Fan Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
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 · Core Techniques & Process
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.
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.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
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.
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
Its distinctive features are manifested in four aspects. The leaf content of different periods reflects the social conditions, ideas, and value orientations of the time, bearing the imprint of the era, and has a certain reference value for studying the local history, culture, social change, and the development of productive forces.
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
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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