There is a lot to learn about small fans! Get the thousand-year history of fans in one article and see how the ancients spent the summer elegantly.

About Summer

A cool-down device is a must

--"fan"

In ancient times when there were no air conditioners or fans

Fans are a necessity in every household.

In fact, over thousands of years

Fans are not only for drawing in wind and cooling down.

It also has a rich historical and cultural heritage

In this issue, let’s talk about fans.

See when they were born and what they looked like at first.

The history of fans

In ancient times, during the hot summer, humans would simply pick a leaf or a feather from a bird and, after simple processing, use it to get some breeze, cool off, or provide shade. This should be the prototype of the primitive fan.

The fan, which is a practical utensil today, was not called "fan" in the early days. It was called "箑(shà)" or "萐(shà)", and also "翣(shà)". It was also called "bianmian" in ancient times. It has a long history in my country, and relevant documents can be traced back to the Yu Shun period.

Cui Bao of the Jin Dynasty recorded in "Notes on Ancient and Modern Times·Imperial Clothing": "The five-light fan was made by Shun. After receiving the throne from Yao, he broadened his horizons and sought wise men to assist him, so he made the five-light fan."

Wuming Fan is a fan made of the colorful feathers on a rooster's tail. This fan was not originally used to shake the wind and bring coolness, but was held by others as a ceremonial weapon. Its main purpose was to be used by emperors and ministers to show the emperor's attitude of opening the way for people to speak freely and recruiting talents.

Dong Zhou instant noodles

Image source: Dajiang.com - Information Daily

The earliest bamboo fan unearthed so far is a short-handled bamboo fan unearthed from an ancient tomb of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in Jing'an County, Jiangxi Province, also known as a "bianmian". A "bianmian", also known as a single-door fan or a door fan, is a fan-shaped object used to cover the face in ancient times. Its history can be traced back to the pre-Qin and Han dynasties. It was originally used to cover the face so that people could hide their faces when they did not want to be seen by others, hence the name "bianmian". Bianmian is usually semicircular, similar to a single-leaf door. In the early days, it was made of fine bamboo strips. Later, the materials became more diverse, including cloth, brocade, silk, and satin.

This bamboo fan dates back to the late Spring and Autumn Period. It is the earliest and best-preserved physical evidence of fans unearthed in my country. It is known as "China's No. 1 Fan."

Warring States Period inlaid bronze pot with banquet, music and battle patterns

Image source: CCTV9 program screenshot

The image of a hand holding a long-handled fan on a bronze pot with inlaid banquet and war patterns

Image source: Chengdu Yongling Museum

The earliest image of a fan in China appeared on the "Inlaid Bronze Pot with Banquet, Music and War Patterns" unearthed in Chengdu. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a long-handled large fan called "翣" appeared as a ritual vessel used by princes and nobles. At first, the waiters standing behind the princes and nobles held the 翣 to block dust and wind, and later it gradually developed into a ceremonial ornament.

By the Han Dynasty, the craftsmanship of long-handled fans had continued to improve and become more and more exquisite, such as this long-handled bamboo fan from the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan in 1972.

Long-handled bamboo fan from the Western Han Dynasty

Image source: National Humanities and History

"With a feather fan and a silk scarf, the masts and oars were reduced to ashes in the midst of laughter and conversation." Feather fans appeared quite early. In the "Miscellaneous Records of Western Capital" written by Liu Xin in the Han Dynasty, it was recorded: "In the Han Dynasty, the emperor used a jade table... In summer, he used a feather fan, and in winter, he used a silk fan."

Unfortunately, due to their age, feather fans are easily damaged and complete Han Dynasty feather fans can no longer be seen today.

Qing Dynasty silk embroidered flower and bird pattern round fan with ebony carved handle

Image source: Palace Museum

Since the Western Han Dynasty, round fans have been popular among people. In the early days, round fans were made of plain white silk, so they were also called "wan fans". They are made of bamboo and wood as frames, fabric as the surface, with the handle in the middle, symmetrical on both sides, and round in shape like a full moon, a symbol of perfection, so they are also called "Hehuan fans". Since the appearance of the Western Han Dynasty, round fans have continued to be used from generation to generation and are deeply loved by people. They are one of the traditional forms of fans in China.

White feather fan with bone handle

Image source: Palace Museum

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, feather fans were popular among the middle and upper classes.

There is a kind of feather fan called pheasant fan, also known as pheasant tail fan, which is also a kind of ceremonial fan. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, most of the princes used pheasant fans. Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty was afraid of Liu Yigong, the King of Jiangxia, and even issued an edict that the princes were not allowed to use pheasant tail fans as their screen fans, and they should use red Zhu round fans instead.

The literati at that time preferred to adorn themselves with a zhuwei fan, especially when they were talking about fine things. The zhuwei is the leader of the deer herd, and the movement of the deer herd depends entirely on the swing of the king's tail. Therefore, the zhuwei means a baton.

A servant holding a long-handled fan in the Tang Dynasty Yan Liben's scroll (partial)

Image source: Palace Museum

In the Tang Dynasty, round fans continued to be popular, but the aristocracy preferred long-handled fans. "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi" records: "The imperial concubine often wore light gauze clothes in summer and asked her maids to fan her, but the heat could not be relieved. She often sweated, and the sweat was red and greasy and very fragrant." For emperors and aristocrats, long-handled fans could also be used as ceremonial fans, as a ritual instrument to show their authority.

A man covering his face with a fan in the Northern Song Dynasty painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Image source: Palace Museum

In the Song Dynasty, with the vigorous development of industry and commerce, round fans gradually became popular among all classes. In Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", people holding round fans can be seen everywhere.

In addition, the literati of the Song Dynasty were also keen on painting on the surface of silk round fans. Painting and writing on round fans had a downward trend in the Yuan Dynasty, and this trend became even more serious in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, when the mainstream of fan painting and calligraphy gave way to folding fans.

Wu Zimu of the Southern Song Dynasty also mentioned the famous fan shops in Lin'an City with signs hanging on them, among which there was "Zhou's Folding Fan Shop". It can be seen that in the Southern Song Dynasty, people were able to make and sell folding fans by themselves, and there were people and shops specializing in making folding fans, which occupied a place among many fan shops.

A black-faced bamboo-carved folding fan with a lace border and a painting and calligraphy by Yongrong, Qing Dynasty

Image source: Palace Museum

It was during the Ming and Qing dynasties that folding fans truly became popular, replacing round fans and feather fans.

Folding fans are also called "folding fans", "bone fans", "head fans", "scattering fans", etc. There are many different opinions about the origin of folding fans. Some say it originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties in my country, and some say it originated in Japan and was introduced to China in the early Northern Song Dynasty. It became popular in the Southern Song Dynasty, but the traditional round fan still dominated. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, due to the favor of the emperor, craftsmen produced a large number of folding fans for the needs of the court. As the upper class followed the example of the lower class, folding fans began to become popular among the people.

The popularity of folding fans has changed the situation in China where traditional round fans were the mainstream. The fan surfaces of folding fans can be written on or painted on, and the ribs can be carved and engraved. They combine practical value with aesthetics and have always been loved by literati and scholars.

Qing bamboo leaf fan bone

Image source: First Cultural Relics Restoration Research Institute

The foot-sized fan not only embodies the wisdom and talent of the craftsmen, but also contains people's rich thoughts and emotions, and carries a profound cultural heritage with distinctive national characteristics.

The development of fans has gone through many evolutions with different shapes, functions and aesthetics. In summary, they can be divided into the following stages:

Schematic diagram of the development of fan shapes in ancient China

Image source: First Cultural Relics Restoration Research Institute

Nowadays, there are hundreds of types of fans, which can be generally divided into two categories: one is the flat fan (i.e. round fan, sunflower fan, straw fan, jade fan, etc.) which cannot be folded; the other is the folding fan, which can be opened and folded freely. The materials used include: bamboo, wood, paper, fan, ivory, tortoise shell, jade, bird feathers, other palm leaves, betel nut leaves, straw, cattail, etc.

Over thousands of years, fans have not only been a means of drawing in wind and cooling off, but have also had a rich cultural heritage. They have gradually developed into works of art that are related to cultural arts such as etiquette, customs, poetry, dance, and opera, and are organically combined with calligraphy, painting, weaving and embroidery techniques, and complement each other. They occupy an extremely important position in traditional Chinese handicrafts.

Source: Chongqing Jiulongpo District Cultural Relics Management Office

Audit expert: Tian Junying

Sources: The Palace Museum, the First Cultural Relics Restoration Institute, The Paper, National Humanities and History Museum, Chengdu Yongling Museum, Dajiang.com-Information Daily

Yang Xiangmin. The story of the fan: a study on the ritual and aesthetic nature of traditional creations

Yang Xiangmin. A brief discussion on the shape of early human fans[J]. Art Observation

Zheng Yan'e. Research on ancient fans before the Qin and Han Dynasties[J]. Southern Cultural Relics

Wang Yong. The origin of Japanese folding fans and their spread in China[J]

Museum丨See the exhibition "A Brief History of Fans: Artificial "Air Conditioning" in the Era without Electricity"

Image sources: CCTV9 program screenshots, the Palace Museum, the First Cultural Relics Restoration Institute, National Humanities and History, The Paper, Chengdu Yongling Museum, Dajiang.com-Information Daily

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