Beautifully decorated and elegant fans have evoked China for centuries, and
Suzhou has long been one of the centers of fan production in China. This
tradition continues today, and visitors to Suzhou have a chance to take home
some excellent fans. Traditionally there are several major varieties of fans.
One is a folding fan made of many thin slats of wood held together with thread
or wire. Another is folding fans made of paper glued to wood, which fold neatly
together. These are often decorated with paintings or calligraphy. In classical
China friends would often write messages on fans and give them as going away
presents, and fans painted by famous artists often became valuable art objects.
The last main variety are known as "palace fans." Unlike other fans they don't
fold up, but have long handles; they are descended from the fans which servants
used to fan the emperor. Folding wooden fans are often made of scented woods so
that their breeze carries a light fragrance. The most precious are made from
sandalwood, a dense and especially aromatic wood imported from tropical
countries. Connoisseurs rate different kinds of sandalwood based on their
distinctive smell. Less expensive scented woods, such as cypress, are used as
well.. Wooden fans are traditionally carved in elegant and elaborate latticework
patterns, both to make them lighter and also more beautiful. While today some
inexpensive fans are made by stamping out these patterns by machine, better
quality fans are still made by hand. Once the individual wooden leaves of the
fan have been shaped, an artisan shapes the lattice pattern using a traditional
tool which looks much like a bow. Using this and an already carved model, the
worker carefully works the wire to rub away the wood according to the pattern of
the model. They are often decorated with pictures of landscapes, flowers, or
other lucky symbols. These decorations are not created with paint or ink, but by
lightly singeing the wood. In the pasts artisans used a thin iron rod whose end
they would heat in a coal brazier, today's craftspeople use an electric tool
much like a soldering iron. Pressing directly on the wood with the tip creates
dark lines, while slowly rubbing its side along the surface creates
shading.
Beautifully decorated and elegant fans have evoked China for centuries, and
Suzhou has long been one of the centers of fan production in China. This
tradition continues today, and visitors to Suzhou have a chance to take home
some excellent fans. Traditionally there are several major varieties of
fans. One is a folding fan made of many thin slats of wood held together
with thread or wire. Another is folding fans made of paper glued to wood,
which fold neatly together. These are often decorated with paintings or
calligraphy. In classical China friends would often write messages on fans and
give them as going away presents, and fans painted by famous artists often
became valuable art objects. The last main variety are known as "palace fans."
Unlike other fans they don't fold up, but have long handles; they are descended
from the fans which servants used to fan the emperor.
Folding wooden fans are often made of scented woods so that their breeze
carries a light fragrance. The most precious are made from sandalwood, a
dense and especially aromatic wood imported from tropical countries.
Connoisseurs rate different kinds of sandalwood based on their distinctive
smell. Less expensive scented woods, such as cypress, are used as
well.. Wooden fans are traditionally carved in elegant and elaborate
latticework patterns, both to make them lighter and also more beautiful.
While today some inexpensive fans are made by stamping out these patterns by
machine, better quality fans are still made by hand. Once the individual
wooden leaves of the fan have been shaped, an artisan shapes the lattice pattern
using a traditional tool which looks much like a bow. Using this and an
already carved model, the worker carefully works the wire to rub away the wood
according to the pattern of the model. They are often decorated with
pictures of landscapes, flowers, or other lucky symbols. These decorations
are not created with paint or ink, but by lightly singeing the wood. In
the pasts artisans used a thin iron rod whose end they would heat in a coal
brazier, today's craftspeople use an electric tool much like a soldering
iron. Pressing directly on the wood with the tip creates dark lines, while
slowly rubbing its side along the surface creates shading.
