Rongchang Folding Fans

A Brief Introduction to Rongchang Folding Fans

Produced in the Rongchang County of Chongqing, Rongchang folding fans are one of the three famous Chinese folding fans and are also one of the four treasures in Rongchang. Rongchang folding fans are also called Jutou fans, Sa fans ("sa" means to spread). It is an article for daily use as well as a decorative artistic handicraft. It is also a property in the performances of operas and dances.

History of Rongchang Folding Fans

It is said that the folding fans were introduced to China in the Yong-Le years of the Mina Dynasty, and were introduced to Rongchang from the Guangdong Province. At that time, peasants of the northern Rongchang made use of the locally produced whangees to make the fan ribs and then adhered with black papers in their slack season time.

When it came to the Jia-Qing and Dao-Guang years of Qing Dynasty, the production of Rongchang folding fans experienced a big development period. Its production was turned from the sideline production to the centralized production.. And the production was mainly done in the town. In this period, Rongchang folding fans were made of lady palms and moso bamboos and were regarded as an extremely exquisite article which was always put in the sleeves.

In the beginning years of Guang-Xu period in Qing Dynasty, more tough bamboo fan ribs with more beautiful patterns were used in the production of Rongchang folding fans. Besides, the workmanships of engraving, inlaying, painting and drawing were also adopted in the production process. At that time, the amount of folding fan shops reached over 40 and that of the street stalls was more than 100. The highest annual volume of production was over 4,000,000. Rongchang folding fans became one of the Rongchang specialties and were sold to other provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Shaanxi. This was the thriving days for Rongchang folding fans.

After the success of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the workmanship of Rongchang folding fans became more and more perfect. A kind of white fans was very popular among people. Up to 1917, there were over 100 shops in the town, more than 500 street stalls, and 3,000 professional workers with an annual output of 5,060,000. In addition to the areas in China, these folding fans were also sold to Thailand, India and Burma. It is said that at that time, the annual output of the Rongchang folding fans outnumbered that of the Suzhou and Hangzhou folding fans. Rongchang folding fans reached its palmy days.

For now, more than 11 kinds of Rongchang folding fans are produced, including the types made of moso bamboos, lady palms, hard bamboo chips, feathers, silk and so on. They are divided into 354 designs and patterns. A small Rongchang folding fan is made by 16 different works with 146 working procedures.

Functions of Rongchang Folding Fans

Rongchang folding fans are not only used in summer for getting rid of unbearable heat, but also as the carrier of paintings and calligraphies, decent gifts for friends and relatives as well as souvenirs. Rongchang folding fans can also be used in the art performances, interior decorations and art collections. Exquisite and antique, Rongchang folding fans are with quite high artistic and collective values.