Chapter 7 Section 6 Small things in life (Part 1) - fan, staff, comb

Our country is rich in products, and some unique resources are often used as small necessities in our lives.Things like fans, walking sticks, and combs (bi Bi) belong to this category. Fans are now our must-haves in summer, but the earliest "fans" in ancient my country were not used to "shake the wind" to relieve heat, but were used to cover dust and sun, which belonged to a kind of ceremonial guard.The common "barrier fan" and "pheasant fan" in ancient Chinese literature refer to this kind of thing.It is made of feathers, with a long fan handle underneath, which is held high by the "deacon" on the heads of noble officials when the nobles travel.

Fans that fan the wind appeared during the Warring States Period.A bamboo fan woven with thin strips of bamboo was unearthed from a tomb of Chu in the Warring States Period in Jiangling, Hubei (Fig. 15), which looks like a kitchen knife we ​​use today.The fan is trapezoidal in shape, and is woven into a diagonal rectangular pattern, and small cross patterns are continuously woven into the rectangular pattern, which is very delicate.The handle of this fan is tied to the fan surface, and when in use, the handle is turned to drive the fan surface to rotate to produce cool wind.This is the earliest fan we see in our country now.Ancient Chinese calligraphy said that the fan used to fan the wind was called "箑〔shaxia〕", which may be a kind of "箑".

Since the Han Dynasty, the fans in ancient my country are mostly round fans and lupine fans, which cannot be folded. "Tuan" means round, and a round fan is a round fan with a handle underneath, which is used to fan the wind.Tuanfan is mostly made of silk, with exquisite paintings on it, so it is also called silk fan and Wan (fine silk) fan.The feather fan is made of bird feathers. According to historical documents, Zhuge Liang's "Lushan Lun Scarf" in the Three Kingdoms period is this kind of fan.Legend has it that lupines are generally made of white goose feathers.This kind of fan has a soft wind, and it can be used to dispel heat after illness or during the puerperium.

The paper fan appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but it is not the current folding fan style but the shape of the round fan, which is a popular product of the round fan.Folding fans only appeared after Song and Ming Dynasties.Some people say that the folding fan was not created by my country but imported from Japan or Korea, which is not necessarily reliable. In 1965, a paper-cut folding fan was unearthed in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province. At the same time, a grain collection account book was unearthed, with the words "Zhengde Ten Years" (AD 1515) on the cover.The fan bone color is mature, and the fan surface is decorated with "Plumpie and Magpie Announcing the Spring" paper-cut, which has the characteristics of traditional Chinese folk culture and is a valuable material for studying the development of ancient folding fans in my country.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, fans in ancient my country developed rapidly, with many varieties and more exquisite processing art.According to literature records and archaeological excavation statistics, during this period, fans in my country at least included folding fans, silk fans, feather fans, bamboo fans, brown fans, cattail fans, sunflower fans, and wheat straw fans. , bone, tooth, wood, palm, bamboo, cattail, sunflower, wheat straw, feather, etc.During this period, many areas specialized in the production of a certain type of fans were formed in various parts of our country, such as folding fans, the most famous of which are Hangzhou, Suzhou and Yuezhou (now Yueyang, Hunan); Mainly; bamboo fans, Sichuan "Shu fan" is the most famous; wheat straw fans, the highest level in Zhejiang Pujiang.These regions have created products with strong local characteristics and individuality based on their respective traditions, and at the same time have driven the development of fan-making crafts across the country.

Hangzhou Folding Fan Hangzhou is the main fan-making area in my country, and has been known as "Hangzhou elegant fan" since ancient times.In the Southern Song Dynasty, because many famous fan makers and fan painters moved to Lin'an with the royal family at that time (Hangzhou was called Lin'an at that time), the fan production in Lin'an was very popular. land.In the Southern Song Dynasty, the production of fans in Hangzhou was mainly folding fans, fine-flowered silk fans, fine-colored paper fans, shadow-flower fans, and dust-leaking fans.After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the variety of Hangzhou fans increased, and together with silk and tea, they were called the "Three Wonders of Hangzhou".The "Wang Xingji" fan shop, founded in the late Qing Dynasty, is still a "time-honored" factory that produces Hangzhou fans.

Hangzhou fans are most famous for their black paper fans. The fan bones are exquisite and unique. They are made of carefully selected winter bamboo or other precious materials. The fan surface is made of pure mulberry paper from Qianshan County. Zhuji alpine persimmon lacquer can't help being exposed to the sun, and the blisters will not crack or deform for 24 hours. It is known as "a fan and half an umbrella". Suzhou folding fans have already had a reputation in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, they were more famous in the production of fan bones, faces, pendants, fragrances, etc. Suzhou folding fans are mainly made of bamboo handles. Made of moso bamboo in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, it is crystal bright and moist like jade; the fan surface is made of high-grade tissue paper coated with alum, and decorated with gold sprinkles, which is very elegant.Su fans are also good at using red sandalwood, ivory, boxwood, and ebony to make exquisite folding fans, and silk and paper ball fans are also extremely exquisite.

Sichuan Zigong Bamboo Fan Sichuan has always been famous for making "Mieba fans". It was produced in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Ming Dynasty.The best Sichuan fan is "Gong Fan", which was created by Gong Juewu, a famous Zigong artist in the late Qing Dynasty. "Gong Fan" selects annual high-quality blue Yinshan yellow bamboo, peels off the green skin, splits it into hair-like bamboo threads, and then spreads the warp threads on the artwork and wears the weft threads.For a fan with a radius of 20 centimeters, more than 700 warp threads must be arranged, and the weft threads must be threaded a thousand times.The finished product is as thin as silk, with beautiful patterns and exquisite delicacy.

Sunflower fans in Xinhui, Guangdong Province The production of sunflower fans in Xinhui began in the Jin Dynasty, and the famous product is the "glass fan" created in the late Qing Dynasty. "Glass fan" uses young sunflower leaves as raw materials, and after fine processing, it is pyrographed on the crystal-like glass fan surface, with a unique style.Xinhui also produces a kind of sunflower fan decorated with "bamboo sheath [tuotuo] (bamboo shoot skin) painting". When making it, the bamboo shoot skin is soaked first, then the flesh is removed to leave tendons, scraped into thin slices and dyed black, and then the pattern is carved with force. , pasted on the white sunflower fan, extremely elegant.

Zhejiang Huzhou Feather Fan began in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods and has a history of more than 2,000 years.Huzhou lupine fan is made of selected bird and goose feathers. It is well-known overseas for its beautiful shape, natural pattern and soft wind. Hubei Honghu Feather Fan has a history of hundreds of years.Honghu lupine is made of local wild bird feathers, arranged symmetrically according to the original order of feathers, color and texture, and made of bamboo, beef bone, etc., with bright color and shape like a full moon.Folk customs in the Honghu area use this fan to symbolize the innocence of girls and the "full moon and white heads" of husband and wife.

Wheat straw fans in Qingpu, Zhejiang (now a county under the jurisdiction of Shanghai) use wheat straw as raw material and are carefully knotted. "Flower tie fan" tie one end of wheat straw tightly into the center of a circle, then tie it into a mesh pattern or other fancy patterns, and add a layer of cloth in the middle to set off the pattern; The pattern is threaded and connected with flower thread; the "sticker fan" is collaged with wheat straw; In addition, Sichuan Rongchang folding fan, Liangping oiled paper fan, Jiangxi Ji'an feather fan, Hunan Yueyang folding fan, Guangxi Hanglin folding fan, Anhui Qingyang folding fan, etc. are all famous traditional products with a long history. A small fan, carefully created by folk craftsmen, can produce a variety of shapes, which shows how rich the creativity of the folks is!In fact, not only fans, but also walking sticks, combs, etc. are like this. Walking stick is a tool for the elderly to assist walking, and has a long history in my country.In ancient times, the cane was simply called "cane", also known as "helping the old". It is said that in the Zhou Dynasty of our country, there was a system in which the emperor gave the old man a cane. , is to give the old man a walking stick. The main function of walking sticks is to "support the elderly", so they are mostly made of hard but not heavy materials.The walking sticks in ancient my country can be divided into "chenopodium sticks", "sunflower sticks", "bamboo sticks", "rattan sticks" and "wooden sticks".Quinoa is a kind of grass whose stems are as hard as wood when they are old, but lighter than wood. The same is true for sunflower (okra), rattan, and bamboo. There are also differences in the materials used for sticks of various materials. For example, bamboo sticks are divided into square bamboo, Luohan bamboo, palm bamboo, and peach silk bamboo; do not.This distinction is generally based on the materials produced in each region. Folk crafts have local characteristics, and walking sticks are no exception. The cane should not only be strong and light, but also beautiful, so the ancients often added some decorations to the cane.The "dove stick" and "dragon head stick" we see in ancient books are turtledoves and dragon heads decorated on the end of the stick.This kind of decoration also often has some auspicious meanings.For example, dove sticks, it is said that turtledoves do not choke on food, and the end of the stick is decorated with turtledoves to express the wish that the elderly will not suffer from choking disease; birthday sticks are mostly used for birthday celebrations, which also means this. The decoration of ancient Chinese walking sticks includes carving, painting, painting, etc., and some walking sticks try their best to maintain the natural beauty of the original color of their materials.The main origins of the famous walking sticks in ancient my country are: Qionglai Mountain in Sichuan is famous for producing Qiongzhang.The production of Qiongzhang already existed in the Western Han Dynasty, and it has spread to the Western Regions. "Historical Records: Biographies of Southwestern Yi" records that when Zhang Qian was on a mission to the Western Regions, he saw Shu cloth and Qiong bamboo sticks produced in Sichuan in Daxia (now northern Afghanistan), and heard from Daxia people that they were traded from Shendu (India). of.The bamboo produced in Qionglai Mountain is solid and hard, so it is very suitable for making walking sticks. Cane sticks were produced in Jiange, Sichuan, which existed in the Three Kingdoms period.Jiange rattan sticks are made of Li rattan and King Kong rattan. The material is tough and the patterns are elegant, which is the top grade among the sticks. Dianjiang, Sichuan, is famous for producing palm bamboo sticks.Palm bamboo is hard and tough, with tea-brown natural texture and natural shape.Guizhou Zunyi palm stick is also very famous. In Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang Province, red rattan sticks come out.The red rattan stick is made of old vines on the top of Tiantai Mountain. It is hard in texture and simple in shape.Also known as "Hua Ding Zhang". In Changsha, Hunan Province, a mottled bamboo stick is produced. The raw material is the Xiangfei bamboo produced in Junshan, Dongting Lake. In Liuba, Shaanxi, there are flower and tree walking sticks.The flower and wood walking sticks are made of perennial shrubs such as chicken bones and mouse thorns in the Qinling Mountains, and are crafted according to the materials. The comb also has almost the same development history as the cane. Comb and grate were collectively referred to as "comb" [bibi] in ancient my country.The teeth of the comb are looser and are used for haircuts; the teeth of the grate are denser and are used to remove the dirt from the hair.In addition to haircuts and descaling, combs and grates were also used as jewelry in ancient times. Therefore, ancient my country has always attached great importance to the production of combs. The origin of the comb grate in our country is very early, and it has been found in the late Neolithic site (bone comb), which is about the same time as the time when Helian made the grate during the legendary Yellow Emperor.Copper combs and ivory combs have been unearthed from cultural sites in the Shang and Zhou dynasties in my country, which are the earliest discovery of metal hair combing tools.A few years ago, archaeologists discovered painted and lacquered wooden combs in the Qin Tombs of the Warring States Period in Qingchuan, Sichuan, the Chu Tombs of Yutai Mountain in Jiangling, Hubei, and the Qin Tombs of Fenghuang Mountain, which provided us with first-hand information on the development of ancient Chinese combs. Physical information.The combs unearthed in these places have a semi-elliptical body and neat teeth. They are painted with exquisite pictures of birds, cloud patterns, or life scenes such as banquets, singing and dancing, farewell, and sumo wrestling. The images are very vivid.Although this is not a comb used by the people, its structure and shape allow us to understand the shape of the comb before and after the Warring States Period (Figure 16). In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were carved wooden combs, which were imperial supplies of the court.Gold and silver combs were popular in the palaces of Tang and Song Dynasties, with gorgeous carvings. It was often fashionable for noble ladies to insert combs on their hair buns, and some even inserted more than a dozen combs, making the combs more and more luxurious (Figure 17).After the Song Dynasty, the number of inserted combs decreased, but the volume of the combs became larger and larger, and the elders could reach two or three feet.After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, combs were mainly made of wood, bamboo, and horns, with more styles and more refined craftsmanship.Our current traditional combs were basically formed in the Qing Dynasty. The famous comb producing areas in ancient my country mainly include: The Changzhou comb in Jiangsu has a long history. It was founded in the Southern Song Dynasty, became famous in the Ming Dynasty, and was once used as a tribute comb in the Qing Dynasty.Changzhou combs are made of mahogany, jujube, heather, boxwood and high-quality moso bamboo from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They are finely processed and artistically decorated with carving, drawing, ironing and engraving, which are very exquisite.The "Grate Kei Lane" and "Wooden Comb Street" that are still preserved in the city are the places where ancient comb-making workshops are concentrated. Fujian's Hongtang comb has a long-standing reputation. It is made of bamboo and finely processed. The products are characterized by glossy appearance, bright color, uniform comb teeth, and smooth hair combing. Xijiang, Leishan, Guizhou is famous for producing high-back Miao wooden combs.The raw material is mainly cold wood, and the shapes include horseshoe, crescent, water chestnut and so on.Xijiang wooden combs are mostly in the natural color of wood, some are painted with bright red or black lacquer, and the expensive ones are covered with silver and decorated with blue dots.Some Xijiang wooden combs are equipped with a spring mechanism on the ridge of the comb, which is used to fix the hair when it is used as a headdress.Miao women like to insert wooden combs on their buns for beauty, which also has the function of fastening and winding hair. The Guilin bamboo grate in Guangxi was founded in the Tang Dynasty and became famous all over the country after the Song and Yuan Dynasties.Guilin bamboo grate is made of bamboo, which is full of elasticity. The back of the grate is divided into two types: bamboo and bone, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. Fuzhou, Fujian Province is famous for its horn combs.Fuzhou horn combs are made of ox horns and hooves, which are finely processed, have uniform tooth tips, and are strong and durable.