Chinese Fans

Fans have been used by many different cultures including the

Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, and the Mayas and Incans in the Americas.

The first fan used in China was in the 2nd Century BC, and the first written

reference to the fan was in AD121. Flat fans became popular during the Han

Dynasty, between 202 BC and AD 204.

The Chinese character for fan is an ideograph of feathers under a roof, and it

is true that many of the first fans used in China were made from feathers. Early

fans were also made from palm leaves, bamboo, plant fibers, and even animal

hair. Fans were first used by members of the court and the upper-class, and they

were used for decoration as well as utility.

The every day fan is called pien shan, and the flat fan is called wan shan. Flat

fans were often used by court dancers in the 7th Century, and the feathers used

for these fans made the dancers look like phoenixes in flight. Another name for

the feather fan is yu shan.

Folding fans were first invented in Japan during the 8th Century, and were

introduced to China in the 9th century. The folding fan was first manufactured

in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) and became popular during the

Ming Dynasty.

The folding fan was soon made from fine materials such as silk and satin, and

the spokes of the fan were made from materials as inexpensive as bamboo or as

delicate as jade. Many early fans were manufactured in Hangzhou, and Hangzhou

and Suzhou are still known as the best towns to buy fans in China.

Fans have always held a strong place in Chinese literature. Fans are mentioned

in great works such as The Dream of Red Mansions. A fan is even the centerpiece

of the story in 'The Peach-Blossom Fan.'

Most recently, fans have paintings and designs written on them, and can be made

from textile material, silk, paper, and even sandalwood. Sandalwood fans are

especially popular because of their delicate scent.

Come check out our selection of Chinese fans! Just click on this link... Chinese Fans. Sylvia Smelcer is the owner of Hinky Import, an online store specializing in items from Tibet, Nepal, and China.

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Chinese Hand Fans

All kinds of traditional Chinese fans can be classified into two groups, namely folding fans and fans with handle based on different structures. Among the rich assortment of fans with handle, up to now the earliest ones are a bamboo fan with short handle unearthed from the tombs of the Warring States Period in Hubei, and a feather fan of the same period excavated in Hunan. On the other hand, Chinese fans are distinguished for their elegant fan-covers. The fans could also be classified into bamboo fan, feather fan, silk fan, paper fan and ivory fan according to the material of fan-cover. Of the fan-covers with different shapes, round silk fan, also called Tuan Shan, is in people's good graces.

Folding fan is composed of fan-cover and fan-head. The earliest folding fans as the articles of tribute were introduced into China by Japanese monks in the Northern Song Dynasty. Thanks to growing favor towards the painting among imperial families, folding fans later became objects of art of distinctive features when painters and calligraphers began to decorate them with their works, whereas, round fans, though still in use in the Ming and Qing dynasties and afterwards, where then far less popular than folding ones. Big Folding Fan made in reign of Emperor Xuande and the picture Angling in a Boat under Waterside Trees by Xie Jin are only fan-covers now existent, and the earliest and rarest of all works of the kind handed down to the present.

The peculiarity of the shape of a folding fan determines the special style of paintings and calligraphic works that go on it, whether in composition or in spirit. Some fan-covers are even coated with powdered gold. Precious materials, like Wumu, sandalwood and ivory are used to made fan-head. Moreover, gold and jade sometimes become fan-pendant so as to show the owner's dignity. Meanwhile, traditional techniques including polishing, lacquering, carving and inlaying, are widely adopted to make the fans more exquisite.

Among a variety of elegant fan-covers, some are painted by emperors, prime ministers and other high officials. For instance, the round silk fan-cover Bird Singing in Mountain Loquat by Emperor Huizong in the Song Dynasty was the most renowned of all works of this type. Especially, Fu Yijian and Pan Shien were all Number One Scholars expert in fan-cover painting. Most fan-covers were made by celebrated poets, painters and calligraphers. The focus of this painting was always concentrated on the landscape, figure and flower-and bird. Although a good painter may not be a good calligrapher, some masters, already highly renowned for their painting, were also good at calligraphy, for instance, Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, Wen Zhenming and Dong Qichang were held esteem as excellent painters and calligraphers of that time.

Like porcelain, fan is not only an article for daily use but part of Chinese culture. That is why the collectors of all succeeding generations have been particularly interested in fans, and the artistic pieces on the fan-covers put under a separate category by the connoisseurs.

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