Fan is a special cultural phenomenon in China. Literati and writers have always liked to inscribe poems and paint on the fans, and their romance is based on their aspirations.

In ancient times, the fan was sometimes regarded as a symbol of official position, probably because most of the ancient officials were literati, and the literati often carried a fan with them, and often held the fan on various occasions. During the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang held a feather fan in his hand and strategized, and his demeanor was leisurely, and later people regarded the feather fan as a symbol of wisdom.

Women and fan poems and paintings before the Song Dynasty Ancient women were most fond of round and handled fans, which were regarded as children's love and beautiful love objects, which could be used as tokens and heartfelt feelings. The beautiful meaning is given, and many romantic stories have been written. The ingenious Xi Shi used wheat straw to weave a fan, embroidered his appearance with colored silk in the core of the fan, and gave it to Fan Li, a doctor of the Yue Kingdom, and made a vow of a hundred years of harmony.

The group fan in the Western Han Dynasty, because it was as clean as the bright moon and contained the meaning of reunion and reunion, was easily discovered and selected by women's delicate, gentle and romantic temperament, and regarded it as a symbol of pure love. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, this moral was still inherited.

However, in the expression of flowers, the style of the East and the West is obviously very different, the East is low-key luxury and connotation, the West is warm and noisy and eye-catching, compared with the two, it is highly consistent with the floral style.

In ancient times, our ancestors hunted plant leaves or bird feathers in the scorching summer and carried out simple processing to resist the wind generated by the sun, so it was called "barrier sun", which was the origin of fans.

The main materials are: bamboo, wood, paper, cloth, ivory, tortoiseshell, jadeite, bird feathers, other palm leaves, betel nut leaves, wheat straw, cattail grass, etc.

However, the early fans were not used to draw wind, but instead became a guard of honor for the ruling class to show their status and privileges. Therefore, it is mostly seen in the imperial palace, also called "palace fan".

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was fashionable to write inscriptions and paintings, including carving, carving, ironing, and drilling on the fan body, and gradually made the fan from a functional wind attraction appliance into a work of art, and it was worth a hundred times for a while.

There is a contrast between the popularity of "new Chinese style" and the rigidity of tradition in Japan, and many cultural people say that if they want to understand the traditional Tang Dynasty culture, they have to go to Japan to see it. This is also the reason why director Hou Xiaoxian had to go to Japan to shoot when he filmed "Nie Yinniang", and he was also scolded by many people who ate melons at that time.

When young Chinese people create fans, they will also add many fusion styles, and the ancient style may only exist in the imagination of individuals.

However, regardless of Chinese style or Japanese style, the oriental aesthetic has always been distinctive, preferring to use red, golden, and plain colors, either low-key and colorful, or elegant and elegant. In terms of technique, he likes to decorate the fan surface in a hand-painted or embroidered way, and emphasizes the integration with nature in the artistic conception.

A silk or silk fan should be much more valuable than a paper folding fan. There are only a few plant petals or leaves on the fan surface, and you can gently flutter on your body like that, and the wind will come uninvited, which is very beautiful.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Chinese folding fan was introduced to Europe. Because of the lack of high-quality paper, Portugal and Spain use delicate calf skins and lambskin as fan surfaces, which are called leather folding fans, and some also sprinkle perfume on the fan surface, which is called fragrant skin folding fans.

During the same period, folding fans made of Chinese silk and calf skins were popular in the French court. In the 18th century, France imported a large number of Chinese bamboo fan bones, assembled and produced folding fans in Paris, making Paris the center of European fan-making handicrafts.

Fans are in Europe and are an essential piece of equipment for prom socializing. This is destined to be different from the quiet and solitary artistic conception of the East, and the fans in the West are warm and lively.

Westerners are very fond of oriental folding fans, and to this day, when they get married, there is a picture of the bride holding a bouquet of flowers, the bridesmaids holding a folding fan, and even the bouquet of flowers has evolved into the shape of a folding fan.

If the fan also has four seasons, then it may be that the Western floral fan is just spring and summer, bright and brilliant, very young; The oriental ancient fan coincides with autumn and winter, bleak and cold, but it is easy to realize the truth of life.

Last year, we also wrote about a fan's work, and she combined dried flowers and fans, which is also a good attempt to integrate and innovate. This kind of fan, it doesn't matter the style and era, as long as you see it, little girls will want to chop their hands.

↑ Imitation Qianlong court peony silk fan

Li Jing said, "Although I make traditional fans, I will not say narrowly that only traditional and Chinese are good and beautiful." Some people will like Muji, some people will like Baroque, the American design style is different from Europe, and the Japanese aesthetic is different from the past. In my opinion, what is beautiful is good. I hope that the fan I designed is beautiful and in line with the aesthetics of today's people. Of course, it's not that my design style is very modern, but my fans are used by modern people or placed in their living spaces without a sense of disobedience. ”

The fan, one of the works of art that best represents the beauty of the Orient.

The beauty of the fan lies in the shape of the material construction and the charm of the content of the picture.

From the ancient Chinese to choose materials and make fans, when the fan pattern was painted with elegant hearts, the fan has evolved from a simple tool to cool off the heat to a cultural item for elegant enjoyment.

As one of the core gathering places of Jiangnan culture, the fan, an elegant thing rich in humanistic charm, has always been the configuration of Hangzhou-style life. Hangzhou has always been the center of fan-making in China, and Hangzhou fans are as famous as silk and tea, and are regarded as the "three unique products of Hangzhou".

Zhao Pingjia, a master of Chinese calligraphy and painting who was born in Hangzhou, is one of the most representative inheritors of this Hangzhou fan technique.

Zhao Pingjia is China's first fan master of calligraphy and painting, and her fans are loved by people. Its fan design covers figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, and calligraphy, grass, subordinate, large and small seals, and Kai six-body calligraphy, and masters a complete set of crafts such as design, branding, painting, color spraying, and double-sided vision of sandalwood fan art. She can draw and write well, flexible and unique expression, bold innovation, breaking through tradition, novel structure, unique shape, ingenious conception, forming her own unique artistic style. Now he is a senior arts and crafts artist, a master of arts and crafts in Zhejiang Province, the representative inheritor of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage Hangzhou fan, and a leading figure of Hangzhou fan.

Originally, Zhao Pingjia's ancestral home was southern Fujian, and her grandfather and uncle were engaged in making wood carving, painting, and furniture, and were masters of folk wood carving, carving, gold painting, and lacquer flowers. The furniture they make is very famous near and far.

Zhao Pingjia's initial artistic enlightenment came from the art of wooden furniture painting inherited from his family. Although it is a folk art form, and the themes used are all folk stories, legends, proverbs, etc., they are all vivid, natural and down-to-earth, and are deeply liked by the people.

Zhao Pingjia also grew up in such a folk art atmosphere. She has loved painting since she was a child and has a certain artistic talent. This girl who likes to be quiet, in her teens, unlike other playful children, she prefers to focus on practicing drawing. Even, in order to get closer to the dream of art in her heart, this little girl will find an opportunity to go to the Academy of Fine Arts to audit classes. At the age of thirteen, Zhao Pingjia began to study under professors such as Zhou Changgu, Zhao Yannian, Xu Qixiong, and Wu Guoting of the China Academy of Art.

In 1979, he entered Hangzhou Wang Xingji Fan Factory to engage in fan art production and design, and was carefully instructed and taught by many old-timers such as old-timers, Zhu Baoqing, Zeng Mi, Li Xiangmei, Pan Feilun, etc. She has comprehensive skills and high understanding, and has made new breakthroughs in the creation of fan surface, fan bone design, sandalwood fan, black paper fan and white paper fan, etc., with flexible and unique expression techniques, ingenious ideas, unique shapes, and high artistic attainments. She has inherited and developed the art of Hangzhou fan, and is an expert in Hangzhou fan who can fully master a variety of techniques and process design.

In 1999, he was invited to France to participate in the "99 Paris Chinese Culture Week" jointly organized by the Information Office of the State Council and UNESCO. This year was a turning point in Zhao Pingjia's artistic career. After returning from France, Zhao Pingjia continued to innovate, breaking through the single form of creating a fan, and combining calligraphy and painting. The fan paintings he created have six fonts that complement the paintings, as well as heavy color gongbi paintings. The traditional and elegant fan art suddenly becomes colorful and colorful, which can not only express the essence of traditional Chinese art, but also bring the stories of various themes to the fan.

Zhao Pingjia continues to excavate the essence of traditional fan technology, so that Hangzhou fan has been inherited and developed. The prestigious traditional brand-name product Hangzhou black paper fan, the white paper fan loved by literati and ink writers, the sandalwood fan used by women with a century-old fragrance, and the characteristic silk fan of Hangzhou, the house of silk, have all innovated and developed under her excavation.

The black paper fan is the most prestigious folding fan in Hangzhou, and has been used as a special product of Hangzhou to pay tribute to the imperial court many times in the Qing Dynasty, so the black paper fan is also known as the "tribute fan". The black paper fan is known as a must-have in the fan, and it has to go through 88 processes such as bone-making, paste, folding, and coloring. The all-brown and black paper fan is made of palm bamboo grown in the high mountains of Yunnan, Guizhou and other places as the fan aggregate, with a unique pattern, just like the neck feathers of a rooster. The fan surface is made of pure mulberry paper, a special product in the mountainous area of southern Zhejiang, repeatedly painted with several layers of Zhuji high mountain persimmon paint, the texture of cotton is tough and clean, the color is black and bright, and the raw materials used are almost all natural, in the ranks of paper fans, I am afraid that only black paper fans can be called all-natural products. The firmness, practicality, aesthetics, tradition and difficulty of the production process of the black paper fan are incomparable to other white paper fans. The black paper fan is not only simple and elegant in appearance, but also tough and durable in inner quality, with the characteristics of impervious to rain and sun, so there is a legend of "a fan and a half umbrella".

Through years of practice, Mr. Zhao has applied the traditional gongbi heavy color technique to the painting of black paper fans, so that the picture produces a three-dimensional effect. She also developed the black paper fan real gold painting and 999 gold foil grinding clay gold powder production process, and created a large number of gold leaf figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. For example, "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang", "Xiling Eight Families", "Orchid Pavilion Preface", at the same time, she also used the combination of real gold painting methods to create a series of fans, so that the picture is dense and compact, the lines are smooth, and the colors are rich and heavy. Such as "Birthday Celebration of the Immortals" and "Fragrance".

"Actually, to make a fan, don't just think it's a handicraft. In fact, this is an art that combines traditional elements and perfects them with modern concepts. The fan is the carrier, and the art of calligraphy and painting is the soul of the eye. ”

In Mr. Zhao's view, as a traditional craft, Hangzhou fan is an innovation with inheritance. "There are some traditions that cannot be lost. We must first carefully understand the intention of the ancients in choosing these materials and standards, so as to truly integrate modern concepts. You see, the black paper fan is generally made of palm bamboo, which is more harmonious from the color matching, and at the same time we must choose wild bamboo, and the fan bone made of the bamboo pattern of wild bamboo is extremely beautiful. Each fan pattern is natural and unique. The surface should be handmade with high toughness as much as possible. We generally use mulberry paper, double-sided multi-process, repeated brush paddle dyeing, layer by layer brush. ”

In Zhao Pingjia's fan painting career, she has designed 15 categories and more than 400 varieties, including black paper fans, sandalwood fans, white paper fans, silk fans, hanging fans, palace fans, and Spanish fans. The revival of the Ming Dynasty gold paper fan, the representative works "Qianlong Imperial Poems West Lake Ten Scenes" and "Buddha Yuan".

In Zhao Pingjia's continuous exploration and innovation, the Hangzhou fan she made has also formed its own unique style, elegant, delicate, with a strong cultural heritage and Hangzhou-style Jiangnan Lingxiu style.

"In 2010, my mother and I went to Shanghai for the World Expo. Before that, I always felt that traditional art work was very hard, so I always regarded fan art as a hobby, and did not consider it in terms of work. At the World Expo, I saw so many tourists, including foreign tourists and children, who were so interested in and loved Hangfan, and some people even made a special trip to experience the interactive link on the spot. This has given me a new understanding and transformation of traditional crafts, and I feel that young people should better inherit traditional arts. After returning from the Shanghai World Expo, it coincided with the time when Hangzhou encouraged college students to start their own businesses, so he took this opportunity to open his own company Pingjia Fan Art, and since then he has followed the pace of Zhao Pingjia's Fan Art. You Xiaoting recalled.

Zhao Pingjia and his daughter You Xiaoting created a handmade paper-cut fan, showing the poetic scenery of Hangzhou. Through the carrier of the fan, it shows the natural features, cultural landscapes, and customs of Hangzhou. A set of 4 paper-cut art fans, respectively, have "Pinghu Autumn Moon", "Three Pools Reflecting the Moon", "Leifeng Sunset", "Broken Bridge and Residual Snow" paper-cut patterns. Even while working in the design institute, You Xiaoting has never stopped learning fan art, and her works have also been recognized in the industry.

In 2009, her paper-cut fan "West Lake Scenery" won the gold medal of Hangzhou tourist souvenirs and the bronze medal of China Arts and Crafts Boutique Award. In the same year, the black paper real gold painted fan "Four Masterpieces" and "West Lake Story" won the bronze medal of the China Arts and Crafts Master Works Boutique Exposition and the first Zhejiang Arts and Crafts Boutique Exposition Excellence Award, "West Lake Flower" won the national tourism commodity silver medal, "Mountain Secluded Residence Map" won the gold medal of the third China Zhejiang Arts and Crafts Exposition. Among them, "Four Famous Novels" integrates traditional fan art with popular cartoon and animation elements, and the characters are exaggerated and cute, which is popular with many young people. She is also good at ink style fan painting, insects and birds, with cultural play folding fans, which is loved by many cultural and entertainment lovers.

After retiring, Ms. Zhao, who has won numerous awards, still chose the fan art career she loved all her life, and set up her own Hangzhou fan studio, concentrating on making fans and painting every day, which is her best time. "I'm thinking, beauty is something that everybody needs, it's up to you to express it. We must conform to the needs of the times, develop more innovative works with the characteristics of the times, and express the elements of the times, so that art can enter life and the people. ”

However, there is also a fan painted with passwords that you have ever seen? Do you know what it's used for?

This kind of fan painted with a password is called a secret charm fan, and its full name is the secret charm fan of the military food broker. Military grain broker is a position in ancient times, specifically responsible for inspecting the quality of military grain, which is equivalent to the current customs quality inspector, his job is to accept the grain from the wharf, and then transport it to the major grain warehouses, which is a fat difference, so many people are vying to do this military grain brokerage.

There are 100 different codes painted on the fan surface of the cipher, and this 100 mysterious codes represent 100 different military ration quality inspectors.

After receiving the military rations for inspection, the symbols of the military ration quality inspectors responsible for the acceptance of the military rations should be painted with fluorocarbon on the mouth of the cloth bag, which is equivalent to stamping the seal of the handling personnel now. In the process of transportation, spot checks should also be conducted, and if the batch of military rations is not up to standard because of bribery, it will be known who accepted the acceptance by checking the symbols, and the relevant personnel who accept the bribes will be punished.

It is said that these 100 strange and creative codes were determined by the first military food broker at that time according to his own hobbies, which can be complex and simple, and once it is determined and reported to the secret fan, it cannot be changed at will. Just as we are now sure that our own > code symbols are determined, just like the signature and drawing, whoever inspects the goods will be responsible, and the responsibility is clear, which fully puts an end to the occurrence of bribery and bribery that does not follow the rules.

The fan is a practical thing, because of its thinness and large area, it can be used to fan the wind to cool down. China has always had a tradition of decorating everyday utensils, so there are carvings on the fan handle and fan bones, and calligraphy and painting are added to the front and back of the fan surface to make it more pleasing to the eye.