Five ancient emperors in Fan Ming used big fans with long handles to show their noble status. Wanfan is made of silk, which appeared later than feather fan and was popular in Han and Tang Dynasties. In the pictures handed down from the Tang Dynasty, we can often see ancient beauties holding fans. Feather fans and ten thousand fans can't be folded, so they are inconvenient to use, so they are called "obstacles" in the Han Dynasty. Fans in the Han Dynasty were mostly door leaves, but there were also paper fans. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was once a hexagonal fan of old calligraphy at the foot of Lushan Mountain in the northeast of Shaoxing City. Wang Xizhi was an ancient calligrapher in China. His calligraphy was valued by people at that time and was worth thousands of dollars. Many people regard it as a great honor to get the king's calligraphy, so there are many anecdotes, one of which is "a fan, for the elderly." "Biography of Wang Xizhi in the Book of Jin" says: "I once saw an old man basking in Mount Ji and sold it with a hexagonal bamboo fan. The Book of Xi has its fans, and each fan has five roles. There is sorrow at the beginning of the sun. Because he said to Mu,' But words are Wang Youjun's books, and they do evil to make money.' People buy sunbathing as they say. When he was basking in the sun, he came again with a fan, and Xi just laughed. "Throw the pen into the circle, people hiding in the old woman's alley. Thanks to the inscription of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi, this fan was sold out quickly. In the future, this bridge will be called "problem model bridge". This is the origin of "Fanqiao" and "Shipo Lane" in Shaoxing. It can be seen that there were still many fans at that time. Judging from the poem "Cut into Acacia Fan, Reunion Like the Bright Moon" in Song of Febrile Diseases in Han Dynasty, there were not only door leaves, but also round fans (paper fans). The prosperity of the round fan was still in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. This can be verified by a large number of ancient murals, silk paintings, unearthed cultural relics and poetry records.
folding fan
Folding fans appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty (960- 1 127), but they were not popular. It was not until the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644) that it was widely used. Folding fans, which are common in this world, were introduced from Japan and Korea in the early Song Dynasty and prevailed in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, folding fan art became popular in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially among literati. Books or paintings, which are both ornamental and practical, have gradually become the treasures of traditional culture and are valued by the world. The prosperity of fan painting was first in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was martial, so the painting was brilliant. The fan paintings of the Song Dynasty that can be seen today are mostly round fans. The ink is blue and elegant, and the landscapes, figures and flowers and birds are well preserved. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, fan painting was rampant, and celebrities and amateurs rushed to do it, which made them dizzying. By the time of the Republic of China, people still loved calligraphy and painting on fans, or they could play with them because of their exquisite shapes and exquisite craftsmanship. If you are a fan of famous calligraphy and painting, it is especially treasured. It's interesting to say that the folding fan, which was loved by later literati, was originally called paving fan. At the beginning of its inflow, it was once considered a despicable thing. Even before Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, "only prostitutes used fans". Before the popularity of folding fans, it was Yongle Emperor Judy who favored folding fans and rewarded all ministers. It seems that there are a lot of poor news in the evolution of elegance and vulgarity. Since the middle and late Ming dynasty, folding fans have been all the rage, and they are likely to replace round fans. The ribs of folding fans are mostly made of bamboo, but also made of precious materials such as mahogany, sandalwood or ivory. Folding fan is not only practical, but also a work of art. You can carve paintings and calligraphy on the fan bones for people to enjoy. If it is made by a famous artist, it is even more precious. There are often paintings on the fan, and fan paintings occupy a certain position in ancient China paintings. Famous artists often use calligraphers' pen and ink. Often, one painter paints, and one poet writes poetry, paying equal attention to painting and calligraphy.