1.Stories and Art of Chinese Fans
You may think you cannot live through summer without air conditioners. But in ancient China , hand fans were almost (1) only ones to help people keep cool.
Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2, 000 (2) ago. The fans came in different shapes, such (3) round and square. They (4) of all kinds of materials. Palm leaf fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans(羽毛扇)showed the owner's high status (地位). Sandalwood fans (檀香扇) (5) send out a sweet smell.
Later, hand fans became far(6) useful than something that could cool you down. They developed into different kinds of fans, such as tuanshan (round fans) and zheshan (folded fans).
In the shape of a full moon, tuanshan was(7) made of silk. It had beautiful birds and flowers on it. Women, especially those in the imperial palace(皇官), liked to use it. Meanwhile, men, especially the literati(文人), used zheshan. The literati liked it(8) zheshan they could paint and write poems on it. It was a way for them(9) off their ability in literature, painting and handwriting. Almost (10) could be painted on zheshan.
Today, Chinese people still use these fans, but many people don't write or paint on them any more. Next time when you are waving a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.