Fans, formerly known as "bottles", have a history of more than 3,000 years in China. It is said that there were already cattail fans and bamboo fans in China at that time. At first, people used them not to cool down, but as decorations. The cars of Wang and Hou in the Zhou Dynasty all had "fans" to cover the dust, which were called "barrier fans". Later feudal emperors and senior officials used obstacle fans to show their prestige during their ceremonial trips. According to Bao's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times, the earliest fan was a long-handled fan made without pheasant tail, but it was not used for cooling, but a ceremonial ornament. Held high by the holder to protect the emperor from the sun. After the Han Dynasty, bamboo fans in Hunan and silk fans in Shandong were widely used to enjoy the cool, and their forms gradually increased, from daily necessities to works of art. This is recorded in detail in the book Miscellanies of Xijing. According to records, most of the ten thousand fans at that time were made of silk and other silk fabrics. It is said that there was a high-tech craftsman named Ding Huan in Chang 'an at that time. He once made a big "seven-wheeled fan", which only needed one person to operate, so that people in the hall could feel cool. It seems that this kind of fan may be the originator of ceiling fan and desk fan in our life.

Legend has it that Yang Xiuzeng and Cao Cao painted fans in the Three Kingdoms. Therefore, fans are mainly used to drive away the summer heat and can also be used as handicrafts. People can paint, carve all kinds of flowers, birds and scenery on the fan, or write poems, which is quite elegant. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in Jin Dynasty, saw an old woman selling hexagonal bamboo fans and wrote five words on each bamboo fan. The old woman was very unhappy. Wang Xizhi said, "But this is Wang Youjun's book, in order to get 100 yuan." The old woman sold it, and sure enough, people rushed to buy it. There are many famous masterpieces of painting fans in the history of China, such as the bamboo finch fan in Zhou Zhimian in Ming Dynasty, the dead west Western jackdaw fan in Tang Yin, the step fan in Shen Dynasty, the chrysanthemum fan in Qing Dynasty and the purple bird fan. Now, our country's fan is famous as a handicraft. Guo Moruo once wrote a poem for fan factory workers: the cool world comes from both hands. More clever than a ghost axe, more clever. Flying all over the world, overwhelming the west wind.

Fans can also show a certain psychological state of people. Su Dongpo described Zhou Yu's demeanor with the phrase "heroic and heroic hair, black silk scarf with feather fan". Du Mu described the girls' lively attitude and happy mood with the poem "waving a small fan at a firefly". Wang Jian, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in the Joking Order: "Four fans, four fans, the beauty will cover her face." Describe the sadness of a beautiful woman hiding her face with a fan. "The summer sun is like fire, and the wild Tian He rice is half withered. The farmer's heart is like soup, and the son Wang Sun shakes it. " With a fan, the face of an unearned exploiter can be increased, and people can be divided into three parts. Some literary works also use fans as tokens of love. "Peach Blossom Fan" recorded "a handle" and "an eternal token of love" for Li. Later, Li was resisted by the right to rape, and Fan was stained with blood. Yang Longyou touched it and painted it as a peach blossom fan. Fans are also indispensable props on the stage. In "Empty City Plan", Zhuge Liang's fan gently shakes, showing his determined and confident expression. Yang Youhe, a famous Sichuan opera actor, has more than 70 postures using folding fans. In the past, crosstalk performers often held a fan in their hands to set off the characters' personalities.

Abroad, fans also have many interesting stories. The ancient Egyptians used palm leaves to make fans more than one person high, which were mainly used by nobles and slave owners, and were fanned by strong slaves. In the future, fans will be regarded as a symbol of power. The bigger the fan, the more prominent the people sitting under it. In the 9th century, the Japanese invented a small and exquisite folding fan, which they thought was auspicious and could bring happiness. In Europe, from the middle of16th century, folding fans were very popular among the court and ladies. French writer Voltaire said, "A woman without a fan is like a man without a sword." It can be seen that fans and swords were popular in the upper class at that time. 1797, William Kirk, an Englishman, wrote the world's first book Fan Xue, in which it was mentioned that when dealing with a sudden flatterer, ladies used "fan language" as skillfully as sailors used semaphores. Waving the fan vigorously with your right hand means "I love another person". If the newcomer doesn't understand, just do it again with his left hand. This is called: you'd better go away! He should leave at once. At this time, if the young lady suddenly lets the fan fall to the ground, the wise man will be overjoyed, because this action means "let's make up"! As for putting the fan close to your cheek, it means "I love you".

With the progress of science and the development of material civilization, the functions of fans are constantly being completed by electric fans and air-conditioning equipment. However, people have never, perhaps never, abandoned and forgotten fans. 198 1 year, the international arts and crafts design teams in Milan and new york designed a series of novel daily-use handicrafts, from sofas to sofa pillows, from vases to ashtrays, from glasses to earrings ... all made into sectors, and people rushed to buy them, which was really popular for a while. In the eyes of collectors, fans are more valuable. 180 years ago there was a rare fan made in Germany in the world. The fan ribs are made of finely carved mother-of-pearl, decorated with birds made of pure gold and inlaid with emeralds and rubies. 1980, the owner of this fan changed hands at a high price of 20,000 Swiss francs in an auction in Zurich, Switzerland.