How do you keep cool during summer? Air conditioners or electric fans are good 1 in modern society. But 2 that, people could only use fans.
Over 3,000 years ago, fans began to 3 They were made of feathers (羽毛), bamboo or silk. They came in different 4 , including round and square.
Later, with the invention of paper, folding(可折叠) paper fans became popular5 the Song Dynasty. There are usually beautiful 6on fans. Some are landscapes (风景). Others are flowers and animals. Moreover, many great people including Su Dongpo, a poet of the Song Dynasty, and Tang Yin, a scholar (学者) and painter of the Ming Dynasty, once painted their masterpieces(杰作) on fans. This made fans not only 7 tools in daily life but also great artworks.
So, with its value of beauty, people take fans as a 8 of status(地位). That's why in old China, emperors and scholars often held fans.
Today, fans are also great collectors' items(藏品) and gifts. On the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, folding fans were9 to leaders and officials (官员) of other countries. While they were 10 fans to get cool, they were also experiencing Chinese culture.