Chinese Round Fans: A Perfect Blend of Functionality and Beauty
5 Video Views·Jun 25, 2025
Chinese culture is like a bright starry sky, and the fan (tuán shàn) is one of its shining stars — with hundreds of years of history and deep roots in Chinese art and tradition. Whether at home or abroad, fans remain a beloved symbol of elegance and cultural identity.
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Chinese culture is like a bright starry sky. As time goes by, the stars light up people's lives,
shining on every aspect of our daily lives. The fan is a bright one among them,
observing thousands of years of development of Chinese culture and art. It is not easy to
describe the beauty of the fans, which not only is loved by the Chinese people, but also receives
worldwide recognition.
We know that Guangdong is famous for making 13-inch fans.
We see a lot of feather fans, painting fans, and small-face fans,
including lace flower fans and embroidery fans.
They were all made by China to help the Europeans in the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries.
In the 17th and the 18th centuries, Chinese folding fans were introduced in Europe,
with French and British royal women and ladies as the main buyers.
Those fans were made of lamb skin, chicken skin, Chinese spun silk, and gauze,
and were decorated with colorful drawings and embroidery, which make them look luxurious.
At the same time, in China, where the fans originated,
people have a different interpretation of these fans.
It takes more than a dozen steps to make a round fan.
The first step is to design the patterns, then selecting threads based on these patterns.
A piece of work usually uses dozens and even hundreds of kinds of silk threads.
After weaving using the tapestry method, then making the frame and the handle,
then comes a key link in making a round fan, mounting it.
The key factors about mounting lie in humidity and temperature,
and we have to carefully distinguish slight differences between various materials
and adjust to their distinct flexibilities to keep it smooth and neat.
After the edges are sealed, they will be decorated with various techniques such as
wood carving engraving or adding tassels, and a scholar-style round tapestry silk fan is finished.
Chinese round fans are not only a perfect blend of functionality and beauty,
but also signify Chinese culture's high regard for literati
and a reverence of the entire universe and to harmony and unity.
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