Folding fans
A Chinese folding fan is a small painting you can carry in your hand.
Open, fan, put away
Open it
Hold the base and push the top guard across with your thumb. Snapping it open strains paper.
Fan from the wrist
Small strokes near the chest move plenty of air. They look calmer than big arm swings.
Close and store
Fold each pleat along its crease. Keep it in a sleeve or box, away from damp.
Scholars wrote a few lines on one, then gave it away.
Test it in your hand
Skip old fans with ivory or tortoiseshell ribs. Trade in both is banned or tightly restricted, even in pieces called antique.
Folding fans
Hand-picked pieces are on the way.
Good to know
Did China invent the folding fan?
Probably not. Most historians trace it to Japan, and it reached China by the Song dynasty. China's older fan is the round silk fan. Ming scholars made the folding fan an art.
What do Chinese fans symbolize?
Mainly learning and good taste. Scholars painted and wrote on them, then gave them to friends. People also say shan, fan, sounds like shan, kindness.
What is a tai chi fan?
A sturdier fan with a metal or bamboo frame and a cloth face. It is built to snap open with a sharp crack during a form.
