Fan Making Craftsmanship

01 · Historical Records

In the Han dynasty, silk-leaf fans were popular at court, also called 'palace fans.' In the Southern Song period, the capital Hangzhou became a center of folding fans, and Shanzi Lane near Hefang Street was where the fan workshops of the day clustered. In the Yongle years of the Ming dynasty, Suzhou became a center of folding fans, and famous fan-makers known throughout the land such as Li Zhao and Ma Xun emerged. The bamboo-splint silk fan of Zigong, Sichuan, was created by the famous fan-maker Gong Juewu during the Guangxu years of the Qing dynasty, and is thus called the 'Gong fan,' its face resembling held silk gauze. In the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing (1875), the renowned artisan Gong Juewu, using ox bone and jade as the handle and bamboo strips as the outer frame, wove various patterns with yellow bamboo splints to create a palace fan about six inches across, hence the name 'Gong fan.' As early as the end of the Qing dynasty, the Gong fan was already widely famed, becoming a collectible of court and officialdom, and won a medal at the Leipzig International Exposition.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The history of fan-making in China is very long; as early as the Shang dynasty there appeared feather fans made of the tail feathers of the long-tailed pheasant. In the Eastern Jin period, the cattail-leaf fan began to be popular. The folding fan was anciently called the 'folded fan,' also the 'opened fan'; folded it closes, opened it spreads, and when spread the leaf forms a half-round (circular) shape, gathered at both head and tail, hence also the 'gathered-head fan.' China's fan products are mainly produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Guangdong, and include paper folding fans, sandalwood fans, feather fans (Huzhou, Zhejiang), silk fans, wheat-straw plaited fans (Pujiang, Zhejiang), ivory fans, bamboo-splint fans, cattail-leaf fans (Xinhui, Guangdong), and peacock-plume dance fans, among many varieties. Among them, the ribs of folding fans are best made of brown bamboo, mottled bamboo (Xiangfei bamboo), or ebony, some adorned with bamboo carving; the leaf is pasted from mulberry-bark paper and the like, with famous calligraphers and painters inscribing poems and painting on it, the saying being that a small piece surpasses a large one. Some folding fans are further fitted with embroidered fan cases. The Hangzhou Wang Xingji Fan Shop is known for making black paper fans, the leaves brushed with persimmon lacquer so they are impermeable to rain and do not warp in sun-a beauty summed up as 'a fan is half an umbrella'-and its craft has been passed down through generations to this day. Small pendants such as tassels, silk knots, or jade and peach-pit carvings are hung beneath the handle, swaying gracefully. Sandalwood fans and cattail-leaf fans often bear pyrography on the leaf, with shades light and dark and clear layers. From this it can be seen that fan-making is a comprehensive traditional manual craft integrating carving, painting, calligraphy, weaving, knotting, mounting, lacquering, and bamboo weaving, of high artistic value. With the change in social life, people now commonly use air conditioning or electric fans in the height of summer, causing a sharp drop in demand for fans. The Gong fan is produced in Zigong City, Sichuan Province. The Gong fan has bright, exquisite, and distinctive patterns, and in the course of its transmission won the esteem of many people, its reputation rising day by day. The Gong fan is as thin as silk, as brilliant as a flower, as smooth as a mirror; its leaf patterns are unique, and the flowers, birds, and figures woven from extremely fine splints are lifelike, manifesting a refined texture and a distinctive style. The evolution of the Gong fan spans over a hundred years, and to this day its craft has been transmitted through five generations. Because the Gong fan craft uses family-line transmission, and the first three generations passed it only to males and not to females, to this day only a few members of the Gong family can fully master the weaving technique within the craft. In view of this situation, active measures should be taken to effectively protect this precious folk handicraft.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Gong fan is centered on Zigong City, Sichuan Province, and is a representative fan type of the southern Sichuan area; Zigong prospered through the salt industry, with many salt workers, merchants, and boatmen, and both round fans and folding fans had to be light and sweat-resistant, so the bamboo used for the Gong fan is mostly taken from local hills, and the leaf is mainly silk. The Zigong Salt Industry History Museum and the local fan workshops are together nodes in the craft's transmission.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Fan Making Craftsmanship · Fan Making Craftsmanship · Fan Making Craftsmanship · Fan Making Craftsmanship · Fan Making Craftsmanship.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present many famous fan-makers have passed away one after another; some fan-making crafts such as the Suzhou folding-fan rib technique are on the verge of being lost, and the related rescue and protection work is urgent.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Xu Yilin 01-0193
• Chen Zifu 03-1339
• Xing Weizhong 04-1864
• Sun Yaqing 05-2777
• Wang Mingde
• Liu Zhengwen

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Fan Making Craftsmanship (Zigong, Sichuan) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗