The fan is a wind-inducing device, which is necessary in summer. China's traditional fan culture has profound cultural connotations and is an important part of Chinese national culture. In the traditional society of China, fans are closely related to people's daily life.
The earliest fans in history appeared in the royal etiquette fan used in the court of the fourth dynasty in ancient Egypt more than 4,500 years ago, and the ostrich hair ivory rod etiquette fan unearthed in the KV62 royal cemetery in the Valley of the Kings of Egypt 3,300 years ago.
The types of fans are feather fan, cattail fan, pheasant fan, round fan, folding fan, silk bow fan, mud fan, black paper fan, sandalwood fan and so on. The manufacturing techniques of fans listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list include sandalwood fan in Suzhou, Jiangsu, Wangxingji fan in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, folding fan in Rongchang, Chongqing, Gong Fan in Zigong, Sichuan, sunflower fan in Xinhui, Guangdong and feather fan in Huzhou. There are juniper fans and bat fans in Japan.
The main materials of the fan are bamboo, wood, paper, ivory, hawksbill, jade and bird feathers. Other palm leaves, betel nut leaves, wheat straw and cattail can also be woven or made into various daily craft fans with beautiful shapes and exquisite structures, which are carefully carved, carved, bronzed, drilled or painted by famous people by skilled craftsmen.
Functions of the fan:
In ancient times, the people who liked to use fans most were actually scholars, especially scholars like Tang Bohu and Zheng Banqiao who had a little knowledge of calligraphy, painting and writing. They like dancing and writing to show elegance. I also like to exchange silk handkerchief and sweat lapels with ladies in the boudoir with inscribed fans as tokens of love. Therefore, in the hands of ancient literati, fans are more like a flirt.
At present, there are four kinds of people who like to hold fans most, one is a storyteller and the other is a cross talk. Tian Lianyuan Degang Guo, for example, once he shows off his mouth on the stage, he will hold a folding fan in his hand. Not a fan, but a prop. Equivalent to the awakening wood used by artists on the stage in the past. The third is playing chess.