Gentle Breeze―――Talking about the Incense of Su Fan

Abstract： With the poems and songs and celebrity’s calligraphy and painting， it not only can bring wind and reduce heat but also can be good to hear or see， which is Su Fan. Su Fan has a very high status in various famous fans in China， which not only has the life practicality but also has the very high artistic aesthetics. It not only represents the fine complex production process in the southern area， but also represents the display of southern humanity customs and geographical features， representing the wisdom crystallization of the working people in China. The research of Su Fan has a very profound and complex historical origin. This paper takes a simple analysis on the origin and development of Su Fan and its elegant culture in it.

Keywords： Su Fan； introduction； origin and development； elegant culture；

The fans are the products of bringing wind in China， which are the necessary items in the hot summer. The Chinese fan culture has a long history and very profound， and culture in the fans is not only a reflection of local features， but also provides various references for us to study the ancient regional features and humanity customs. The fans with features are not only the products of bringing wind for people， but also they are the appreciation things for people and the emotion sustenance.

The four famous fans in China are respectively Jiangsu sandalwood fans， Guangdong fire picture fans， Sichuan bamboo silk fans and Zhejiang silk fans. The fabrication process and features of the four famous fans are various， and the sandalwood fan is the first and the most prestigious. The sandalwood fan is one of the most representative Su fans， which has long been the topic of people’s research and discussion， and Su fan has an extraordinary status in Chinese fans. The features of Su fans are exquisite fabrication and unique skills and rich technology. Of course， Su fans are more worthy of its research on Jiangnan cultural features and poetry and songs’ elegant culture.

1 Introduction to Su Fans

In Su fans， there are folded fans， paper fans， Juangong fans and sandalwood fans. Su fans are famous for its exquisite ingenious and famous fabrication， which are the first of various fan systems in China. A delicate Su fan has over 30 procedures in fabrication， and the process is very complex. Each procedure has a very strict requirement， which is just like gentle Jiangnan women. Su fans adopt many materials， basically taking bamboo as the main part， but it also has the sandalwood， red sandalwood， ebony and ivory， tortoise shell and other valuable materials.

Folded fans， as the name suggests， are the folding fans. We often open it when necessary， and fold it when unnecessary. The fan head fabrication is a major feature and the fan shapes are over hundreds. Its shape is generally round and more square， which has sharp head， such as Yulan head， bamboo head and other shapes. The users of folded fans are normally gentle men.

Sandalwood fans are famous for its fan ribs and taking sandalwood as the raw materials， which are evolved from folded fans. The sandalwood fans have the fragrance of sandalwood， and its smell is strong， making people feel leisurely， and it is called “a fan in the hand， fragrance overflowing.” Its position is located in the four major Chinese fans， and its fabrication process is very complex.

Juangong fans are named because of its silk as the fan surface， painting wind and poetry and embroidery have the antique palace style， which are used by royal and minister women. Juangong fans take bamboo wood， animal horns and thread and silk， metal wire as the main material and they are carefully processed. The fans have many shapes， such as round， rectangular， oval， round banana， hexagonal， and other various shapes. The fan materials mainly take taffeta as the main part， painted with mountains， water， flowers， birds and other Chinese painting， and poetry of Tang Dynasty and Song poetry and celebrity’s calligraphy and painting， and its style is colorful and bright.

Paper fans have many fabrication materials， mostly paper and bamboo. The fan surface can draw pictures and in recent years， it can gradually develop into printing publicity advertisement， which has the practice of bringing wind and cool.

Generally speaking， men mostly use folded fans， which can show men’s elegance and grace. Women also use folded fans， and the women mostly use sandalwood fans to show elegant and quiet. Juanggong fan uses are mostly insightful women， and the paper fan users are generally ordinary people. The four kinds of fans have different features， and the usage groups are different and values are different. But no matter how the difference is， it belongs to one kind of Su fans， which is the cultural product， economic product and fabrication process development product of Jiangnan.

2 The Origin and Development of Su Fans

Su fans originate in the Xuande years of Ming Dynasty， and it is mainly the current Suzhou Lu fans. In Ming Dynasty， the appearance of Wu school painting makes the Chinese classical painting and poems draw on the fans. A lot of literary people have a craze on Su fans， and the literary people in the Ming and Qing Dynasty period will take the fans with poetry and famous paintings. Thus， it can increase its own cultural quality， reflecting its own cultural connotation， which is the identity symbol of the literary people. Second， it can increase its own creative inspiration. In this atmosphere， the fabrication of Su fans is gradually mature， and the processes are more complex and the fabrication is more sophisticated.

At the end of Ming Dynasty， as the sales demand of Su fans can not be met by small workshops， and a lot of sellers come to Taohuawu of Suzhou for large-scaled fabrication and trade， which gradually develops into Taohuawu area of Suzhou City. In the early period of Qing Dynasty， the characteristic Su fans have become a royal tribute of Qing Dynasty. Thus， the development of Su fans is gradually improving.

After careful management of rulers in Qing Dynasty， Suzhou has formed unique economic system in Kangxi and Qianlong’s economic prosperity period. The fabrication and demand of Su fans are many， making more and more Suzhou people study the fabrication process of Su fans and work on it. So the fabrication process of Su fan has been rapid development in this period. To the reign of Emperor Qianlong， there are sellers specialized in Su fan selling. At the end of Qing Dynasty， Suzhou City has gathered hundreds of people to work on Su fan industry， and the Su fan industry has formed a certain scale.

The operation mode of Su fan has changed in the period of Republic of China， and Su fan is no longer a monopoly business， which is only to supply for royal family and for ordinary people’s life.

The previous Su fans are mostly folded fans， and in the later period， the technology and the competition between sellers and various improved varieties gradually appear. There are Japanese female fans as the reference to make the silk fans with Chinese features. The fabrication varieties are gradually complex and the fabrication process is rich.

Because of the outbreak of Anti-Japanese War， China’s economy development has been affected， and the workshops and shops of making and selling Su fans have been closed greatly， so the Su fan economy has been greatly damaged in this period. With the victory of Anti-Japanese War and the national liberation， Su fan economy has gradually recovered. Until the reform and opening-up， the individual economy development has entered into a new development period. The Su fan of new era is no longer the specialty of royal use， and the users are no longer just rich people. Su fans have gradually entered into the life of ordinary people. Su fans are no longer the symbol of honor， thus， its development has obtained the great progress.

From the Ming Dynasty to 21st Century， the Su fan development has experienced hundreds of years’ history， and Su fan is no longer a special object， but also its cultural connotation and special economic feature are the topic of our research.

Acknowledgements

Name： Non-material cultural heritage Su fan’s investigation and research.

Number： 2013SJD760044

Category： Jiangsu Education Department 2013 University’s philosophy and social science fund guidance project

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