Fan making skills (Gong fan)

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

Applicant: Zigong City, Sichuan Province

Item No.: 431

Project No.: VIII - 81

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Zigong City, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: gongfan bamboo weaving factory of Zigong City

Introduction to fan making skills (Gong fan)

Applicant: Zigong City, Sichuan 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.

Gongfan is produced in Zigong City, Sichuan Province. In the first year of Guangxu (1875) of the Qing Dynasty, Gong Jue Wu, a famous artist, created a six inch palace fan with ox bone and jade as the handle, bamboo strips as the outer ring, and various patterns woven with yellow bamboo strips. Gong fan has distinctive patterns, exquisite and chic, which has been loved by many people in the process of spreading, and its reputation is growing day by day. As early as the end of the Qing Dynasty, Gong fan was well-known, became a collection of the court and the government, and won a medal at the Leipzig international exposition. Gong fan is as thin as silk, gorgeous as flowers, smooth as a mirror. The fan pattern is unique. The flower and bird characters woven with extremely thin silk are vivid, reflecting the fine texture and unique style.

The evolution of Gong fan has lasted for more than 100 years, and its production technology has been handed down for five generations. As Gong fan production technology adopts the family inheritance method, the first three generations are passed on to men, not to women, so up to now, only a few people of Gong family can fully master the weaving technology. In view of this situation, positive measures should be taken to effectively protect this valuable folk handicraft.