Traveling Trunk

Some of the most beautiful fans in the world come from China, the kingdom of fan making. The earliest Chinese fans date back to the 11th century BC and were made using bamboo for the frame and leaves or bird feathers for the cover. They were originally used to “fan” away dust while riding on a cart (27). It was later realized that they also had a cooling effect on the user.

Fans were originally made out of expensive materials (such as silk or feathers) and were only enjoyed by the wealthy. Later, following the invention of paper, fans were made available to the common people and became widely popular. Fans are now made of many different materials including bamboo, bone, ivory, or mother of pearl for the frame; and paper, feathers, silk, or even slats of wood for the cover (28).

When designing a fan, the traditional artist would typically make it with a specific customer in mind. Some fans were made for a person’s specific gender and others were made for a person’s position or official status. Scholars had special fans that they used in hopes of inspiring themselves with good ideas (29). In ancient China, when a man gave a fan to a lady, it showed his interest to be engaged to her.