Fan making skills (Wang Xingji fan)

Name of Chinese national intangible cultural heritage: fan making skills (Wang Xingji fan)

Applicant: Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province

Item No.: 431

Project No.: VIII - 81

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province

Protection unit: Hangzhou WANGXINGJI Fan Industry Co., Ltd

Introduction to fan making skills (Wang Xingji fan)

Applicant: Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province

The history of making fans in China is very long. Feather fans made of pheasant feathers appeared in Shang Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, silk fans were popular in the palace, also known as "palace fans". In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Kwai fan became popular. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou, the capital city, became the center of folding fans. Fan lane near Hefang Street was the place where fan workshops gathered. Folding fan was called "folding fan" in ancient times, and also called "spreading fan". When it is closed, it will be folded, and when it is used, it will be spread out. After it is spread out, the fan will form a semicircular (round) shape, and gather the head and tail, so it is also called "gathering fan". In the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, Suzhou became the center of folding fans, and famous fans such as Li Zhao and Ma Xun appeared.

China's fan products are mainly produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangdong and other places, including paper folding fan, sandalwood fan, feather fan (Huzhou, Zhejiang), silk fan, wheat straw braided fan (Pujiang, Zhejiang), ivory fan, bamboo fan, sunflower fan (Xinhui, Guangdong), peacock green feather dance fan, etc. Among them, the fan bone of the folding fan is made of brown bamboo, Xiangfei bamboo and ebony, some of which are decorated with bamboo carvings; the fan surface is made of mulberry paper and other paperwork, on which famous calligraphers and painters write poems and paintings, and there is a saying that sketches are better than masterpieces. Some folding fans are also equipped with embroidered fan covers. Hangzhou WANGXINGJI Fan Village is famous for making black paper fans. The fans are painted with persimmon paint, which can't get through the rain and can't stand up in the sun. It has the reputation of "a fan and half an umbrella". Its manufacturing technology has been handed down from generation to generation and has been followed up to now. The bamboo strip silk fan in Zigong, Sichuan Province, was created by Gong Jue Wu, a famous fan maker in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, so it is called "Gong fan", and the fan surface looks like a silk Wan. The handle of the fan is decorated with fringes, tapestries, jade and peach stone carvings. Sandalwood fans and sunflower fans are often decorated with pyrography, with strong and light colors and distinct layers. From this point of view, fan making technology is a comprehensive traditional craft integrating carving, painting, calligraphy, weaving, knitting, mounting, painting, bamboo weaving and so on, which has high artistic value.

With the change of social life, people generally use air conditioners or electric fans in hot season, which leads to a sharp decrease in the demand for fans. At present, many famous fan makers have died one after another, and some fan making techniques such as Suzhou folding fan bone technique are on the verge of being lost, so the relevant rescue and protection work is imminent.

Hangzhou Yafan has been famous throughout the world since ancient times. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were many Hangzhou fan making workshops between Qingtai street and Hefang Street, which were connected with each other for two Li, hence the name "fan lane". In 1875, Wang xingzhai founded Wang Xingji Fan Village in Fanzi lane of Hangzhou. With excellent workmanship and unique craftsmanship, Wang xingzhai stood out among many shops. After continuous development, Wang xingzhai fan finally became the representative of Hangzhou fan.

Over the past hundred years, Wang Xingji fan industry artists have inherited and carried forward the tradition, gathered the wisdom of previous fan making artists, and developed Hangzhou fan making skills. At present, Wang Xingji Hangzhou fan products have reached 15 categories, more than 400 kinds, and more than 3000 colors, which are sold to more than 40 countries and regions. Wang Xingji's fan is made of complex and fine technology, and its decoration is very exquisite. It is combined with calligraphy and painting, carving, inlay, clipping and other techniques, which greatly improves the artistic taste of the fan. Wang Xingji fan is most typical of black paper fan and sandalwood fan. It has won many awards at home and abroad and is praised by the world.

As early as the Qing Dynasty, the black paper fan was paid tribute to the court as a special product of Hangzhou, known as "tribute fan". Many famous calligraphers and painters in the past dynasties left masterpieces on the fan of Wang Xingji, which added important wealth to the treasure house of Chinese culture. In recent years, Wang Xingji fan is often used as a national gift to international friends, and is collected by museums around the world, becoming a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Wang Xingji's fan making skill has made a positive contribution to the spread of Chinese fan culture and has unique historical and cultural value.

Chinese PinYin : Zhi Shan Ji Yi Wang Xing Ji Shan