中国扇子文化

中国的扇子文化

扇子源于中国，至今已有数千年的历史，中国扇文化有着深厚的文化底蕴，上下五千年历史的文明古国有着三千年渊源流长的制扇业,使扇文化成为民族文化的一个重要组成部分，它与竹文化、佛教文化有着密切关系。历来中国被誉为“制扇王国”。扇子主要材料是：竹、木、纸、扇、象牙、玳瑁、翡翠、飞禽翎毛，其它棕榈叶、槟榔叶、麦杆、蒲草等也能编织或制成各种千姿百态的日用工艺扇。经能工巧匠精心镂、雕、烫、钻或名人挥毫题诗作画会使扇子艺术身价升高百倍。

中国扇文化最早可追溯到远古时代，我们的祖先在烈日炎炎夏季，随手猎取植物叶或禽羽，进行简单加工，用以障日引风，故扇子有障日之称，这便是扇子的初源。三、四千年的沿革演变完善改进已使扇子发展成为几百个品种的家族。有高雅端庄的白纸扇、名贵考究的黑纸扇、隽秀美丽的细绢扇、气度非凡的挂扇，还有婀娜多姿的舞扇和价廉物美的香木扇等，扇面除圆形外，还有长圆、扁圆、方圆、梅花形、葵花形、瓜凌形、腰形、马蹄形……西汉时期，对称"合欢扇"（又称宫扇、纨扇、团扇），其形尚圆，合欢扇特点是面素白色以扇柄为中轴，左右对称似圆月。纨扇以竹木为架，面成圆形或椭圆形，用薄丝绢糊成。当时以中原一带所制纨扇最为考究，有"齐纨楚竹"之说，即指用山东绢和湖南竹制作扇面的纨扇。汉时十分流行这种纨扇，并赋诗颂之，如班婕的扇诗，"新裂齐纨素，鲜洁如霜雪，裁为合欢扇，团团似明月，出入君怀袖，动摇微风发"。此种对称式团扇出现后，历代沿用而不衰，并成为我国传统风格的扇型。到清代时，对称类型的这此扇形突出的特点是对称、轻盈、工艺性强。

折扇，古称"聚头扇"，或称为撒扇，或折叠扇，以其收拢时能够二头合并归一而得名。南宋时，折扇的生产已有相当规模。折扇盛行于明代，皇帝下召命宫内工匠仿制高丽扇，吸取外来工艺制作，促进国内扇子发展。明清是折扇发展鼎盛期。用料贵重，将名贵象牙、玳瑁、鸡翅木制成扇骨，制作精湛，在象牙骨大边上镂雕、细刻；红木、鸟兽骨大边有"如意头"、"琴式"、"螳螂腿"、"水浪式"等，扇头有"瓶式"、"荸荠头"、"橄榄头"、"玉兰头"、"方头"、"圆头"、"金鱼头"等，扇骨上采用了各种艺术的表现手法博得人们所爱。用一种特殊艺术形式，在不足盈尺的扇面上经丹青高手巧运匠心，精心布局，或山水花鸟，或人物动态无能小中见大，表现出美的情致辞和神韵。扇面有细洒金（雨金）、雪金、格巾、发簪、老矾面、泥金面等。这些扇面都成为书画家的用武之地，挥毫泼墨为后人留下珍贵的墨宝。明代宣德皇帝朱瞻基在扇面上所作《松下读书图》被视为罕世之宝。

南宋时扇子生产已有较大规模，各地因地事宜制造不同材料类形的各种扇子，形成各地独特风格。比较著名的有杭扇、川扇、苏扇、岳洲扇、奥扇、金陵扇等多种，而以杭扇最负盛名。

如今，融悠久的历史，精湛的技艺、迥异的功能、高雅的情趣于一体的中国扇子已经走向世界各地！

The Culture of the Chinese Fan

The Chinese fan manufacture was long-established in China. It has a history of several thousand years. During the long history of its development and evolution, the traditional Chinese fans have gained rich cultural deposits. China, having a history of 5 thousand years, has a fan manufacture history as long as 3 thousand years. This made Chinese fan culture become an inseparable part of Chinese culture. It was closely related to the Bamboo Culture and the Buddhism Cultures. China was always well-known as the kingdom of the system fan. The main materials of the fan are: Bamboo, wood, paper, fans, ivory, tortoiseshell, jade, bird feathers. Others like palm leaves, betel leaves, straw, rushes, also can be woven or formed into various shapes of the daily craft fan. The craftsmen’s meticulously engraving, carving, burning, drilling or celebrities’ drawing, writing will Increase the artistic value of the fan to a hundredfold.

Chinese fan culture can date back to ancient times. Our ancestors in the scorching summer sun used the bird feather or plant leaf, with some simple processing, to shield them from the sun and get some wind, so fans have a saying of shielding from the sun. This is the first source of a fan. Three or four thousand years of evolution and improvement have made hundreds of varieties of fans into the family. There is a dignified and elegant white fan, luxury elegant black paper fan, delicately beautiful fine silk fan, bearing remarkable hanging fan, and also graceful dance fans and cheap and good fragrant wood fan, etc. In addition to circular outer fan, there are long round, oval, circumference, plum-shaped, sunflower-shaped, melon-shaped Ling, kidney-shaped, horseshoed fans.

During the Western Han Period, symmetrical Acacia fan also known as Gong Shan, Wan Shan; Tuan Shan had a round shape. Acacia fan has features of a white face, using the fan handle as the axial element and the right and left being symmetrical like the full moon. The Wan Shan with bamboo, wood frame and surface into a round or oval was pasted with thin silk. At that time, the Central Plains area devoted the most particular care to making the Wan Shan, having a saying of that Qi is famous for Wan Shan and Chu is famous for bamboo. It referred to the Wan Shan whose surface was made of Shandong silk and Hunan bamboo. During the Han Dynasty this Wan Shan was very popular and many poets inscribed a poem to expressing their feeling of appreciation, such as the poem written by Banjie “using the material of Qi Wan, which is as white as the snow, cutting it into a Acacia fan, which is round like the moon, going in and out from your sleeves, swaying up and down with breeze coming.” After the emergence of such a symmetrical fan, the later dynasties also adopted this kind of fan. It never declined and its shape became our Chinese traditional style. It was not until Qing Dynasty that this kind of fans’ outstanding features were confirmed as symmetrical, slim and graceful, having great technicality.

Folding fan, known as Poly head fan and Caesar fan in ancient time was named for its both sides combining together into a single one when closed up. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the manufacture of Folding fan already had a quite great