A fan can drive summer heat away and help bring a cool breeze(微风). Since ancient (time), the Chinese fan has been carrying artistic and unique (nation) style. China has always been regarded" the kingdom of fans".
The fan first (appear) in China about 3, 000 years ago, in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. However, the fan in the early period was used as the symbol of etiquette(礼仪), it was called" the fan of honor" .
After the Qin and Han dynasties, the main shapes of fans were square, round and hexagon (六边形). The materials (use) to make fans were mainly silk. Because the silk fans were often used in royal court, people called them" court fans". The person held the silk fan always appeared gentle.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the common fans were round fans, feather fans, and some paper fans. The folding fan (gradual) became popular after the Song dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the folding fan was popular in Zhejiang, Suzhou and Sichuan. Then the (popular) of writing poems and drawing pictures on the cover of a fan was rising. Then this skill (introduce) to Europe and became popular all over the world.
