Fan making skills (Rongchang folding fan)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: fan making skills (Rongchang folding fan)

Applicant: Rongchang County, Chongqing

Item No.: 431

Project No.: VIII - 81

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Chongqing

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Rongchang County, Chongqing

Protection unit: Chongqing Rongchang District Cultural Center

Introduction to fan making technology (Rongchang folding fan)

Applicant: Rongchang County, Chongqing

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.

Rongchang County is located in the west of Chongqing. The folding fan manufacturing industry of Changyuan town is very developed. Rongchang folding fan is used to spread and folded. It is exquisite and elegant, beautiful and applicable, small and exquisite, easy to carry and so on. Rongchang folding fan began in the Northern Song Dynasty, and had been presented as a tribute to the imperial court in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the manufacture of folding fans in Rongchang reached its peak. There were more than 200 professional fan shops in the county, more than 2000 production personnel, and an annual output of 4 million folding fans. During the period of the Republic of China, Rongchang folding fans were exported to Southeast Asia and Europe. In recent years, while inheriting and carrying forward the traditional handicrafts, the fan makers in Rongchang have made great efforts to develop new crafts. The products have increased from 154 varieties in five categories, i.e. regular brown, QUANNAN, leather sole, hard green and chuanzi, to 10 categories, and more than 300 varieties, such as quanbrown, sandalwood and feather, have been added. Among them, the traditional black paper fan and brown bamboo fan are the most distinctive.

The production process of Rongchang folding fan integrates dyeing, bonding, painting, carving, inlaying and other techniques, which is roughly divided into 16 sections and 145 operation procedures. Guo Moruo, Zhang Daqian and other famous contemporary calligraphers and painters have inscribed and painted Rongchang folding fan for many times, which has improved its cultural taste and increased its artistic and collection value.

Due to the scarcity of raw and auxiliary materials, the shortage of technical personnel and the low market price, the production of Rongchang folding fans is in trouble, and the traditional black paper fans and brown bamboo fans are in danger of being out of production. The production technology of Rongchang folding fan is on the verge of danger, which needs to be rescued and protected.