About Our Chinese Fans

How the are Made

The History of the Art

We know that leaves and bird feathers were used as early fans but China gets credit for being the first place where fans were manufactured.  King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (11^th century B.C.) is credited as the inventor of the Chinese fan.  We believe that the idea for the hand-held Chinese fan came from the umbrellas that were fixed to the top of carriages of the Shang dynasty period (1600 - 1100 B.C.).  The oldest Chinese hand-held fan, which was found in the Hubei province in 1982 dates back about 2,300 year ago to the Warring States period.

Early fans were made of bamboo "spokes" arranged in a half circle with silk wrapped around them.  These fans did not fold up, as we know them today.  Fans were primarily reserved for the member of the royal court and it was not until the Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) that fans became widely available among the general population.  Fans became so wildly popular that in the Jin dynasty (317 - 420 A.D.) the emperor forbade them to be made out of silk since so many fans were being made that silk production could not keep up!  Chinese fans were made in many different forms.  For example, a fan's base could be square or round, or shaped like a familiar object, for example a duck's beak or fish tail.

Product Details

Care and Handling

More Information in our Reference Section:

> Main About our Products Page <

We offer the Internet's largest selection of Asian Arts, Crafts, and Collectibles with over 8,000 different items in stock in our Maryland warehouse. Our products are handcrafted and imported from Japan, China, Korea, Bali Indonesia, Vietnam, Nepal, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, and Thailand. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your visit.