones, making it a precious piece. A piece of art is worth hundreds of gold. The folding fan has a semi-circular arc shape and is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, radiating in all directions. Therefore, it has a unique charm in terms of composition, calligraphy, brushwork and images. Poems and paintings began to be written on the folding fan in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, intellectuals have liked to write and write on fans, which has made the art of fan calligraphy and painting shine in China. It has a wide range of themes and diverse styles. Although the written fans are not full-size, there are flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, ladies, characters and stories in various poses, which have become a Chinese A specialized art species in painting.
Fans are people’s daily necessities and decorations. It is deeply loved by people for its high quality, low price, convenience and practicality, as well as its elegance and taste. Fans are divided into six categories: folding fans, bamboo fans, silk fans, feather fans, sunflower fans and wheat straw fans. In addition to its practicality, as a work of art, it brings together craft skills such as weaving, carving, calligraphy and painting, and embroidery. It can also be used as a prop for performing arts such as opera, dance, and folk arts. It can sometimes even serve as a status symbol. The popular image of Living Buddha Jigong among Chinese people is endearing. He wears a broken monk's hat, is dressed in rags, and holds a broken cattail leaf fan. He is crazy, but loves to solve problems and help others. He is a well-known legendary figure. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu, was resourceful and suave, and assisted Liu Bei in establishing his hegemony. He always wore a feather fan and a turban when dressing up, and the feather fan was always in his hand, becoming a symbol of his identity and wisdom. Since the fan was handed down from ancient times, there have been countless related legends and anecdotes. According to legend, Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, once met an old woman selling fans. She was worried about the slow sales of her fans. Wang Xizhi improvised an inscription for her, which made the old woman's fans sell well and became a good story.
China is the first country in the world to use fans, and they were gradually introduced to Japan and many countries in Europe. The history of fans has a long history, and it can be traced back to the ancient times of Yu and Shun. The Jin Dynasty's "Annotations on Ancient and Modern Times" records: "Shun widely opened up the world of sight and hearing, and sought the help of wise men to help himself, and created the Five Ming Dynasties." People in the Ming Dynasty also said, "Shun began to make fans." "The record shows that fans already existed during the time of Emperor Shun. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people used the colorful long tail of male pheasants to make "Zhai fans", and the long-handled "pheasant fans" appeared. At this time, the fan became a symbol of the emperor's majesty. The pheasant feather fan was changed to peacock feather in the Tang Dynasty. According to archaeological discoveries, a Warring States copper pot unearthed in Chengdu, Sichuan, is engraved with a servant holding a long-handled fan to fan his master. This is the earliest image of a fan discovered so far. From the late Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, whisks made of animal tail hairs appeared, which were called "hair fans". Another kind of feather fan made of bird feathers is white in texture, soft in plush, light and comfortable. The feather fans made of white goose feathers are the most famous in the Jiangnan area, and were mostly used as tributes to the imperial court. In the Han Dynasty, the silk weaving industry began to develop, and the "Wan Fan" appeared. Because it was made of pure white fine silk, it was also called the "Silk Fan". In addition to silk, silk fabrics such as damask, Luo and gauze can also be used to make it. Because it is "round like the bright moon", it is also called "round fan". This form of fan was favored by ancient Chinese women and developed greatly as a mainstream. It strives to be delicate, gorgeous, interesting and compact in structure and decoration, and has shapes such as ellipse, crabapple, rectangle, and curve. Some of these fans are made of sandalwood. When you hold one in your hand, it is overflowing with fragrance, refreshing your mind, and very emotional. Around the Song Dynasty, the folding fan that is common today appeared. Because it can be folded, it is also called folding fan. Folding fans are convenient and practical and are widely spread among the people.
Scholars in opera often carry a folding fan, which has become a symbol. Folding fan paintings and poems began in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. Fan paintings sublimated the fan into another art form and were cherished by collectors of all generations. Throughout the ages, many literati and poets have left poems, calligraphy and paintings on fans, which have been cherished and collected by people. From this, another traditional art form has emerged - fan calligraphy and painting. Fan calligraphy and painting is a wonderful flower in traditional Chinese art. It has left a rich collection of calligraphy and artistic treasures for future generations. "Ting Shu Hook Boat Picture" painted by Xie Jin of the Ming Dynasty and now in the Shanghai Museum is the earliest fan painting handed down from the Ming Dynasty. Commonly used themes for fan paintings include ladies, landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, as well as poetry and calligraphy. Sometimes an ordinary fan is worth a hundred times as soon as a famous artist writes poems and paintings about it. The exquisite craftsmanship of the fan and the perfect combination of traditional calligraphy, poetry and painting complement each other and are integrated into one, which is really interesting and addictive. In the Ming Dynasty, Tang Bohu, Wen Zhengming, Shen Zhou and others liked to paint and write poems on fans. The Qing Dynasty had the richest fan paintings, with numerous famous artists, such as Shi Tao, Bada Shanren, Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, etc., all masters of fan painting. Therefore, the fan paintings at this time had a variety of styles and schools, and were spectacular. Folding fans developed during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and were divided into schools such as Hang fan, Su fan, and Ning fan. Each has its own unique artistic style and production techniques. Hangzhou fans, together with Hangzhou's Longjing tea and silk, are known as the "Three Wonders of Hangzhou". They are made in many forms, among which the black paper fans are the most famous. They are coated with persimmon juice. They are dark in color, durable and can relieve the heat. It can also provide shade. Suzhou's folding fans are mainly white paper fans, which are exquisitely made and have excellent craftsmanship. Hangzhou fans and Suzhou fans mostly use bamboo as the fan bone and paper silk as the fan surface. They are elegant and delicate, and are known as the "Suzhou-Hangzhou elegant fans".
Nowadays, fans are mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Guangdong and other places in my country. With the improvement of people's living standards, the function of fans as a practical product is gradually fading. More and more people value its artistry and use it for collection and play. This traditional handicraft is taking on new vitality with its unique artistic charm.