Fans

Welcome to this edition of China Lifestyle Journeys, the series that brings you chats, discussions and insights on all aspects of Chinese living. We will cover festivals, food, traditions, customs and much, much more. I’m your host Jocelyn… and I’m Mat, just an English guy with lots of questions.

So, Mat, what’s your big question today?

(Mat)

Hello and welcome to another episode of China Lifestyle Journeys! Today, we’re talking about Chinese fans. So if you’ve been in a Chinese city in summer, hot summer weather, you’ve probably seen people keeping cool with ahandheld1 fan. Now I’m sure there’s more to fans than just keeping cool. So, let’s start with the basics. Jocelyn, what do we know about the history of Chinese fans?

(Jocelyn)

OK, so the history of fans in China dates back to over 3,000 years ago. Actually their original function was the same as the way we use them today – in ancient times people used fans to create a breeze2 and stay cool in hot weather.  Obviously, in those days there was no air conditioner or electric fans. So handheld fans were probably the best option for keeping cool.

(Mat)

So, over 3,000 years ago, people who were feeling hot in cities, used fans to keep themselves cool. And today we still use them for the same thing. So have fans ever been used for other purposes over the years?

(Jocelyn) 

Actually yes, they have. Besides keeping people cool, fans have had some other important uses too. There was one type of fan, calledZhang Shan3. This was a long-handled fan, and it was shaped like a door and used for ceremonial4 purposes. It was believed to be invented by a king a really long time ago. And it representedimperial5 power andauthority6 during the Qing Dynasty.   

(Mat)

I think I’ve seen those fans, the wooden handle is quite long and the fan part is in the shape of, kind of like a rectangle7, as you said, it looks like a door. But I guess for most people, if they imagine a traditional Chinese fan, they picture one that looks like half a circle, a kind of like moon shape. Does that fan or that type of fan, does it have a name?

(Jocelyn)

I think you’re talking something called Tuan Shan8, or Gong Shan9. Yes, this is a famous style of fan. And these fans were often quite big and they were originally used to protect important people (like the kings) from the sun, or wind, or even sand (during a sandstorm). Servants10 used to hold these fans for thenobles11. So these were not really for creating a breeze, these were more like a shade, to shade12 peoplefrom the sunshine.

(Mat)

OK. Now whenever I’ve seen a Chinese fan, it usually has some kind of painting on it, some kind of design, either a picture or some writing. Can you tell me something about that? 

(Jocelyn)

Yeah, sure. There’s a long tradition of fans being decorated with calligraphy13, paintings, and auspicious14 patterns. They were like little pieces of art. And people would use fans with different designs to express their status or personal preferences. So, it was a way toshow off15 their creativity and taste. The calligraphy on the fan could be meaningful phrases, or poetry, or even famous quotes. Paintings were also a popular choice, featuring16various subjects like landscapes, flowers, birds, and even mythical creatures.  

(Mat)

Now I think most people know about folding fans, I’m guessing that they arrived later because they are a little bit more complicated than the other types of fan. So when did folding fans become popular?

(Jocelyn)

Folding fans started to become popular during the Han Dynasty, around 2,000 years ago. Bamboo and hand-woven leaf fans were invented, making fans more affordable for common people. So, around the same time, silk fans started to become popular. And because of the sturdy17 materials (bamboo and silk), many ancient examples are still around today. In certain museums you can see fans that are thousands of years old.

(Mat)

So I guess these were quite an important fashion accessory in their day and there was probably something like a “fan-making” industry.

(Jocelyn) 

Yes, you’re right! Many hundreds of years ago, the fan-making industry was mostly made up of family-run businesses. They produced fans in small quantities and sold them from the front of their workshops. Hangzhou was the centre of this industry during the Southern Song Dynasty. You may have heard that Hangzhou was (and still is) a very important production and trading centre for silk. So it makes sense that a city famous for its silk, became famous for its silk fans.

(Mat)

Yeah, that makes sense. So if I go to Hangzhou today, can I find one of these traditional fans? Are they easy to find? Can I buy them? Are they expensive?

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