A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is a broad, flat surface that is waved back and forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (such as paper or feathers) mounted on slats which revolve around a pivot so that it can be closed when not in use. Hand fans were widely used before mechanical fans were invented.
Fans work by utilizing the concepts of thermodynamics. On human skin, airflow, such as that generated by a hand fan, increases the evaporation rate of sweat, lowering body temperature due to the latent heat of the evaporation of water. It also increases heat convection by displacing the warmer air produced by body heat that surrounds the skin, which has an additional cooling effect, provided that the ambient air temperature is lower than the skin temperature, which is typically about .
Next to the folding fan, the rigid hand screen fan – created from a single flat panel with no folding mechanism – was also a highly decorative and desired object among the higher social classes. They serve a different purpose to the lighter, easier to carry hand fans. Hand screen fans were mostly used to shield a lady's face against the glare of the sun or fire.
History
Africa Hand fans originated about 4000 years ago in Egypt. Egyptians viewed them as sacred objects, and the tomb of Tutankhamun contained two elaborate hand fans.
Igbo Akupe (hand fan) Handfans have been found in Igboland dating back to the 9th-11th century in Igbo-Ukwu. Modern hand fans(Akupe) are usually associated with marriages, and special events, and ceremonies.
Ancient Europe
Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that the hand fan was used in ancient Greece at least from the 4th century BC and was known as a , or ().ῥιπίς, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Fans were also used to keep flies away (like a fly-flapper), this kind of fan was less stiff and was named μυιoσόβη. Another use for a fan was to fan the flame, e.g. in cookery or at the altar.
Christian Europe's earliest known fan was the flabellum (ceremonial fan), which dates from the 6th century. It was used during services to drive insects away from the consecrated bread and wine. Its use died out in western Europe, but continues in the Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian Churches.
East Asia
China
There were many kinds of fans in ancient China. The Chinese character for "fan" () is etymologically composed of the characters for "door" () and "feather" (). Historically, fans have played an important aspect in the life of the Chinese people. The Chinese have used hand-held fans as a way to relieve themselves during hot days since the ancient times; the fans are also an embodiment of the wisdom of Chinese culture and art. They were also used for ceremonial and ritual purposes and as a sartorial accessory when wearing . They were also carriers of Chinese traditional arts and literature and were representative of its user's personal aesthetic sense and their social status. Specific concepts of status and gender were associated with types of fans in Chinese history, but generally folding fans were reserved for males while rigid fans were for females.
In ancient China, fans came in various shapes and forms (such as in a leaf, oval or a half-moon shape), and were made in different materials such as silk, bamboo, and feathers. So far, the earliest fans that have been found date to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. It was suggested by the Cultural Relics Archaeology Institute of Hubei Province that these fans were made of either bamboo or feathers and were oftentimes used as burial objects in the State of Chu. The oldest existing Chinese fans are a pair of woven bamboo, wood or paper side-mounted fans from the 2nd century BC. The Chinese form of the feather fan, known as , was a row of feathers mounted in the end of a handle. The arts of fan making eventually progressed to the point that by the Jin dynasty, fans could come in different shapes and could be made in different materials. The selling of hexagonal-shaped fan was also recorded in the Book of Jin.
In later centuries, Chinese poems and four-word idioms were used to decorate fans, using Chinese calligraphy pens. The Chinese dancing fan was developed in the 7th century.
The most ancient ritual Chinese fan is the , also known as , which is believed to have been invented by Emperor Shun. It is characterized with a long handle and the fan looks like a door in shape. This type of fan was used for ceremonial purposes. While its shape evolved throughout the millennia, it remained used as a symbol of imperial power and authority; it continued to be used until the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Silk round-shaped fans are called (), also known as "fans of reunion"; it is a type of "rigid fan". These types of fans were mostly used by women in the Tang dynasty and were later introduced into Japan. These round fans remained mainstream even after the growing popularity of the folding fans. Round fans with Chinese paintings and with calligraphy became very popular in the Song dynasty. During the Song dynasty, famous artists were often commissioned to paint fans. Lacquer fans were also one of the unique handcraft of the Song dynasty.
Chinese brides also used a type of moon-shaped round fan in a traditional Chinese wedding called . The ceremonial rite of was an important ceremony in Chinese wedding: the bride would hold it in front of her face to hide her shyness, to remain mysterious, and as a way to ward off evil spirits. After all the other wedding ceremonies were completed and after the groom had impressed the bride, the bride would then proceed in revealing her face to the groom by removing the from her face.
Another popular type of Chinese fan was the palm leaf fan (), also known as (), which was made of the leaves and stalks of (Livistona chinensis).
The folding fan (), invented in Japan, was later introduced to the Chinese in the 10th century. In 988 AD, folding fans were first introduced in China by a Japanese monk from Japan as a tribute during the Northern Song dynasty; these folding fans became very fashionable in China by the Southern Song dynasty. The folding fans were referred to as "Japanese fans" by the Chinese. While the folding fans gained popularity, the traditional silk round fans continued to remain mainstream in the Song dynasty. The folding fan later became very fashionable in the Ming dynasty; however, folding fans were met with resistance because they were believed to be intended for the lower-class people and servants.
The Chinese also innovated the design of the folding fan by creating the fan ('broken fan').
Foreign export From the late 18th century until 1845, trade between America and China flourished. During this period, Chinese fans reached the peak of their popularity in America; popular fans among American women were the fan, and fans made of palm leaf, feather, and paper. The most popular type during this period appeared to have been the palm leaf fan. The custom of using fans among the American middle class and by ladies was attributed to this Chinese influence.
Japan In ancient Japan, hand fans, such as oval and silk fans, were greatly influenced by Chinese fans. The earliest visual depiction of fans in Japan dates back to the 6th century AD, with burial tomb paintings showed drawings of fans. The folding fan was invented in Japan, with dates ranging from the 6th to 9th centuries; "The paper fan was described by a thirteenth-century Chinese author, but well before that date Chōnen had offered twenty wooden-bladed fans and two paper fans to the emperor of China." it was a court fan called the , after the court women's dress named . According to the (History of Song), a Japanese monk offered the folding fans (twenty and two to the emperor of China in 988. "There are also numerous references to folding fans in the great classical literature of the Heian period (794-1185), in particular the Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu and the Makura no Sōshi (The Pillow Book) by Sei Shōnagon. Already by the end of tenth century, the popularity of folding fans was such that sumptuary laws were promulgated during Chōho era (999-1003) which restricted the decoration of both hiogi and paper folding fans."
Later in the 11th century, Korean envoys brought along Korean folding fans which were of Japanese origin as gifts to Chinese court. The popularity of folding fans was such that sumptuary laws were passed during Heian period which restricted the decoration of both and paper folding fans.
The earliest fans in Japan were made by tying thin stripes of (or Japanese cypress) together with thread. The number of strips of wood differed according to the person's rank. Later in the 16th century, Portuguese traders introduced it to the west and soon both men and women throughout the continent adopted it. They are used today by Shinto priests in formal costume and in the formal costume of the Japanese court (they can be seen used by the Emperor and Empress during enthronement and marriage) and are brightly painted with long tassels. Simple Japanese paper fans are sometimes known as .
Printed fan leaves and painted fans are done on a paper ground. The paper was originally handmade and displayed the characteristic watermarks. Machine-made paper fans, introduced in the 19th century, are smoother, with an even texture. Even today, geisha and use folding fans in their fan dances as well.
Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. In addition to folding fans (),Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Ōgi" in the non-bending fans () are popular and commonplace.Nussbaum, "Uchiwa", The fan is primarily used for fanning oneself in hot weather. The fan subsequently spread to other parts of Asia, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and such fans are still used by Buddhist monks as "ceremonial fans".
Fans were also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle. However, fans were mainly used for social and court activities. In Japan, fans were variously used by warriors as a form of weapon, by actors and dancers for performances, and by children as a toy.
Traditionally, the rigid fan (also called fixed fan) was the most popular form in China, although the folding fan came into popularity during the Ming dynasty between the years of 1368 and 1644, and there are many beautiful examples of these folding fans still remaining.ChinesePod Weekly, Chinese Fans: More Than Keeping Cool
The (or Japanese dancing fan) has ten sticks and a thick paper mount showing the family crest, and Japanese painters made a large variety of designs and patterns. The slats, of ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell, were carved and covered with paper or fabric. Folding fans have "montures" which are the sticks and guards, and the leaves were usually painted by craftsmen. Social significance was attached to the fan in the Far East as well, and the management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. Fans were even used as a weapon – called the iron fan, or in Japanese.
See also, the , a military leader's fan (in old Japan); used in the modern day as an umpire's fan in sumo wrestling, it is a type of Japanese war fan, like the .
Korea
Every Dano (May 5 of the lunar calendar) when the heat began, there was a custom in which the king distributed hand fans to his vassals. The vassal, who received a hand fan from the king, did an ink-and-wash painting and handed out white fans to his elders and the indebted people, which has made the practice of exchanging hand fans widely popular. These cultural factors also contributed to the creation of various types of hand fan in Korea.
Vietnam