Wang Mingde
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Wang Mingde, Male, Han, from Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Fan Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-81). The tradition is documented in Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui. Within the regional tradition and school record of Fan Making Craftsmanship in Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui: Since ancient times, the local folding-fan industry has been very prosperous. The leaves of Wang-family folding fans mostly use Jing County rice paper (xuan paper) and local silk as raw materials, which are then multilayer-mounted with self-formulated materials, so the leaves have high toughness and are beautiful and durable. In recent years, the scale of the Wang-family folding-fan industry has expanded considerably, making a positive contribution to promoting local employment and income growth and to fostering social harmony. During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, some members of the Wang family engaged in the fan-making trade in Huangyan, Zhejiang, migrated under the leadership of Wang Shuluo to settle in Dongting Township, Guangde, and continued to make a living from fan-making; thus the Wang-family fan-making craft was transmitted in Guangde. Generally, moso bamboo (maozhu) of five to six years of age is used to make semi-finished fan ribs, which, after being hand-polished and burnished through multiple processes, are stored in a cool, dry room for three to five years before being taken out for use, so as to achieve the natural 'patina' (baojiang) effect on the ribs. From the end of the Qing dynasty to the present, the Wang-family fan-making craft has been transmitted for six generations in Guangde County.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Wang Mingde is anchored in the documented technical standards of Fan Making Craftsmanship in Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui. Within the documented technical tradition of Fan Making Craftsmanship in Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui: The Wang-family fan-making craft is one of the representatives of China's traditional fan-making skills and is mainly distributed within and around Guangde City, Xuancheng, Anhui Province—an area honored as the 'Hometown of Bamboo in China.' Guangde lies in a subtropical monsoon climate zone; its soil is mostly soft, sandy loam, with distinct four seasons and abundant rainfall, which is highly suitable for the growth of economic bamboos and woods such as moso bamboo, providing the local folding-fan industry with large quantities of inexpensive, high-quality raw material. The Wang-family fan-making craft has more than thirty principal process steps, of which twenty-three are for making the ribs and seven for making the leaf. First is the natural-patina technique for the rib material. Such ribs retain the natural color and grain of the raw material—beautiful and environmentally friendly. Second is the rib polishing and waxing technique. The polishing technique in the Wang-family fan-making craft is extremely fine; after the ribs are formed, they are polished through multiple manual processes, then coated with a propriety natural 'bowl wax' (wanla), making the ribs exquisite and durable. Third is the rib lining technique. By pasting onto the inner side of the rib a thin strip of green bamboo skin taken from the same moso bamboo culm, the deformation indices inside and outside the ribs on both sides of the folding fan are made consistent. After this process, the Wang-family folding fan has the characteristic of not deforming. Fourth is the leaf mounting technique. At present, the Wang-family fan-making craft is mainly transmitted among the descendants of the Wang family and within the Anhui Mingde Bamboo and Wood Craft Products Co., Ltd. that they founded. The key techniques of rib and leaf making are held by the Wang-family inheritors and core staff, while ordinary company employees engage in rib making and rough leaf processing; most employees, in the course of producing Wang-family folding fans, have learned and mastered more than two fan-making techniques. The Wang family's proprietary formulas and consummate craft secrets are precious wealth of the traditional folding-fan making skill and possess high craft value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Archival Record of Craft Procedures": The Wang-family fan-making craft has more than thirty principal process steps, of which twenty-three are for making the ribs and seven for making the leaf. Generally, moso bamboo (maozhu) of five to six years of age is used to make semi-finished fan ribs, which, after being hand-polished and burnished through multiple processes, are stored in a cool, dry room for three to five years before being taken out for use, so as to achieve the natural 'patina' (baojiang) effect on the ribs.
Archival Record of Craft Procedures
The Wang-family fan-making craft has more than thirty principal process steps, of which twenty-three are for making the ribs and seven for making the leaf. Generally, moso bamboo (maozhu) of five to six years of age is used to make semi-finished fan ribs, which, after being hand-polished and burnished through multiple processes, are stored in a cool, dry room for three to five years before being taken out for use, so as to achieve the natural 'patina' (baojiang) effect on the ribs. The polishing technique in the Wang-family fan-making craft is extremely fine; after the ribs are formed, they are polished through multiple manual processes, then coated with a propriety natural 'bowl wax' (wanla), making the ribs exquisite and durable.
Core Technique I
The Wang-family fan-making craft is one of the representatives of China's traditional fan-making skills and is mainly distributed within and around Guangde City, Xuancheng, Anhui Province—an area honored as the 'Hometown of Bamboo in China.' Guangde lies in a subtropical monsoon climate zone;
Core Technique II
its soil is mostly soft, sandy loam, with distinct four seasons and abundant rainfall, which is highly suitable for the growth of economic bamboos and woods such as moso bamboo, providing the local folding-fan industry with large quantities of inexpensive, high-quality raw material.
Core Technique III
The Wang-family fan-making craft has more than thirty principal process steps, of which twenty-three are for making the ribs and seven for making the leaf.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Wang Mingde was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Fan Making Craftsmanship, with Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Fan Making Craftsmanship in Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui as its declared area, and Anhui Mingdezhumugongyizhipin Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, some members of the Wang family engaged in the fan-making trade in Huangyan, Zhejiang, migrated under the leadership of Wang Shuluo to settle in Dongting Township, Guangde, and continued to make a living from fan-making; thus the Wang-family fan-making craft was transmitted in Guangde. Generally, moso bamboo (maozhu) of five to six years of age is used to make semi-finished fan ribs, which, after being hand-polished and burnished through multiple processes, are stored in a cool, dry room for three to five years before being taken out for use, so as to achieve the natural 'patina' (baojiang) effect on the ribs.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xu Yilin | Suzhou, Jiangsu | 01-0193 | Other regional school |
| Chen Zifu | Rongchang, Chongqing | 03-1339 | Other regional school |
| Xing Weizhong | Suzhou, Jiangsu | 04-1864 | Other regional school |
| Sun Yaqing | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | 05-2777 | Other regional school |
| Wang Mingde | Xuanchengshiguangde, Anhui | — | This page |
| Liu Zhengwen | Yueyangshiyueyang, Hunan | — | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。