I say fans in the plural, because we have two kinds, the folding fan and the round fan. We use the former during the mild seasons, and the latter during the very hot weather. The reason of this is not easily understood, as the round fan fans much less effectively than the other one. Doubtless it offers this advantage—that it can be used as a substitute for the parasol, which we never carry, and thus plays a double part. I may add, that in summer men and women alike go out bareheaded, so that some protection, such as is afforded by the screen fan, is needed. As a general rule, there is a picture on one side of our fans, and some writing on the other. Common folk buy their fans ready painted and written upon, whereas people of fashion buy their fans blank, and ask distinguished people to illustrate them with a painting or a piece of writing. Some collectors possess hundreds of fans, which replace with us the autograph albums that you have in Europe.

Fans are given as presents to one’s friends. They are always given by schoolmasters as prizes to their scholars.

The folding fan has a varying number of stems. Women’s fans have generally thirty thin stems. The most common are made of bamboo; the best are made of ivory, betel, or sandal wood. They are carried in a case of embroidered satin, which is fastened to the belt by a ring of jade. The round fan is usually made of silk, with ivory or bamboo handles, the prolongation of which is either hidden between a double mask of stuff, or is visible on one side only. Ladies use them at play for catching butterflies, or fireflies at night. On such occasions they fasten a sachet of scent to the end of the handle, which scents the air as the fan is moved.

The portrait of the fashionable poet of the day is always to be seen painted on the fan; thus Lu-Fong Oun, the popular poet of the thirteenth century, was surnamed Buddha of the Thousand Families, because his portrait was to be seen everywhere, and because his light and graceful verses could be understood by everybody. It is a very usual thing to compare a friend to a fan, because of his refreshing influence on the mind. A woman who fancies that her husband’s heart is hers no longer will compare herself, as we shall see, to a fan cast aside in the autumn.

A favourite named Pan-Tie-Tsu, beloved at one time by Emperor Hiao-Tcheng, seeing herself deserted, sent a fan to her master, on which she had written the following lines:—

Another woman, who had been disfigured by disease, sent her lover a fan, on which she had written the four following lines:—

Besides these two kinds of fans, there is also the feather fan, which was first made in the time of dynasty of the later Hans.

The Prime Minister, named Tsu-Kia-Liang, used this fan for all his military commands. It was, in his hands, a substitute for the field-marshal’s baton.

It is also said, that the first fan of this kind was introduced into China by the King of Siam, who sent it, with other objects, by way of tribute. But Tsu-Kia-Liang still, to-day, is represented with a feather fan in his hand, the baton with which he directed the orchestra in the symphony of the battle.

Betel leaves, cut into the shape of a fan, are also used in China. As this dry leaf can neither be written nor painted upon, it is decorated with engravings, either of pictures or of writing, which are traced upon it by means of a lighted stick of incense. This delicate and difficult work is generally done by women. Both leaves and incense come from Formosa.

Another kind of fan is made in Canton. A bamboo stick is taken, of which one end is left to serve as handle. The upper end is shredded into very fine threads, which spread out into the shape of a lyre; silk is passed over these, and the lower part of the lyre is consolidated with a piece of curved wood, through a hole in which the handle passes. It is a very pretty kind of fan, and wears very well indeed.

All these varieties are fancy articles. In ancient China, the round fan alone was known; the folding fan has only been known since the last five centuries. It was first presented by the Corean ambassadors to Emperor Ung-Lo, of the Ming dynasty. The sovereign found it not only pretty, but very convenient, and less troublesome to carry, and gave orders for the manufacture of a large quantity, to be distributed amongst the officials of his empire.

This is all that I consider it necessary to say about fans in China. It may be found that I have used a great many words about very little. But how can words be better used, since it was said of them by an ancient Roman that they fly, than in speaking about winds and fans?