Misplaced Pages

#467532

98-463: The Fan Museum , which opened in 1991, is the world's first museum dedicated to the preservation and display of hand fans . It is located within two grade II* listed houses that were built in 1721 within the Greenwich World Heritage Site on Croom's Hill in southeast London , England. Along with the museum, there is an orangery decorated with murals, a Japanese-style garden with

196-666: A Japanese monk from Japan as a tribute during the Northern Song dynasty ; these folding fans became very fashionable in China by the Southern Song dynasty . The folding fans were referred to as "Japanese fans" by the Chinese. While the folding fans gained popularity, the traditional silk round fans continued to remain mainstream in the Song dynasty. The folding fan later became very fashionable in

294-399: A chimney mantle. They were mainly used to protect a woman's face against the glare and heat of the fire, to avoid getting "coup rose" , or ruddy cheeks from the heat. But probably not in the least it served to keep the heat from spoiling the carefully applied make-up which in those days was often wax-based. Until the 20th century houses were heated by open fires in chimneys or by stoves, and

392-512: A fan "leaf" were known as brisé fans. The brisé fan originated in China. However, despite the relative crude methods of construction, folding fans were at this era high status, exotic items on par with elaborate gloves as gifts to royalty. In the 17th century the rigid fan which was seen in portraits of the previous century had fallen out of favour as folding fans gained dominance in Europe. Fans started to display well painted leaves, often with

490-454: A fan-shaped parterre , a pond, and a stream. The museum owns over 6,000 fans and other fan-related cultural materials as of 2023. The oldest fan in the collection dates from the 11th century and the collection of 18th and 19th-century European fans is extensive. The entire collection is not displayed permanently due to conservation concerns, but there is a permanent educational display which teaches about fan history, manufacturing processes, and

588-555: A few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu , claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue ). Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six elite landholding families waged war on each other inside Jin, political enemies set about eliminating the Chen family in Qi, and the legitimacy of

686-471: A form of weapon, by actors and dancers for performances, and by children as a toy. Traditionally, the rigid fan (also called fixed fan) was the most popular form in China, although the folding fan came into popularity during the Ming dynasty between the years of 1368 and 1644, and there are many beautiful examples of these folding fans still remaining. The mai ogi (or Japanese dancing fan) has ten sticks and

784-532: A leaf, oval or a half-moon shape), and were made in different materials such as silk , bamboo , and feathers . So far, the earliest fans that have been found date to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period . It was suggested by the Cultural Relics Archaeology Institute of Hubei Province that these fans were made of either bamboo or feathers and were oftentimes used as burial objects in

882-506: A long handle and the fan looks like a door in shape. This type of fan was used for ceremonial purposes. While its shape evolved throughout the millennia, it remained used as a symbol of imperial power and authority; it continued to be used until the fall of the Qing dynasty . Silk round-shaped fans are called tuanshan ( 团扇 ), also known as "fans of reunion"; it is a type of "rigid fan". These types of fans were mostly used by women in

980-401: A neighbour of Wu and Jin's nemesis in the struggle for hegemony. King Shoumeng accepted the offer, and Wu would continue to harass Chu for years to come. After a period of increasingly exhausting warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin and Chu met at a disarmament conference in 579 and agreed to declare a truce to limit their military strength. This peace did not last very long and it soon became apparent that

1078-403: A paper ground. The paper was originally handmade and displayed the characteristic watermarks. Machine-made paper fans, introduced in the 19th century, are smoother, with an even texture. Even today, geisha and maiko use folding fans in their fan dances as well. Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. In addition to folding fans ( ōgi ),

SECTION 10

#1732858620468

1176-451: A religious or classical subject. The reverse side of these early fans also started to display elaborate flower designs. The sticks are often plain ivory or tortoiseshell, sometimes inlaid with gold or silver pique work. The way the sticks sit close to each other, often with little or no space between them is one of the distinguishing characteristics of fans of this era. In 1685 the Edict of Nantes

1274-455: A sartorial accessory when wearing hanfu . They were also carriers of Chinese traditional arts and literature and were representative of its user's personal aesthetic sense and their social status. Specific concepts of status and gender were associated with types of fans in Chinese history, but generally folding fans were reserved for males while rigid fans were for females. In ancient China, fans came in various shapes and forms (such as in

1372-618: A simple design, made by sewing a half-moon shaped Maclurochloa leaf onto a straight bamboo stick. Hand fans were absent from Europe during the High Middle Ages until they were reintroduced in the 13th and 14th centuries. Fans from the Middle East were brought by Crusaders , and refugees from the Byzantine Empire . In the 15th and early 16th century, Chinese folding fans were introduced in Europe and later played an important role in

1470-501: A succession struggle in 635, the king awarded Jin with strategically valuable territory near Chengzhou. Duke Wen then used his growing power to coordinate a military response with Qi, Qin, and Song against Chu, which had begun encroaching northward after the death of Duke Huán of Qi. With a decisive Chu loss at the Battle of Chengpu in 632, Duke Wen's loyalty to the Zhou king was rewarded at an interstate conference when King Xīang awarded him

1568-404: A thick paper mount showing the family crest, and Japanese painters made a large variety of designs and patterns. The slats, of ivory , bone , mica , mother of pearl , sandalwood , or tortoise shell , were carved and covered with paper or fabric . Folding fans have "montures" which are the sticks and guards, and the leaves were usually painted by craftsmen. Social significance was attached to

1666-451: A type of moon-shaped round fan in a traditional Chinese wedding called queshan . The ceremonial rite of queshan was an important ceremony in Chinese wedding: the bride would hold it in front of her face to hide her shyness, to remain mysterious, and as a way to exorcise evil spirits. After all the other wedding ceremonies were completed and after the groom had impressed the bride, the bride would then proceed in revealing her face to

1764-412: A way to cope with the restricting social etiquette. However, modern research has proved that this was a marketing ploy developed in the 19th century – one that has kept its appeal remarkably over the succeeding centuries. This is now used for marketing by fan makers like Cussons & Sons & Co. Ltd who produced a series of advertisements in 1954 showing "the language of the fan" with fans supplied by

1862-838: Is an integral part of Vietnamese culture . According to the Vân Đài Loại Ngữ, a book written by Lê Quý Ðôn, in the old times Vietnamese people used hand fans made from bird feather and quạt bồ quỳ , a type of fan made from leaves of the taraw palm tree. The folding fans only started appearing in Vietnam in the 10th century, known as quạt tập diệp in Vietnamese. Christian missionary Christoforo Borri recorded that in 1621, both Vietnamese men and women frequently held hand fans as part of their daily garment. Many villages in Vietnam have long-dating traditions of making exquisite hand fans such as Canh Hoạch village and Đào Xá village, with fan-making dating back to

1960-475: Is etymologically composed of the characters for "door" ( 戶 ) and "feather" ( 羽 ). Historically, fans have played an important aspect in the life of the Chinese people . The Chinese have used hand-held fans as a way to relieve themselves during hot days since the ancient times; the fans are also an embodiment of the wisdom of Chinese culture and art. They were also used for ceremonial and ritual purposes and as

2058-595: Is not possible to know if what is meant is the Etiquette and Ceremonial (known then as the Book of Rites ) or just the concept of ritual in general. On the other hand, the existence of the Book of Changes is well-attested in the Zuozhuan , as multiple characters use it for divination and accurately quote the received text. Sima Qian claims that it was Confucius who, towards the close of

SECTION 20

#1732858620468

2156-865: Is often exquisitely painted with scenes ranging from flowers and birds of paradise to religious scenes. At the end of the 19th century they disappeared when the need for them ceased to exist. During the 19th century names like the Birmingham-based firm of Jennens and Bettridge produced many papier-mâché fans. Modern day hand fans are less popular than in the past, but are still used by many. A large group that continues to use folding hand fans for cultural and fashion use are drag queens . Stemming from ideas of imitating and appropriating cultural ideas of excess, wealth, status and elegance, large folding hand fans, sometimes 12 inches (30 cm) or more in radius, are used to punctuate speech, as part of performances, or as accessories to an outfit. Fans may have phrases taken from

2254-514: Is said is told from the perspective of other states, such as Duke Ai of Lu trying to enlist Yue's help in a coup against the Three Huan. Sima Qian notes that Goujian reigned on until his death, and that afterwards his descendants—for whom no biographical information is given—continued to rule for six generations before the state was finally absorbed into Chu during the Warring States period . After

2352-529: The brisé fan, and fans made of palm leaf, feather, and paper. The most popular type during this period appeared to have been the palm leaf fan. The custom of using fans among the American middle class and by ladies was attributed to this Chinese influence. In ancient Japan, hand fans, such as oval and silk fans, were greatly influenced by Chinese fans. The earliest visual depiction of fans in Japan dates back to

2450-543: The Zuozhuan and Analects frequently quote the Book of Poetry and Book of Documents . On the other hand, the Zuozhuan depicts some characters actually composing poems that would later be included in the received text of the Book of Poetry . In the Analects there are frequent references to "The Rites", but as Classical Chinese does not employ punctuation or any markup to distinguish book titles from regular nouns it

2548-521: The Five Hegemons . He was succeeded by his son King Fuchai of Wu , who nearly destroyed the Yue state, imprisoning King Goujian of Yue . Subsequently, Fuchai defeated Qi and extended Wu influence into central China. In 499, the philosopher Confucius was made acting prime minister of Lu. He is traditionally (if improbably) considered the author or editor of the Spring and Autumn annals , from which much of

2646-485: The Guanzhong region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal demesne centered on Luoyi. During the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these fiefdoms became increasingly independent states . The most important states (known later as

2744-516: The Ming dynasty ; however, folding fans were met with resistance because they were believed to be intended for the lower-class people and servants. The Chinese also innovated the design of the folding fan by creating the brisé fan ('broken fan'). From the late 18th century until 1845, trade between America and China flourished. During this period, Chinese fans reached the peak of their popularity in America; popular fans among American women were

2842-546: The State of Chu . The oldest existing Chinese fans are a pair of woven bamboo, wood or paper side-mounted fans from the 2nd century BC. The Chinese form of the feather fan, known as yushan , was a row of feathers mounted in the end of a handle. The arts of fan making eventually progressed to the point that by the Jin dynasty , fans could come in different shapes and could be made in different materials. The selling of hexagonal-shaped fan

2940-528: The Tang dynasty and were later introduced into Japan . These round fans remained mainstream even after the growing popularity of the folding fans. Round fans with Chinese paintings and with calligraphy became very popular in the Song dynasty . During the Song dynasty, famous artists were often commissioned to paint fans. Lacquer fans were also one of the unique handcraft of the Song dynasty. Chinese brides also used

3038-482: The bà role had become outdated; the four major states had each acquired their own spheres of control and the notion of protecting Zhou territory had become less cogent as the control over (and the resulting cultural assimilation of) non-Zhou peoples, as well as Chu's control of some Zhou areas, further blurred an already vague distinction between Zhou and non-Zhou. In addition, new aristocratic houses were founded with loyalties to powerful states, rather than directly to

Fan Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-403: The evaporation rate of sweat, lowering body temperature due to the latent heat of the evaporation of water. It also increases heat convection by displacing the warmer air produced by body heat that surrounds the skin, which has an additional cooling effect, provided that the ambient air temperature is lower than the skin temperature, which is typically about 33 °C (91 °F). Next to

3234-423: The 15th century found in museums today have either leather leaves with cut out designs forming a lace-like design or a more rigid leaf with inlays of more exotic materials like mica. One of the characteristics of these fans is the rather crude bone or ivory sticks and the way the leather leaves are often slotted onto the sticks rather than glued as with later folding fans. Fans made entirely of decorated sticks without

3332-547: The 6th century AD, with burial tomb paintings showed drawings of fans. The folding fan was invented in Japan, with dates ranging from the 6th to 9th centuries; it was a court fan called the akomeogi ( 衵扇 ) , after the court women's dress named akome . According to the Song Sui (History of Song), a Japanese monk Chōnen ( ja:ちょう然 /奝然 , 938－1016) offered the folding fans (twenty wooden-bladed fans ( 桧扇 , hiōgi ) and two paper fans ( 蝙蝠扇 , kawahori-ogi ) to

3430-547: The Chu forces advanced to just outside the royal capital of Chengzhou, upon which King Zhuang sent a messenger to inquire into the heft and bulk of the Nine Cauldrons – the symbols of royal ritual authority – implying he might soon arrange to have them moved to his own capital. In the end the Zhou capital was spared, and Chu shifted focus to harassing the nearby state of Zheng. The once-hegemon state of Jin intervened to rescue Zheng from

3528-496: The Chu invaders but were resolutely defeated, which marks the ascension of Chu as the dominant state of the time. Despite his de facto hegemony, King Zhuang's self-proclaimed title of "king" was never recognized by the Zhou states. In the Spring and Autumn Annals he is defiantly referred to as Zi ( 子 , ruler; unratified lord), even at a time when he dominated most of south China. Later historians however always include him as one of

3626-558: The East India Companies at this time. Around the middle 18th century, inventors started designing mechanical fans. Wind-up fans (similar to wind-up clocks) were popular in the 18th century. In the 19th century in the West , European fashion caused fan decoration and size to vary. It has been said that in the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere, fans were used in a more or less secret, unspoken code of messages. These fan languages were

3724-532: The Five Hegemons. In addition to interstate conflict, internal conflicts between state leaders and local aristocrats also occurred. Eventually the dukes of Lu, Jin, Zheng, Wey and Qi would all become figureheads to powerful aristocratic families. In the case of Jin, the shift happened in 588 when the army was split into six independent divisions, each dominated by a separate noble family: Zhi (智), Zhao (趙), Han (韓), Wei (魏), Fan (范), and Zhonghang (中行). The heads of

3822-534: The King of Zhou, not all sources list him as one of the Five Hegemons. When Duke Wen of Jin came to power in 636 after extensive peregrinations in exile, he capitalized on the reforms of his father, Duke Xian (r. 676–651), who had centralized the state, killed off relatives who might threaten his authority, conquered sixteen smaller states, and even absorbed some Rong and Di peoples to make Jin much more powerful than it had been previously. When he assisted King Xiang in

3920-507: The Spring and Autumn period, edited the received versions of the Book of Poetry , Book of Documents , and Book of Rites ; wrote the "Ten Wings" commentary on the Book of Changes ; and wrote the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Annals . This was long the predominant opinion in China, but modern scholarship considers it unlikely that all five classics could be the product of one man. The transmitted versions of these works all derive from

4018-545: The Western Zhou had concerned itself with politics, the ancestral temples, and legitimacy, in the Eastern Zhou politics came to the fore. Titles which had previously reflected lineage seniority took on purely political meanings. At the top of the bunch were Gong ( 公 ) and Hou ( 侯 ), favoured lineages of old with generally larger territories and greater resources and prestige at their disposal. The majority of rulers were of

Fan Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-546: The Wu capital. Fuchai rushed back but was besieged and died when the city fell in 473. Yue then concentrated on weaker neighbouring states, rather than the great powers to the north. With help from Wu's enemy Chu, Yue was able to be victorious after several decades of conflict. King Goujian destroyed and annexed Wu in 473, after which he was recognized as hegemon. The Zuozhuan , Guoyu , and Shiji provide almost no information about Goujian's subsequent reign or policies. What little

4214-675: The Zhou capital was sacked by the Marquess of Shen and the Quanrong barbarians , the Zhou moved the capital east from the now desolated Zongzhou in Haojing near modern Xi'an to Wangcheng in the Yellow River Valley. The Zhou royalty was then closer to its main supporters, particularly Jin, and Zheng ; the Zhou royal family had much weaker authority and relied on lords from these vassal states for protection, especially during their flight to

4312-422: The Zhou kings, though this process slowed down by the end of the seventh century, possibly because territory available for expansion had been largely exhausted. The Zhou kings had also lost much of their prestige so that, when Duke Dao of Jin (r. 572–558) was recognized as bà , it carried much less meaning than it had before. In 506, King Helü ascended the throne of Wu. With the help of Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu ,

4410-399: The advice of his staff, he attacked the much larger state of Chu. The Song forces were defeated at the battle of Hong ( 泓 ) in 638, and the duke himself died in the following year from an injury sustained in the battle. After Xiang's death his successors adopted a more modest foreign policy, better suited to the country's small size. As Duke Xiang was never officially recognized as hegemon by

4508-543: The author of The Art of War , he launched major offensives against the state of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the Battle of Boju , and conquered the capital Ying. However, Chu managed to ask the state of Qin for help, and after being defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. King Helü died during an invasion of Yue in 496. Some sources list him as one of

4606-419: The disparity in available resources. Alongside this development, there was precedent of Zhou kings "upgrading" noble ranks as a reward for service to the throne, giving the recipients a bit more diplomatic prestige without costing the royal house any land. During the decline of the royal house, although real power was wrested from their grasp, their divine legitimacy was not brought into question, and even with

4704-514: The duke and two senior ministers each in charge of five; military functions were also united with civil ones. These and related reforms provided the state, already powerful from control of trade crossroads, with a greater ability to mobilize resources than the more loosely organized states. By 667, Qi had clearly shown its economic and military predominance, and Duke Huan assembled the leaders of Lu , Song , Chen , and Zheng , who elected him as their leader. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou conferred

4802-430: The early 19th century. Simple handheld fans, such as quạt mo and the quạt nan are commonly found in the Vietnamese countrysides and popularly used among farmers and working people. The Quạt mo has the simplest design, cut directly from the dried Areca leaf stems, then pressed to flatten. It appears in "Thằng Bờm", a well-known Vietnamese ca dao (a type of Vietnamese folk song). The quạt nan also has

4900-451: The eastern capital. In Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King Ping . However, with the Zhou domain greatly reduced to Chengzhou and nearby areas, the court could no longer support the six army groups it had in the past; Zhou kings had to request help from powerful vassal states for protection from raids and for resolution of internal power struggles. The Zhou court would never regain its original authority; instead, it

4998-421: The elite culture, aiming at upward social mobility, typically through the vector of officialdom. One individual well attested in the process of fixing the ranks of rulers into a coherent scheme was Zichan of Zheng , who both submitted a memorial to the king of Chu informing him of the proposed new system in 538 BCE, and argued at a 529 BCE interstate conference that tributes should be graded based on rank, given

SECTION 50

#1732858620468

5096-510: The emperor of China in 988. Later in the 11th century, Korean envoys brought along Korean folding fans which were of Japanese origin as gifts to Chinese court. The popularity of folding fans was such that sumptuary laws were passed during Heian period which restricted the decoration of both hiōgi and paper folding fans. The earliest fans in Japan were made by tying thin stripes of hinoki (or Japanese cypress) together with thread. The number of strips of wood differed according to

5194-473: The encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital. In 715, Zheng also became involved in a border dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the exclusive purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai . For Zheng to regard

5292-507: The era, this partitioning left seven major states in the Zhou world: the three fragments of Jin, the three remaining great powers of Qin, Chu and Qi, and the weaker state of Yan ( 燕 ) near modern Beijing. The partition of Jin, along with the Usurpation of Qi by Tian , marks the beginning of the Warring States period . Ancient sources such as the Zuo Zhuan and the eponymous Chunqiu record

5390-527: The fan and extended its use to the nobility. European fan-makers have introduced more modern designs and have enabled the hand fan to work with modern fashion. In the 17th century the folding fan, and its attendant semiotic culture, were introduced from China and Japan . By the end of the 17th century, there were enormous imports of China folding in Europe due to its popularity and to a lesser extent, Japanese folding fans were also reaching Europe by that period. These fans are particularly well displayed in

5488-501: The fan in the Far East as well, and the management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. Fans were even used as a weapon – called the iron fan , or tessen in Japanese. See also, the gunbai , a military leader's fan (in old Japan); used in the modern day as an umpire's fan in sumo wrestling, it is a type of Japanese war fan, like the tessen . Every Dano (May 5 of

5586-527: The fief of the grandfather of the disinherited crown prince Yijiu —destroyed the Western Zhou capital at Haojing , killing King You and establishing Yijiu as king at the eastern capital Luoyi . The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. During the Spring and Autumn period, China's feudal fengjian system became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in

5684-414: The fields as just any other piece of land was an insult to the court. By 707, relations had soured enough that the king launched a punitive expedition against Zheng. The duke counterattacked and raided Zhou territory, defeating the royal forces in the Battle of Xuge and injuring the king himself. Zheng was the first vassal to openly defy the king, kicking off the centuries of warfare without respect for

5782-499: The first eleven years of his hegemony, Duke Huan intervened in a power struggle in Lu; protected Yan from encroaching Western Rong nomads; drove off Northern Di nomads after their invasions of Wey and Xing , providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu . At his death in 643, five of Duke Huan's sons contended for

5880-545: The first half of the dynasty left in its wake hundreds of autonomous polities varying drastically in size and resources, nominally connected by bonds of cultural and ritual affiliation increasingly attenuated by the passage of time. Whole lineage groups moved around under socioeconomic stress, border groups not associated with the Zhou culture gained in power and sophistication, and the geopolitical situation demanded increased contact and communication. Under this new regime, an emergent systematization of noble ranks took root. Where

5978-558: The folding fan, the rigid hand screen fan was also a highly decorative and desired object among the higher social classes . They serve a different purpose to the lighter, easier to carry hand fans. Hand screen fans were mostly used to shield a lady's face against the glare of the sun or fire. Hand fans originated about 4000 years ago in Egypt. Egyptians viewed them as sacred objects, and the tomb of Tutankhamun contained two elaborate hand fans. Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that

SECTION 60

#1732858620468

6076-449: The great age of Jin power, the Jin rulers began to lose authority over their ministerial lineages. A full-scale civil war between 497 and 453 ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families divided Jin into three successor states: Han , Wei , and Zhao . This is the last event recorded in the Zuozhuan . With the absorption of most of the smaller states in

6174-464: The groom by removing the queshan from her face. Another popular type of Chinese fan was the palm leaf fan pukuishan ( Chinese : 蒲葵扇 ), also known as pushan ( Chinese : 蒲扇 ), which was made of the leaves and stalks of pukui ( Livistona chinensis ). The folding fan ( Chinese : 折扇 ), invented in Japan, was later introduced to the Chinese in the 10th century. In 988 AD, folding fans were first introduced in China by

6272-587: The hand fan was used in ancient Greece at least from the 4th century BC and was known as a rhipis ( Ancient Greek : ῥιπίς ). Christian Europe's earliest known fan was the flabellum (ceremonial fan), which dates from the 6th century. It was used during services to drive insects away from the consecrated bread and wine. Its use died out in western Europe, but continues in the Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian Churches . There were many kinds of fans in ancient China. The Chinese character for "fan" ( 扇 )

6370-725: The hegemon was obligated to protect both the weaker Zhou states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding non-Zhou peoples: the Northern Di , the Southern Man , the Eastern Yi , and the Western Rong . This political framework retained the fēngjiàn power structure, though interstate and intrastate conflict often led to declining regard for clan customs , respect for the Ji family, and solidarity with other Zhou peoples. The king's prestige legitimized

6468-530: The information for this period is drawn. After only two years he was forced to resign and spent many years wandering between different states before returning to Lu. After returning to Lu he did not resume a political career, preferring to teach. Tradition holds that it was in this time he edited or wrote the Five Classics , including the Spring and Autumn Annals . In 482, King Fuchai of Wu held an interstate conference to solidify his power base, but Yue captured

6566-558: The insult. Drag dance numbers also utilise larger hand fans as a way to add flair and as a prop, used to emphasise movements in the dance. Popular drag comedy webshow UNHhhh has used folding fans as a point of humour, with the sound made by a folding fan unfolding coined onomatopoeically as a "thworp" by the editors. Hand fans have three general categories: [REDACTED] Media related to Hand fans at Wikimedia Commons Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BCE )

6664-488: The king's court in Luoyi . The gradual Partition of Jin , one of the most powerful states, is generally considered to mark the end of the Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States period . This periodization dates back to late Western Han ( c.  48 BCE  – c.  9 CE ). In 771 BCE, a Quanrong invasion in coalition with the states of Zeng and Shen —the latter polity being

6762-417: The lack of insulation made many a house very draughty and cold during winter. Therefore, any social or family gathering would be in close proximity to the fireplace. The design of the screen fan is a fixed handle, most often made out of exquisitely turned (painted or guided) wood, fixed to a flat screen. The screen could be made out of silk stretched on a frame or thin wood, leather or papier mache. The surface

6860-434: The last third of the Spring and Autumn period. Their first documented interaction with the Spring and Autumn states was in 584, when a Wu force attacked the small border state of Tan ( 郯 ) causing some alarm in the various Chinese courts. Jin was quick to dispatch an ambassador to the court of the Wu king, Shoumeng . Jin promised to supply Wu with modern military technology and training in exchange for an alliance against Chu,

6958-421: The lexicon of drag and LGBTQ+ culture written on them, and may be decorated in other ways, such as the addition of sequins or tassels. Folding fans are often used to emphasize a point in a person's speech, rather than for express use of fanning oneself. A person might harshly snap open the fan when engaging in "throwing shade" on (comically insulting) another person, creating a loud snapping noise that punctuates

7056-503: The lunar calendar) when the heat began, there was a custom in which the king distributed hand fans to his vassals. The vassal, who received a hand fan from the king, did an ink-and-wash painting and handed out white fans to his elders and the indebted people, which has made the practice of exchanging hand fans widely popular. These cultural factors also contributed to the creation of various types of hand fan in Korea. The hand fan ( Quạt tay )

7154-446: The middling but tiered grades Bo ( 伯 ) and Zi ( 子 ). The rulers of two polities maintained the title Nan ( 男 ). A 2012 survey found no difference in grade between Gong and Hou , or between Zi and Nan . Meanwhile, a new class of lower-tier aristocrats formed: the Shi ( 士 ), gentlemen too distantly related to the great houses to be born into a life of wielding power, but still part of

7252-497: The military leaders of the states, and helped mobilize collective defense of Zhou territory against " barbarians ". Over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states— Qin , Jin , Qi and Chu —struggled for power. These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene and gain suzerainty over the smaller states. During this rapid expansion, interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy. Duke Yin of Lu ascended

7350-515: The non-bending fans ( uchiwa ) are popular and commonplace. The fan is primarily used for fanning oneself in hot weather. The uchiwa fan subsequently spread to other parts of Asia, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and such fans are still used by Buddhist monks as "ceremonial fans". Fans were also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle. However, fans were mainly used for social and court activities. In Japan, fans were variously used by warriors as

7448-513: The old traditions which would characterize the period. The display of Zheng's martial strength was effective until succession problems after Zhuang's death in 701 weakened the state. In 692, there was a failed assassination attempt against King Zhuang , orchestrated by elements at court. The first hegemon was Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643). With the help of his prime minister, Guan Zhong , Duke Huan reformed Qi to centralize its power structure. The state consisted of 15 " townships " ( 縣 ) with

7546-422: The periphery, had power and opportunity to expand outward. A total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period, 128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period. Shortly after the royal court's move to Chengzhou, a hierarchical alliance system arose where the Zhou king would give the title of hegemon ( 霸 ) to the leader of the state with the most powerful military;

7644-558: The person's rank. Later in the 16th century, Portuguese traders introduced it to the west and soon both men and women throughout the continent adopted it. They are used today by Shinto priests in formal costume and in the formal costume of the Japanese court (they can be seen used by the Emperor and Empress during enthronement and marriage) and are brightly painted with long tassels. Simple Japanese paper fans are sometimes known as harisen . Printed fan leaves and painted fans are done on

7742-415: The portraits of the high-born women of the era. Queen Elizabeth I of England can be seen to carry both folding fans decorated with pom poms on their guardsticks as well as the older style rigid fan, usually decorated with feathers and jewels. These rigid style fans often hung from the skirts of ladies, but of the fans of this era it is only the more exotic folding ones which have survived. Those folding fans of

7840-558: The rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these powerful rulers had firmly established themselves within their respective dominions, the bloodshed focused more fully on interstate conflict in the Warring States period, which began in 403 BCE when the three remaining elite families in Jin—Zhao, Wei, and Han—partitioned the state. After

7938-451: The six families were conferred the titles of viscounts and made ministers, each heading one of the six departments of Zhou dynasty government. From this point on, historians refer to "The Six Ministers" as the true power brokers of Jin. The same happened to Lu in 562, when the Three Huan divided the army into three parts and established their own separate spheres of influence. The heads of

8036-491: The social circles of Europe in the 18th century. The Portuguese traders first opened up the sea route to China in the 15th century and reached Japan in the mid-16th century, and appear to be the first people who introduced Oriental (Chinese and Japanese) fans in Europe which lead to their popularity, as well as the increased oriental fan imports in Europe. The fan became especially popular in Spain, where flamenco dancers used

8134-456: The state was considered semi-barbarian and its rulers—beginning with King Wu in 704 BCE—proclaimed themselves kings in their own right. Chu intrusion into Zhou territory was checked several times by the other states, particularly in the major battles of Chengpu (632 BCE), Bi (595 BCE) and Yanling (575 BCE), which restored the states of Chen and Cai . Some version of the Five Classics existed in Spring and Autumn period, as characters in

8232-449: The three families were always among the department heads of Lu. Wu was a state in modern Jiangsu outside the Zhou cultural sphere, considered "barbarian", where the inhabitants sported short hair and tattoos and spoke an unintelligible language. Although its ruling house claimed to be a senior lineage in the Ji ancestral temple, Wu did not participate in the politics and wars of China until

8330-533: The throne , badly weakening the state so that it was no longer regarded as the hegemon. For nearly ten years, no ruler held the title. Duke Xiang of Song attempted to claim the hegemony in the wake of Qi's decline, perhaps driven by a desire to restore the Shang dynasty from which Song had descended. He hosted peace conferences in the same style as Qi had done, and conducted aggressive military campaigns against his rivals. Duke Xiang's ambitions met their end when, against

8428-424: The throne in 722. From this year on, the state of Lu kept an official chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals , which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in other states as well, but all but the Lu chronicle have been lost . In 717, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan . During

8526-492: The title of bà (hegemon), giving Duke Huan royal authority in military ventures. An important basis for justifying Qi's dominance over the other states was presented in the slogan 'Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians' ( 尊王攘夷 ; zun wang rang yi ). The role of subsequent hegemons would also be framed in this way: as the primary defender and supporter of nominal Zhou authority and the existing order. Using this authority, during

8624-484: The title of bà . After the death of Duke Wen in 628, a growing tension manifested in interstate violence that turned smaller states, particularly those at the border between Jin and Chu, into sites of constant warfare; Qi and Qin also engaged in numerous interstate skirmishes with Jin or its allies to boost their own power. Duke Mu of Qin ascended the throne in 659 and forged an alliance with Jin by marrying his daughter to Duke Wen. In 624, he established hegemony over

8722-430: The twelve vassals) came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or against offending nobles. During these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon . As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones. By the 6th century BCE, most small states had disappeared and just

8820-452: The various diplomatic activities, such as court visits paid by one ruler to another ( 朝 ; cháo ), meetings of officials or nobles of different states ( 會 ; 会 ; huì ), missions of friendly inquiries sent by the ruler of one state to another ( 聘 ; pìn ), emissaries sent from one state to another ( 使 ; shǐ ), and hunting parties attended by representatives of different states ( 狩 ; shou ). Because of Chu's non-Zhou origin,

8918-452: The various forms of fan. Exhibits include a fan with a built-in ear trumpet and one with a repair kit built into the design. Fan-making classes are also held at the Fan Museum. The Fan Museum also contains a reference library. The Fan Museum is not publicly funded. Hand fan Fans work by utilizing the concepts of Thermodynamics . On human skin, the airflow from hand fans increase

9016-408: The versions edited by Liu Xin in the century following Sima Qian. While many philosophers such as Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu were active in the Spring and Autumn period, their ideas were probably not put into writing until the following Warring States period. While the aristocracy of the Western Zhou frequently interacted via the medium of the royal court, the collapse of central power at the end of

9114-447: The well known French fan maker Duvelleroy . The rigid or screen fan ( éventail a écran ) became also fashionable during the 18th and 19th century. They never reached the same level of popularity as the easy to carry around, folding fans which became almost an integrated part of women's dress. The screen fan was mainly used inside the interior of the house. In 18th and 19th century paintings of interiors one sometimes sees one laying on

9212-515: The western Rong barbarians and became the most powerful lord of the time. However he did not chair any alliance with other states nor was he officially recognized as hegemon by the king. Therefore, not all sources accept him as one of the Five Hegemons. King Zhuang of Chu expanded the borders of Chu well north of the Yangtze River, threatening the Central States in modern Henan . At one point

9310-643: Was a period in Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou ( c.  771  – 256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject to the Zhou exercised increasing political autonomy. The period's name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals , a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 481 BCE, which tradition associates with Confucius (551–479 BCE). During this period, local polities negotiated their own alliances, waged wars against one another, up to defying

9408-399: Was also recorded in the Book of Jin . In later centuries, Chinese poems and four-word idioms were used to decorate fans, using Chinese calligraphy pens. The Chinese dancing fan was developed in the 7th century. The most ancient ritual Chinese fan is the wumingshan , also known as zhangshan , which is believed to have been invented by Emperor Shun . It is characterized with

9506-532: Was relegated to being merely a figurehead of the regional states and ritual leader of the Ji clan ancestral temple. Though the king retained the Mandate of Heaven , the title held little actual power. With the decline of Zhou power, the Yellow River drainage basin was divided into hundreds of small, autonomous states, most of them consisting of a single city, though a handful of multi-city states, particularly those on

9604-599: Was revoked in France . This caused large scale immigration from France to the surrounding Protestant countries (such as England) of many fan craftsmen. This dispersion in skill is reflected in the growing quality of many fans from these non-French countries after this date. In the 18th century, fans reached a high degree of artistry and were being made throughout Europe often by specialized craftsmen, either in leaves or sticks. Folded fans of silk , or parchment were decorated and painted by artists. Fans were also imported from China by

#467532