Stories and Art of Chinese Fans

You may think you cannot live through summer without air conditioners. But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only ones to help people keep cool. 

Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2,000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes, such as round and square. They were also made from all kinds of materials. Palm (棕榈树)leaf fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans (羽毛扇)showed the owner's high status. Sandalwood (檀香木)fans could send out a sweet smell.

Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into art works, in which tuanshan ( round fans) and zheshan ( folded fans ) were the most common. 

In the shape of a full moon, tuanshan was usually made of silk. They had beautiful birds and flowers on them. Women especially those in the imperial palace (皇宫), liked to use them. Meanwhile, men, especially the literati (文人学士) , used zheshan. The literati liked them because zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems on them. It was a way for them to show off their ability in literature, painting and handwriting. Almost anything can he painted on zheshan. 

Today, Chinese people still use these fans, only not many people write or paint on them any more. Next time when you are waving a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.