FANS OF THE FAR EAST
INDIA
[Illustration]
It is difficult for the Western mind to realise the degree of
importance assumed by the fan, the fly-flap, and the umbrella, in
the countries of the Far East, especially India; these objects
being regarded with an affection almost, indeed actually, amounting
to reverence. Its primal cause is to be found in the overpowering
insistence of the sun’s rays, and the sense of grateful relief afforded
by shade and disturbance of the air. To discover its origin we must
look back, beyond the age of legendary lore, to actual mythology, when
we find representations of the Puranic snake gods of India with the
sacred umbrella over their heads, attended by Cherubim waving the fan
and the fly-flap. Similarly we find the sacred five- or seven-headed
cobra itself assuming the office of sunshade, uprearing its hood to
form a canopy for Buddha or for the Hindoo gods.
In the _Mahábhárata_, the ancient epic of Hindostan, we have a
description of the death of the monarch Pândou, in which great crowds
assemble at the bier to do homage to the dead, bringing offerings of
fly-flaps and white umbrellas, the latter having each a hundred ribs
of pure gold, the donors thereby ensuring for themselves a place in
Paradise.
In the same epic, the poet represents the sacred Karna, in the midst
of the acclamations of victory, seated majestically upon his throne,
beneath the emblems of the umbrella, the fan, and the fly-flap; these
being regarded as the most solemn symbols of state throughout the East.
Thus, the title of the King of Burmah is ‘Lord of the twenty-four
umbrellas,’ this being the number always borne before the Emperor of
China upon every state occasion, and accompanying him even to the
hunting-field.[27]
The connection between this umbrella-reverence and primitive
tree-worship is abundantly established, both having their origin in
climatic conditions. On the Sanchi Tope is figured the sacred flowering
Sal tree (beneath which Gautama Buddha died at Kasia), surmounted by
two _Chhatras_, these, together with the tree, being adorned with
garlands. Again, on the Great Tope at Buddha Gaya, B.C. 250, erected in
front of the sacred Bo tree (_Ficus religiosa_), beneath which Gautama
attained to the Buddhahood, are umbrellas hung with garlands. Also
in a Thibetan picture of the death of Gautama given in Dr. Waddell’s
_Buddhism of Thibet_, we see a garlanded and festooned umbrella in the
centre over Buddha, with attendants waving fly-flaps, and on the right
a large standard fan.
So deeply rooted, indeed, is the reverence for the umbrella, and so
completely in the minds of the populace are these objects identified
with regal power, that, upon the occasion of the visit of the Prince
of Wales (King Edward VII.) to India, it was deemed necessary for his
Royal Highness to appear beneath a golden umbrella on an elephant in
order that his sovereign dignity might be demonstrated.
In the manuscript of Nieder Muenster of Ratisbon, now in the library
at Munich, we find a curious blending of the tree and umbrella form,
introduced as accessories in representations of the four evangelists,
doubtless merely intended as conventional floral forms, but evidently
the work of some monkish illuminator who had become influenced by
Oriental mythology.
In Ratisbon, also, is an illumination of Christ bearing the cross, to
one arm of which is attached a half-closed umbrella, reproduced in
_Curiosités Mystérieuses_. ‘Le pommeau,’ says the chronicler, ‘est orné
de ce que les Romains nomment Ombrellino (petit dais en parasol). S’il
s’agissait à coup sûr de ce baldaquin (qui est le propre de certains
dignitaires) nous pourrions rappeler que ce mot figurait déjà dans
l’étiquette impériale avant Constantin.’[28]
On Attic and other Greek vases of the third and fourth century B.C., to
quote Sir George Birdwood, it is often very difficult to distinguish
the fan from the umbrella. ‘Where it is distinctly an umbrella, it
is either of the peaked Assyrian form, or of the dome-(‘rondel’
of Valentijin, etc., and ‘arundels’ of Fryer) topped Indian form
(chhatra); and when it is distinctly a fan, it is usually of the Indian
type, determined by the fan palm frond and the peacock feather, and
rarely of the Egyptian type determined by the date-palm and the ostrich
feather.’
In the early Persian bas-reliefs, says Chardin in his _Voyages_, the
kings of Persia are frequently represented in the act of mounting on
horseback surrounded by beautiful slaves; the duty of one being that
of holding an umbrella over the head of the monarch. This, not only
for the purpose of protecting the sovereign from the rays of the sun,
but also to demonstrate his absolute right of life and death over both
prisoners and subjects.
Umbrellas formed an important feature in the Greek Bacchic processions.
Aristophanes refers to white umbrellas and baskets, signifying
pomp and joy, as being intended to recall to men the acts of Ceres
and Proserpine, and constantly borne by virgins at all religious
ceremonials.
In a miniature in the Royal Library at Paris, of Sivaji on the march, a
sayiban or sun-fan is seen, having an arrangement of drapery in form of
a curtain or valance.[29] Here we discover a point of contact between
the fan and the umbrella, although it is probable that in this instance
its use as a shade-giving instrument had not developed.
A much closer form-connection, however, between fan and umbrella is
seen in the simple leaf section of the Palmyra palm, cut level at the
top, used by the natives in most parts of India. This assumes exactly
the shape of the pleated fan, the pleating formed by Nature’s deft
hands. The large Cingalese umbrella used by headsmen and at weddings is
of the same shape, made of the young leaves of the talipot palm, often
richly decorated with plaited patterns in various colours, and with
mica inlay. Of similar form, also, is the sacred processional parasol
of the Indian Mussulmans (Shia sect) and the Hindus.
The fan, therefore, must be considered as part of a continuous
development from the umbrella symbol of might and power, employed
equally in the East as in the West, and the infinitude of military and
processional fan-like standards and sceptral fans, to the hand-fan and
fly-whisk.
We discover a direct affinity between the hissing of the wind through
the open metal mouth and silken bag of the Roman Dragon standard,
and the beating of the wings of the Norse Raven, used for a similar
purpose; between the Assyrian disc standards with the divine archer
standing on the sacred bull, and the cruciferal discs employed at a
more recent date in Christian Church ceremonial; between the chauri
waved over the head of Krishna, and the wafting of divine influence
by the angelic attendants upon the Saviour in early Christian
missal-painting.
The _alums_ or _allums_ used in the Moharram procession in India are
analogous to the standards used by the Greeks and Romans, and those
figured on the gates of the Sanchi Tope, consisting not only of flags
and banners, but of all sorts of devices in metal, raised on the top of
a long staff and carried to battle.[30]
[Illustration: CINGALESE SĒSATA
(Made of the leaf of the talipot palm, enriched with plates of mica,
the handle lacquered wood; length, including handle, 7 feet.)]
The Cingalese Sēsata, a ceremonial fan for royal and religious use,
or for attendance upon great personages, consists of an embroidered
cloth disc, or talipot leaf, decorated with images of the sun, moon,
etc., with mica and other materials introduced, mounted on a lacquered
staff. Tenants of the first rank attend the Disvāta (lord chief) on
journeys, convey his orders, carrying the great banner, state umbrella,
and Sēsata.[31] A smaller disc-fan, the disc covered with crimson
velvet, the handle about fifteen inches long, of carved ivory, richly
inlaid, occurs in the Louvre.
The royal standard, banner, or ensign, employed in India, composed of
peacocks’ feathers, is illustrated in a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah
(_c._ 1597), the form being circular, and also that of a somewhat
elongated semicircle.
[Illustration]
The fly-flap, chowr, chowrie, chourie, chaurie, is next in dignity to
the umbrella, and was in the first instance devoted to the service of
the gods. On a bas-relief of the pagoda of Elephanta, described by the
Orientalist Langlés in his _History of Hindostan_, a servant is seen
behind Brahma and Indra holding in each hand chauries or fly-whisks. In
the India Museum is a charming little chaurie with silver handle and
ribbons of silver gauze tipped with red silk, used by Jains to drive
away insects from their idol without destroying them.
[Illustration: FLY-WHISK
(From a painting on talc. Madras. Nineteenth century.)]
Chauries are formed of various materials—of ivory, the strips of
which are sometimes cut to incredible fineness for such a substance;
in these cases the handles are formed of the same material, richly
carved—of the bushy tail of the Himalayan yak, both black and white,
the handles either of metal, ivory, or wood—of sandalwood, also cut
into the finest possible strips, the handles richly carved; the waving
of these chauries emitting a fine fragrance—of the stripped quills of
the larger birds, more generally the peacock—of horse-hair and the
various grasses. The handles were often formed of the horns of various
animals; an example occurs in the Horniman Museum, in which instance it
is the antelope. The chaurie from the tail of the yak was in ancient
India fixed upon a gold or ornamented shaft between the ears of the
war-horse, like the plume of the war-horse of chivalry; the banner or
banneret, with the device of the chief, rose at the back of the
car. ‘The waving chaurie on the steed’s broad brow points backwards,
motionless as a picture.’[32]
[Illustration: Quill, & Sandal Wood Chauries, Peacock Emblem of
Royalty, Yak, & Ivory Chauries.
India Museum.]
This, it will be seen, is in strict conformity to the usage of the
ancient Egyptians, who employed the tall fan emblem in a precisely
similar way; these proud plumes serving a double purpose—an ornamental,
and, in the case of Egypt, even an heraldic purpose, and also the
purely utilitarian one of affording the animal some relief from fly
pests.
The peacock has ever been regarded as a sacred bird, both by the
peoples of the East and the West. The Greek fable of Argus the
hundred-eyed, the sleepless guardian of Io, serves to connect the idea
of extreme vigilance with that of true kingship, _i.e._ the universal
preserver and father of the people. The peacock therefore presented a
double significance to the minds of the Hindu peoples; it expressed
the vigilance of kingship together with its magnificence. The peacock
feather emblem of royalty is the sign or insignia of the king’s high
office, and the principal evidence of his sovereignty: wherever a king
appears he is accompanied by an attendant bearing this emblem, which
appears in all pictorial or other representations of royalty.
It was, doubtless, in the first instance a fly-flap, and is either
composed entirely of feathers, or, it consists of a bunch of
feathers enclosed two-thirds of the distance in a silver casing,
usually ornamented with an imbricated pattern; the handle also of
silver. Several examples of this object appear in the India Museum,
and numberless representations occur in sculpture, illumination,
embroidery, etc.
The poet Valmiki tells of the sumptuous sceptre, studded with jewels,
prepared for the sacrifices to Rama—a magnificent fan with a radiant
garland resembling the full moon in the clear night sky.
[Illustration: EMBLEM OF ROYALTY
(From an illumination of a Court reception by the King of Oudh.)]
The word punkhá, or pankhá, from pankh, a feather, a bird, is a generic
term applied in India to all fans, pankhi meaning a small fan. This
derivation serves as an indication of the early use of the plumed fan
in India, which divides honours with the palm-leaf fan in point of
antiquity, and doubtless also as suggesting a similarity between the
beating of a bird’s wings and the movement of the fan.
The earliest plumed fans probably consisted of a pair of complete wings
set shoulder to shoulder, resembling the caduceus of Mercury, which
was regarded as a symbol of happiness, peace, and concord, the wings
expressing diligence.
Feather-fans assume all manner of shapes, as the large round
banner-fans already referred to; the familiar crescent-like form
with a short handle set horizontally at its base; and the various
hand-screens, these either composed entirely of peacocks’ feathers,
the breast and neck feathers forming a pattern in the centre, with a
border of tail feathers; or, the centre formed of plaited pith and cane
of various colours, beetles’ wings, etc., with the border again of
feathers; the handles being of cane or wood, or of wood covered with
cane strippings or other material.
[Illustration: ROYAL STANDARDS
(From a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah. Sixteenth century.)]
In Persia and Arabia, from the first centuries of our era, fans were
made of ostrich feathers, many being ornamented with that form of
inscription which is such a leading feature of the decorative art of
these countries.
[Illustration: Large Hand Fan of Sandal Wood, Indian. 18th Cent.
pierced & carved.
Mrs Hungerford Pollen.]
The crescent-shaped hand-fan also dates from a very early period.
In its primitive form, it is seen in the painted decoration of the
Buddhist cave-temples of Ajanta (first century B.C. to eighth
century A.D.), the example given being probably ornamented with strips
or panels of mica, the constructional portion of cane or pith.
[Illustration: HAND-FAN
(From the cave paintings at Ajanta.)]
A variant of this form, still more simple in its construction, is seen
in one of the sculptured roundels of the Buddhist tope at Amaravati,
Southern India, _circa_ second century A.D.; an attendant upon a great
personage waves a circular fan, having the handle stretched across the
face, with a circular opening near the lower edge to enable the handle
to be gripped. All the foregoing types obtain at the present day, and
are as modern as they are ancient.
[Illustration: PLAITED GRASS-FAN
(From the Amaravati Tope.)]
The flag form of fan is, if possible, a still more remarkable instance
of the persistence of certain decorative _motifs_ throughout long
periods of the world’s history. This type, again, is in use at the
present day—the page of examples illustrated are of the mid-nineteenth
century—this identical form appears in the wall-paintings at
Ajanta;[33] it is also seen in Egyptian and Assyrian sculptured
reliefs; it was employed by the Copts from the third to the sixth
century, and earlier in Arabia; it was in general use in Italy during
the period of the Renaissance. There can be no possibility of doubt
that this form of fan was common to the whole of the East and to a
greater portion of the West, and has endured throughout the centuries.
[Illustration: FLAG-FAN
(From the cave paintings at Ajanta.)]
These fans are of two kinds—rigid and flexible; in both instances
they are invariably plaited, the material being stripped palm, bamboo,
ivory, peacock quills, etc. The rigid variety is often placed loose
in the handle, to allow of its being swung round and round like a
policeman’s rattle. See illustration opposite.
The hatchet or halberd shape is a development of the flag form, and
varies from the simple blade to that of a highly ornamental shape.
The material is silk, velvet, cloth or other tissue, often richly
embroidered with gold and silver thread, spangles, beetles’ wings,
etc., with a fringe of either silver tinsel or peacocks’ feathers; the
handles being of wood, cane, or silver. These are at present largely
made at Delhi.
Occasionally the fan is entirely formed of threaded glass beads of
various colours forming a pattern upon a wire framework, with a fringe
of tinsel, the handle also overlaid with beads.
The primitive palm-fan occurs on the oldest Hindostani bas-reliefs,
and is described by the poets. This primeval fan still forms part
of the attire of certain Buddhist priests in Siam, and from it they
take their name of ‘Talapoins’; the fan’s name being ‘talapat,’ or
‘palm-tree-leaf’ in the Siamese language.
[Illustration: ‘TALAPAT’ FAN
PANKHÂ. (Embroidered velvet, with silver handle. Moorshedabad. India
Museum.)
FROM AN ILLUMINATION]
This form (the reversed heart) is common to both the smaller hand-fans
and the larger ceremonial and processional fans. The natural palm-leaf
is employed, trimmed to the required shape, and used either plain,
or painted in brilliant colours, or forming a base for a covering of
embroidery, feathers or stuffs, as in the example from Moorshedabad
(illustrated), which is of velvet, embroidered with silver.
[Illustration: Flag Fans, split palm & bamboo. 19th. Cent. Beaded Fan,
& Palm Leaf Fan with mica insertions.
India Museum.]
The lateral form, in which the leaf is set sidewise on the stem,
follows the same principle of decorative development. It is used
plain, painted, inlaid with talc as in the example illustrated, is
embroidered with silk, spangles, beetles’ wings, etc.; it also supplies
the shape or decorative _motif_ for fans of a different material, as
in the instance of the four long-handled fans, forming portion of the
Burmese regalia, obtained from Mandalay in 1885, examples of a barbaric
splendour only to be found in the gorgeous East. These are of gold,
jewelled with rubies and the ‘nan-ratan’ or nine stone, the handles
overlaid with gold and also jewelled.
Amongst fans formed of the more precious materials is a disc-shaped fan
of gold, set with cabochon sapphires, an offering dedicated by Kīrti
Ṡri to the ‘Tooth relic.’[34] Figured in _Mediæval Sinhalese Art_,
A. K. Coomaraswarmy.
In the collection of the Baroness Salomon de Rothschild at Paris is a
fan of jade, richly studded with jewels.
[Illustration: FAN OF GOLD
(Forming portion of the Burmese Regalia. India Museum.)]
Fans are also made of the sweet-scented Khaskhás root (_Andropogon
muricatus_), and as these are generally used after being wetted, they
impart to the air a cool fragrance; they are often highly ornamented
with gold and silver spangles, gold thread, tinsel, beetles’ wings,
etc., and occasionally provided with ivory handles. A pretty example
occurs at Kew, where there is an excellent collection of fans made
of the various vegetable substances. Fans of talc, decorated with
exquisite illumination, were made at Tanjore during the eighteenth
century. Specimens occur in the India Museum, South Kensington.
[Illustration: PORTION OF AN EMBROIDERED MUSLIN NAPKIN. (Chamba.
Nineteenth century.)]
Representations of the fan are of constant occurrence in Indian work,
both illumination, embroidery, sculpture, and other material. On a
curiously primitive embroidered napkin from Chamba, we are introduced
to the worship of a Hindu deity—a king and queen are kneeling under a
palm-tree, the god Ganesh in the distance with flag-fan; an attendant
bears the peacock feather emblem of royalty, a second attendant waves
a large heart-shaped fan. On a small mat or pad of enamelled leather
(Hyderabad, nineteenth century), we see a whimsical combination of
Krishna and his damsels forming the similitude of an elephant, the
umbrella, pankhá, and two fly-flappers being in evidence.
A beautiful illumination from a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah, above
quoted, shows a prince seated upon his throne in the act of receiving
offerings; an attendant waves a fly-flap behind the throne, a second
attendant bears one of the large pankhás beautifully embroidered in
gold and colours.
We are also in another illumination introduced to a beautiful flowered
parterre, in which a Mongol princess is seated before a rippling
fountain; attendants wait upon her with fruits, vases containing
unguents, spices, etc.; behind, a female attendant waves the fly-flap.
In the decoration of the entrance gate of the temple at Ajmir, a prince
appears in a howdah on the back of an elephant, an attendant sits
behind waving a fly-flap, a second flabellifer is seated on the head
of the animal; the prince himself holds a small fan in his hand, an
attendant on foot bears the pankhá, and another the insignia of royalty.
Fair and delicate though these creations of Eastern ingenuity may
be, the genius of Oriental imagery and fancy has discovered for us a
still more delicate and effective instrument—a Sanskrit poet recounts
a graceful fable of a princess of extreme beauty, who, although
constantly attending and fanning the divine fire with a view to
increasing the prosperity of her father, never succeeded in producing a
flame save by the breath of her charming lips.
[Illustration]
FANS OF THE FAR EAST—_Continued_
CHINA
[Illustration: CIRCULAR FAN
‘Like the Moon’ borne by the guard of an Imperial concubine.]
Chinese authorities are at variance concerning the invention of the
fan, which has been attributed to the Emperor Hsien Yüan, B.C. 2697;
to the Emperor Shun, B.C. 2255, and to the first ruler of the Chou
dynasty, B.C. 1122.
According to a Chinese legend, it had its origin at the Feast of
Lanterns, where, on an occasion when the heat became particularly
oppressive, the beautiful daughter of a mandarin took off her mask, and
agitated it so as to fan the air into a gentle breeze; the rest of the
fair revellers were so much struck with the grace of the motion that
they one and all let fall their masks and followed the example of the
mandarin’s daughter.
The earliest fans were of the dyed feathers of various birds, and
those of the peacock. We have an account of a present of two fans of
feathers of ‘tsio rouge,’ offered to the Emperor Tchao-wang of the
Chou dynasty, B.C. 1052, by the King of Thou-sieou, and it is affirmed
in the ‘Tchéou-li’ that one of the chariots of the empress carried a
feather-fan for the purpose of keeping the wheels free from dust.
The poet Thou-fou, in the ‘Song of Autumn,’ refers to fans of
pheasants’ feathers as in royal use. The Emperor Kao-Tsong, of the
Chang dynasty, 1323-1266 B.C., having heard the cry of the pheasant, an
omen of good luck, resolved thenceforth to use only fans composed of
the tail feathers of this bird.
[Illustration: Chinese Fan, paper mount, painted, with medallion of The
Visit, stick silver-gilt filigree & enamel, 18th Cent.
Mr M. Tomkinson.]
These have continued in the service of royalty to a late period. A
wing-shaped example, set laterally in a red lacquered handle, appearing
in the hand of an attendant, in a fine painted roll, by Ch’in Ying of
the Ming dynasty, illustrating the occupations of Court ladies, the
larger feathers numbering seven, this being the sacred number composing
the fan, which is the attribute of Chung-li Ch’uan, one of the eight
Taoist Immortals, the seven broad feathers corresponding to the
constellation of seven stars on the left of the moon (Great Bear), the
seat in the Taoist heavens of their supreme deity, Shang Ti, round whom
all the other star gods circulate in homage. This fan is illustrated
on the large lacquered screen at the Victoria and Albert Museum,
representing the Taoist Genii worshipping the god of Longevity, and
constantly figures in pictorial and other representations.
[Illustration: FROM A PAINTED ROLL OF MING DYNASTY
(British Museum.)]
Similar fans with several rows of pointed feathers appear in painted
and decorative work; a curious example being seen in a large drawing
from Tonkin (Louvre). The outer row of feathers, white and pale blue;
the second, yellow; the third, those of the peacock; the body of the
fan, green, red, white, and blue.
In the lacquered screen above referred to, a large fan of this
character is waved over the head of one of the devotees riding aloft on
a cloud, wending his way towards the mountain paradise, the home of the
God.
[Illustration: FAN OF HSI WANG MU
(From a Japanese painting. British Museum.)]
The feather-fan is one of the chief attributes of Hsi Wang Mu, the
famed Queen of the Genii (Royal Mother of the West), whose dwelling
was a mountain palace in Central Asia, where she held Court with her
fairy legions and received the great Taoist Rishis and certain favoured
mortals, and whose amours with the Han Emperor Wu Ti have given much
occupation for both author and artist.[35]
[Illustration: WHITE PLUMED FAN OF HSI WANG MU
(From a painting of the Chinese School of Japan. British Museum.)]
Her fan is borne by one of her four handmaidens, who, like the Dêva
Kings of Mount Sumeru, are severally related to the four points of the
compass. It assumes various shapes, as that of a wing, in the painting
by a pupil of Itcho riū of the Japanese popular school, British
Museum, 1722; a bunch of long pointed plumes set in a bamboo handle, in
the painting (Chinese School of Japan, British Museum, 778), in which
a young girl in deer-skin, standing beneath the sacred peach-tree of
the Immortals, offers the fruit to the goddess who, with her attendant
bearing the fan, appears upon a cloud above the waves.
The queen is also represented with the large pear-shaped screen, as
in the painting of the same school, British Museum, 1022, the screen
decorated with the sun, moon, and clouds. In the painting previously
referred to (No. 1722), the goddess herself holds a smaller pear-shaped
screen. Each of the ‘fore-mentioned paintings are Japanese, but the fan
forms are, unquestionably, taken from older Chinese originals.
[Illustration: Chinese Fan. filigree & enamel.
Victoria & Albert Museum.]
The earliest illustrations, however, of this personage and her fan,
and probably the oldest representations of fans in Chinese art, are
those of the sculptures of the Han dynasty, B.C. 206-A.D. 25. In these,
Hsi-wang Mu, wearing a coroneted hat, is attended by ladies carrying
cup, mirror, and fan. On the same relief the Emperor Mu Wang of the
Chou dynasty, B.C. 1001, is attended by a servitor with fan and towel
or handkerchief. In the frieze forming the lower part of the relief, we
see the ‘Chariot of the Sage’ preceded by two men on foot, with staves
and fans.
[Illustration: PEAR-SHAPED SCREENS
(From paintings in the British Museum.)]
On another of these reliefs, representing the discovery of one of the
sacred bronze tripods, the ancient palladia of the kingdom, the two
commissioners deputed by the Emperor to superintend its recovery from
the river are attended by servitors bearing fans. These are the small
hand-screens (pien-mien) described by M. Rondot as being larger in the
upper part, their shape approaching that of a reversed trapezium with
the angles rounded off.
This same author refers to four screens of white jade (regarded by
the Chinese as the most precious of precious stones), the handles of
an odoriferous amber, that were offered by the Emperor Chun-Hi of
the Southern Sung dynasty, 1174-1190, to his Empress. At this time
the screens were ornamented with incrustation and inscription, which
was much esteemed, and this author quotes a curious passage from the
_Annals of the Thsi_ to the effect that Wang-sun-pen, of Kin-ling,
represented in the space of a few inches a perspective view of rivers,
mountains, valleys, and plains, stretching over a thousand miles of
land. These screen pictures are referred to in the _Ku yü t’ou pu_, an
illustrated catalogue of ancient jade, in one hundred books, compiled
in 1176 by an imperial commission headed by Lung Ta-Yuan, President of
the Board of Rites.
The small hand-screens assume a variety of forms—circular, pear-shaped,
heart-shaped, etc., and are made of various materials, as—(1) The
natural palm leaf, seen in the Chinese painting, British Museum, 37.
(2) The palm leaf cut to various shapes, with a bamboo handle running
up the middle, as in the Japanese example given on page 61. (3) Of
bamboo; from Chinese records we learn that on the fifth day of the
fifth month of the year corresponding to our 219, the Emperor presented
to the members of the Imperial Academy a fan of bamboo, carved and
painted blue. There is also a record of an existing fan of oblong
form, made of bamboo leaf, ornamented with bulrushes, an inscription
on the field of the fan. This dates from the sixth century A.D. (4) Of
the turtle shell: the two portions held together with metal plates,
with a wooden or other handle, examples of which occur in the Musée
Guimet, Paris. (5) Of silk stretched upon a frame, with painted or
other decoration, as in the two charming examples illustrated from
the collection of Mr. W. Crewdson. Both front and reverse are given:
the latter decorated in that system of feather-work much affected by
the Chinese, and in which they display great skill. The feathers are
usually the turquoise tinted plumes of the kingfisher: in the present
instance the design is alternated by an imbrication of peacocks’
feathers. The handles are of carved ivory.
[Illustration: Hand screen, Chinese, painted silk, reverse embroidered
feather work, carved ivory handle.
Mr Wilson Crewdson.]
There are also the cockade screens, usually of ivory or sandalwood.
Representations of the earlier large ceremonial banner screens appear
on a carved pedestal of a Buddhist image, Northern Wei dynasty, A.D.
524; these are oval in form, and are seen in both sculptured and
painted representations down to recent times.
In the Musée Guimet in Paris is a large fan of red lacquer framework
(reversed heart shape) enclosing a series of metal ribs through which
the wind plays; in the centre are painted dragons.
Among the painted representations in the India Museum, of objects from
the Summer Palace at Pekin, is a circular screen, ‘like the moon,’
borne by the guard of an imperial concubine. See illustration, p. 46.
A favourite device for the decoration of these larger screens is that
of the fabled Phœnix, the Ho bird of the Japanese. This is seen in
the painting of the Chinese school of Japan, British Museum, 822, in
which one of the two attendants on a Chinese Emperor carries a long
oval screen bordered with peacocks’ feathers, and ornamented with two
Phœnixes.[36]
We therefore perceive that the ceremonies and customs relating to the
fan, no less than the various forms which this instrument assumed,
were practically identical with the ancient peoples of the East and
West;—the same order of development, having its origin in the natural
suggestion afforded by the wings of birds and of the broader leaved
plants; the fans of the Han dynasty reliefs, their exact counterpart
being found in Egypt and Assyria; the rigid hand-screens corresponding
to those tabellæ which the Romans derived from the Greeks, who in turn
received them from the peoples of Asia Minor, and which, doubtless,
had their origin in the more remote East; the employment of the fan in
both religious and civil ceremonial and in war.[37]
Among the Bat Bu’u (eight precious things) carried at the end of staves
by the inhabitants of Annam in their ceremonial processions, is a fan
(Quat) symbolising the graceful perfection of the form of woman, and
the light breeze that tempers the heat of the summer sun.[38] These Bat
Bu’u are made in three ways—
1. Of carved wood lacquered and gilt.
2. Of tin or pewter.
3. In the form of transparencies to be lighted from within.
A huge wooden fan is carried as part of the insignia of a mandarin’s
procession.[39]
The invention of the folding-fan is generally credited to the ingenious
little inhabitants of the land of the rising sun; its date, however,
as well as its precise character, is impossible to determine with
anything approaching to accuracy. Tradition says that it was designed
by an artist who lived in the reign of the Emperor Jen-ji, about
670 A.D., and was formed upon the principle of the construction of
a bat’s wing, this being in conformity with the general usage of
Japanese designers, who derived their artistic _motifs_ from natural
constructive forms. The date of its introduction into China is also
a matter of considerable uncertainty: we have a reference to it in a
Chinese work of the date 960, to the effect that the tsin-theou-chen,
or folding-fan, was introduced by Tchang-ping-hai, and was supposed to
be offered as a tribute by the barbarians of the south-east, who came,
holding in their hands the pleated fan, which occasioned much laughter
and ridicule. All Chinese authors agree, however, that it was the
invention of foreigners, _i.e._ the Japanese, who, together with the
Tartars, possessed folding-fans before they were known in China.[40]
[Illustration: Chinese Fan, paper mount, painted & richly gilt, red
lacquered stick.
Miss Moss.]
M. Rondot records the fact that at first, only courtesans made use of
folding-fans, honest women carried round screens.[41]
Since the appearance of the folding-fan, various materials have been
pressed into its service, including ivory, tortoise-shell, lacquer,
mother of pearl, the various woods—especially sandalwood, the more
precious metals, silk, skin, and paper.
No nation possesses a keener appreciation of ivory as a vehicle for
artistic expression than the Chinese, whose carved balls in concentric
spheres of open work are the wonder of western peoples. Ivory fans date
from a very remote period, it is believed as early as 990 B.C., and are
marvels of patient ingenuity.
The Imperial Ivory Works within the palace at Peking was founded toward
the close of the seventeenth century, and became the centre for the
best production in this delicate material.
Ivory fans are either of pierced flat open work, or elaborately carved
with subjects, the backgrounds of which are formed by delicate ribbing,
imparting a lightness and softness to the fan not obtainable by any
other means. An extraordinarily skilful example is the cockade-fan in
the Wyatt collection at South Kensington; this, together with several
others in the same collection, have monograms in cursive European
characters, and were executed to the order of Europeans. In each
instance the blades are connected by means of a ribbon running through
the whole. One example only of these fans is given; that bearing the
word ‘Angela’—fitting name of the gentle lady whose memory is revered
wherever the English language is spoken.
Tortoise-shell is carved with the same consummate skill as ivory, and
on the same principle of delicate piercing and ribbing. Two such fans
occur in the Wyatt collection, profusely decorated in relief with
figures of horsemen, buildings, boats, and flowers. The material,
which is softened both by warm water and dry heat, is obtained from
the loggerhead turtle of the Malay Archipelago and Indian Ocean,
and imported to Canton, a centre both for tortoise-shell and ivory
workers. An extremely effective and picturesque fan is that in the same
collection, formed of the feathers of the Argus pheasant, cut short to
the fan shape, the sticks of carved tortoise-shell. In this the colours
of the feathers harmonise extremely well with the translucent red brown
of the tortoise-shell.
This material is also lacquered, one of the earliest and most prized
of the Chinese arts, and the technique of which is fully described in
the _Ko ku yao lun_, a learned work on antiquities published in the
reign of Hung Wu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, 1387. This substance
is obtained from the lac-tree (_Rhus vernicifera_), cultivated for
the purpose throughout Central and Southern China. The tree exudes a
resinous sap that becomes black upon its exposure to the air, the sap
being extracted from the tree at night, during the summer months, and
dried, ground, and strained through hempen cloth to an evenly flowing
liquid, which is applied by the brush.
Gold plays an important part both in the composition of the lacquer
itself, to which it imparts a richness and pellucidity which is
extremely beautiful, and also in its subsequent decoration. The fan and
case of Canton lacquer in the Wyatt collection are richly decorated
with panels of buildings and gardens, on a diapered background,
overlaid with flowers, butterflies, and other devices, and are
excellent examples of Chinese gold lacquer, an art which, although
originating in China, has been somewhat neglected, and has, at a later
period, been brought by the Japanese to a greater perfection than the
Chinese have at any time attained.
[Illustration: Lacquered Fan.
Lady Northcliffe]
[Illustration: Carved Ivory Fan, with name ‘Angela’.
Mr W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P.]
Sandalwood is largely employed for fans, on account of its lightness,
the ease with which it is worked, and also its fine aroma. The tree
is indigenous to India, and is imported by the Chinese, who employ it
for a variety of purposes, including the perfumed joss-sticks which
are common throughout the East. These fans are worked on the same
principle of flat piercing as those of ivory. They are also carved in
relief, but can scarcely be said to rival the last-named substance with
its delicate variety of translucent softness. The large fan at South
Kensington is a good example.
Mother of pearl is a favourite material for fan-sticks on account of
its beautiful play of iridescent colour. A number of fans of Chinese
workmanship, both of mother of pearl and ivory, have found their way
to Europe and have been remounted. Such a fan is that in the Wyatt
collection with a subject finely painted on chicken skin by Eugène
André.
Bamboo has already been referred to as in early use. It is extensively
employed for the cheaper fans on account of its durability as well as
cheapness. The number of ribs vary from sixteen to thirty-six; the
former may be regarded as the standard number.
The art of filigree is practised by the Chinese with the most
consummate skill; it is occasionally in gold, but more often in silver
gilt, the gilding being employed for the double purpose of preventing
tarnishing and for decorative effect. Filigree work is often enriched
by means of inlay, either enamel, or the turquoise feathers of the
kingfisher, which latter, however, are merely gummed on the surface of
the metal, and, as a consequence, are wanting in durability.
Enamelling has been practised in western Asia from a very early
period, _i.e._ previous to the Christian era, and is believed to have
reached China about the thirteenth century. There are two kinds, both
accomplished by the process known as incrustation—cloisonné, in which
the pattern is raised on the surface of the metal by soldering on to it
metal or wire strips of copper, silver, or gold, thus forming a series
of cells or cloisons; and champlevé, in which the cell-walls enclosing
the pattern are either modelled and cast, or cut and hollowed out of
the metal itself by means of graving tools: in both, the pattern is
filled in with enamel.
Of the colours, there are two well-contrasted shades of blue—a dark
tint made from cobalt and resembling the lapis-lazuli tone, and a light
sky blue or turquoise; several greens made from copper, a dark coral
red, a fine yellow, black, and white.
Chinese enamels are usually fired in the open courtyard, protected only
by a primitive cover of iron network, the charcoal fire being regulated
by a number of men standing round with large fans in their hands.[42]
Of the interesting fans in which the combined arts of filigree
and enamel are employed we give a charming example from the Wyatt
collection at South Kensington. In this, the effective colour scheme
is that of the two blues and gold; the design being a conventional
rendering of a Phœnix and foliage. In the colour plate given of the fan
in the collection of Mr. M. Tomkinson, the leaf has a large cartouche
in the centre representing a Chinese garden, with the hostess welcoming
a visitor who has arrived on horseback, the servant bringing tea. On
either side are small medallions of a sun-dial and a broken column,
evidently introduced to the order of a European patron.
Of the familiar class of fans having large compositions of figures
of which the heads are of applied ivory, painted, the costumes of
silk appliqué, the sticks of ivory elaborately carved, the example
illustrated from the collection of Mr. Burdett-Coutts belonged to a
mandarin of the first rank. A beautiful example was formerly in the
possession of
[Illustration: Chinese Fan with ivory miniatures
Mr W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P.]
H.I.M. the Empress Eugénie,[43] the stick of sandalwood. The brins of
these fans, twelve in number, are occasionally varied, as follows:—Two
of white ivory, pierced and carved; two of silver filigree and
enamel; two of ivory, pierced and carved, coloured scarlet; two of
tortoise-shell, carved and pierced; two of engraved white pearl; and
two of gilt filigree enamel. The panaches of gilt filigree, with silver
dragons in relief. An example occurs in the collection of Mr. Messel,
another was in the possession of the late Mr. R. W. Edis.
Almost every important city or district in China has its characteristic
fan—something distinctive in the make, colour, or ornamentation of the
folding-fan, which is the fan _par excellence_ in the Chinese mind.
The convenience of this fan will at once be apparent—it occupies but
little space, it may, when not in use, be stuck in the high boot of the
full-dressed Chinaman, or in the ample folds of his dress.
These fans are made to suit every class of society from mandarin to
peasant—to suit the changing seasons, in different sizes in proportion
to the quantity of breeze required. The Son of Heaven, during the
sultry summer months, employs fans of feathers, and during winter of
silk. Fashion, however, lays down inexorable laws as to the time and
period of their use, and to be seen with a fan too early or too late in
the year is considered as _mauvais ton_. A poem by Ow-Yang Hisu informs
us that ‘In the tenth moon the people of the capital turn to their warm
fans.’
During the warm weather the fan forms part of the ceremony of
tea-drinking; the host takes his fan as soon as tea is drunk, and,
bowing to the company, says, ‘Thsing-chen’ (I invite you to fan
yourselves); each guest immediately using his fan with great gravity
and modesty. It is considered a breach of etiquette to be without a fan
on such an occasion, or to refrain from its use.[44]
The Chinese have exhausted every species of ingenuity in the
construction of fans of an _outré_ character. The ‘broken fan,’ a
curious trick, is to all intents and purposes a simple folding-fan, and
opened from left to right presents no feature uncommon. On being opened
to the _reverse_, the whole fan appears to fall to pieces, each bone,
with the part attached, being separated from the other as though the
connecting strings were broken: the principle is extremely simple, but
the effect is surprising.
A fan which has been styled the ‘impracticable,’ is of circular form,
the radiants of ivory, tortoise-shell, sandalwood, or metal filigree,
perforated to such a degree as to render it useless as a means of
disturbing the air. These are elaborately carved with figures,
scroll-work, and other designs, or with birds, flowers, etc., in silver
gilt filigree.
The ‘double-entente’ fan, opened in the ordinary manner, exhibits some
harmless _motif_ such as a flower, bird, or landscape; opened the
reverse way, it discloses a ribald sketch that would entail severe
penalties on its maker if discovered. The Peking variety shows two such
pictures which are not seen when the fan is opened, but are disclosed
by turning back the two end ribs of the fan.
The ‘dagger-fan’ is an invention of the Japanese, its importation
into China being strictly forbidden. In its outward appearance it
is sufficiently harmless, being apparently an ordinary lacquered
folding-fan: in reality it is a sheath containing a deadly blade, short
and sharp, resembling a small Malay kris (see illustration facing page
60). These dagger or stiletto fans are by no means confined to the
East; in the British Museum is a print of an Italian stiletto concealed
in a case made in imitation of a fan; the panaches of ivory, engraved
with Italian arabesques.
[Illustration: Feather Fan, (Argus Pheasant) with embroidered case.
Chinese, early 19th Cent.
Victoria & Albert Museum.]
Inscription fans are common, and exhibit an endless variety of devices.
Some are literary _tours de force_, the most famous being that
associated with the Emperor Chien Wên, of the Liang dynasty, A.D. 550,
and said to be the composition of the monarch himself. This consists
of a couplet of eight characters written in the eight corners of an
octagon fan. On beginning at any one of the eight characters and
reading round the way of the sun, it forms a couplet of perfect sense
and rhythm.
A story is told of a favourite of the Emperor Ch’êng Ti of the Han
dynasty, B.C. 32, whose name was Pan, and who for some time had been
a confidante of his Majesty and the Queen of the Imperial Seraglio.
Having persuaded herself that something more than an ordinary
attachment of the hour existed between herself and the ‘Son of Heaven,’
finding her influence on the wane and being unable to conceal any
longer her mortification, grief, and despair, she forwarded to the
Emperor a circular screen-fan, upon which were inscribed the following
lines expressing the contrast between the summer of her reciprocated
love and the autumn of her desertion:—
‘O fair white silk, fresh from the weaver’s loom,
Clear as the frost, bright as the winter snow—
See, friendship fashions out of thee a fan:
Round as the round moon shines in heaven above;
At home, abroad, a close companion thou;
Stirring at every move the grateful gale,
And yet I fear, ah me! that autumn chills
Cooling the dying summer’s torrid rage,
Will see thee laid neglected on the shelf,
All thought of bygone days, bygone like them.’[45]
From this period, in China, a deserted wife has been called an autumn
fan.
FANS OF THE FAR EAST—_Continued_
JAPAN
[Illustration]
The fan is regarded by the Japanese as an emblem of life, that widens
and expands as the sticks radiate from the rivet or starting-point, and
for this reason is selected for the new-year’s gift.[46] It enters into
almost every affair of the life of the people, from Emperor to peasant;
friends greet each other with a wave of the fan; it is one of the gifts
which the bride takes with her to her husband’s house; it is presented
to the youth on the attainment of his majority;[47] it is used by
jugglers in feats of skill, by the umpires of wrestling matches as
signal, by singers to modulate their voices; the condemned man marches
to the scaffold fan in hand; the executioner does not relinquish his
fan during the performance of his duty.
[Illustration: Netsuki. The Dai Tengu with feather uchiwa.
Mr W. L. Behrens.]
[Illustration: Dagger Fan.
Mr W. L. Behrens.]
[Illustration: Camp Fan of Eagles Feathers, horn handle.
Mr L. C. R. Messel.]
The early history of the fan in the country of Dai Nippon is
substantially the same as in all the countries of the far and nearer
East, and presents us with the same order of development, the earliest
being formed of the primitive palm leaf, or of feathers. We have, in
the story of ‘The Tengus’ a description of the Dai or Master Tengu, who
wears a long grey beard down to his girdle, moustaches to his chin,
and carries in his left hand as a sign of his rank a fan made of
seven wide feathers pointed at the tip: this he waves while singing a
song, doubtless for the purpose of modulating his voice. The fan is
identical in form with that of Chung-li Ch’uan, one of the eight Taoist
immortals, referred to on page 47.
[Illustration: FEATHER-FAN
(From a Japanese painting. British Museum.)]
[Illustration: HAND-SCREEN, BAMBOO HANDLE
(From a Japanese painting. British Museum.)]
The rigid screens received from China at the close of the sixth
century are referred to in the earlier part of this chapter, under
China. Those in use in Japan present no material difference to the
Chinese except in the details of their decorative significance. The
larger screens were employed both in civil and religious ceremonial,
as war standards, and waved by servants in attendance upon royal and
distinguished personages. These latter denoted the rank of the owner,
the material being of silk or other fabric stretched over a wooden
framework, painted or otherwise decorated, the forms extremely varied,
but more usually those of the circle, oval, or pear. The pear-shaped
hand-screen is seen in the hands of Hotei, the fat god of prosperity,
and of Juro, the god of longevity, as an invariable accompaniment of
those divinities. An example is given from a portrait of Lü T’ung-pin,
a Taorist Rishi of the eighth century, by Go-gaku, nineteenth century,
British Museum, 640. This has a red tassel or tail at the end of the
fan, a kind of combination of fan and fly-whip. A similar fan appears
in a painting of the Caligraphic school, British Museum, 1617. This fan
is of Chinese origin, and is constantly represented in the art of that
country.
Fly-whips were also used. Of the representations of the sixteen Arhats
(Buddhist divinities) given in the ‘Butsu zō dzu-i,’ three hold
fly-whips (futsujin) in their hands. This instrument is also seen in
the right hand of Vimalakîrrti, an Indian priest, in the painting
on silk attributed to Shingetsu, Sesshiu school, fifteenth century,
British Museum collection.
The fly-whip or chasse-mouche was also used by generals while on
horseback, this being made of strips of tough paper suspended from a
lacquered handle mounted with bronze.
A list of the more important varieties of Japanese fans, together with
the dates of their introduction, as given by native authorities, will
probably be of service.
Rigid fans or hand-screens, introduced from China, end of sixth
century A.D.
Folding-fans (bamboo), invented by the Japanese, 668-671 A.D.
Gumbai Uchiwa, flat iron battle-fans, eleventh century.
Gun Sen, folding iron battle-fans, twelfth century.
Hi ogi, court-fans, eleventh century.
Mai ogi, dancing-fans, beginning of seventeenth century.
Rikiu ogi, tea-fans, ” ” ”
Water-fans for kitchen use, eighteenth century.
The invention of the folding-fan has already been referred to. Its
earliest form is the Kōmori (bat), so named from the supposition of
the wing of this animal suggesting the principle of its construction.
It is formed of fifteen bamboo sticks having a slight re-divergence
springing from the handle end, so that when held closed in the hand as
it is by courtiers while fulfilling the office of fan-bearing, it still
appears open. It is stated that this spread-out form was adopted as
court-fan on account of the misuse of the dagger-fan. The mount is of
paper, which may be painted with any design in any colour except the
unlucky green and light purple.
[Illustration: Suye hiro ogi. open & closed, decorated with crests on
a gold ground.
Mr W. Harding Smith]
One of the many traditions of its invention may be given. It is
attributed to a fan-maker of the Tenji period, 668-672, whose name is
forgotten, living at Tamba near Kyoto. He was married to a shrew, and
on a certain night a bat having found its way into the sleeping-room,
the woman reviled her husband for not getting up to throw the vampire
out. The animal coming in contact with the lamp, scorched its wings
and fell to the floor. As the man picked it up, the opening of the
creature’s wings suggested to him the principle of a folding-fan that
might be carried in one’s sleeve.[48]
The Suye hiro ogi (wide end) has a similar divergence to the foregoing,
with the addition of a slight curve or rounding of the outward sticks.
It was used for the dances in the Nō drama; the number of sticks
varying from fifteen to twenty-five. This also dates from the seventh
century. The example illustrated is decorated with a series of crests
of various families on a gold ground. In a drawing by Bun-chin,
nineteenth century, British Museum, 891, of Performers in the ‘Nō’
Theatre, is represented a beautiful fan of a peacock with outspread
tail and branches of bamboo, in gold, blue, and green. This fan is of
the ordinary shape.
The Akomé ogi is the earlier court-fan, and dates from the invention
of the folding-fan in the seventh century. It consists of thirty-eight
blades of wood painted white, decorated with cherry, pine, plum, or
chrysanthemum, on a ground of gold and silver powder, ‘among the mist.’
The fan is ornamented at the corners with an arrangement of artificial
flowers in silk, with twelve long streamers of different coloured
silks; the rivet is formed of either a bird or butterfly. This type of
fan was in use by the court ladies until 1868.
By the courtesy of Mr. W. Crewdson we are enabled to reproduce one of
these rare fans, bearing the following inscription:—
‘The decorations at the end of this Akomé-ogi show that it was used
by a court lady. At Kioto, the Mikado’s Palace had Lemon trees at the
right-hand side of the entrance and Cherry trees at the left; hence
these ornaments composed of Cherry flowers and Pine knots.’
The description which Pierre Loti has given us of these fans is so
charming that we cannot refrain from quoting it.
‘They wave with constant motion, or carry shut, their court-fans, on
the pleated silk (?) of which are delicately painted dreamy fancies,
of inexpressible charm, picturing the reflection in the water of
cloud forms, of moons wintry pale, the flight of birds, or showers of
peach blossom wafted by the wind in April mists. At each angle of the
mount is tied an enormous tassel with shades of chenille, the ends of
which trail along the ground, brushing the fine sand at each movement
of the fan.’
The Hi-ogi court-fans are made of the Hi wood (_Chamæcyparis obtusa_),
this being a soft light velvety wood of a beautiful golden brown,
having the additional advantage of immunity from the attacks of
wood-eating insects. The brins are twenty-five in number, fastened with
a metal rivet, and threaded through with silk strings having very long
ends, looped at the top corner of the outer ribs to form a rosette or
other floral device. These fans were first introduced with the simple
ornament of the owner’s crest; afterwards they were painted with great
elaboration and delicacy.
At court ceremonial the Emperor and nobles often bear the Hi-ogi
instead of the Shaku, which is a short staff or sceptre made of wood
(yew) or ivory, generally held vertical in the right hand against the
lower part of the chest, to give the body a more dignified bearing;
when the fan is borne, it is generally carried closed, and held in the
same manner as the Shaku.[49]
Before the age of fifteen a fan of common wood is carried, painted
on the outside, and ornamented with silk threads or strings in five
colours; on his sixteenth birthday the Japanese youth attains his
majority and receives a present of a fan.
[Illustration: Court Lady’s Fan. ‘Akomé Ogi’.
Mr. Wilson Crewdson.]
[Illustration: War Fan. ‘Gun Sen.’
Mr W. Harding Smith.]
The code regulating all the details of court ceremonial is absolute,
and always observed; the use of ivory for the Shaku is confined to the
highest ranks, or the most important ceremonial; no noble could use an
ivory Shaku on any occasion. The various usages connected with the fan
are subjected to similar restrictions.
Ladies carried in place of the Shaku the Hi-ogi.
A fan of special make and design is used by the Empress, and its use
is forbidden to any subject. The blades are twenty-three in number,
connected with a white silk ribbon. The decoration is confined to the
chrysanthemum, pine, orange blossom, plum, or Camellia Japonica. The
ribbon rosettes or loops, affixed to the top of the outer blades, are
arranged in keeping with the particular flower which is represented on
the fan; these have seven long streamers, four feet long, of different
colours. The rivet also is of a particular kind—_paper string_.[50]
Chūkei are fans borne by priests and nobles; these have a
re-divergence at the ends, and date from the period of the
introduction of the folding-fan; they are often painted with the most
consummate skill, reflecting the best traditions of Japanese art. Many
of these paintings exist; in most cases the leaves have been removed
from the sticks and mounted as pictures.
Fabulous stories are extant recounting the marvellous accomplishment
of the painters of the earlier epochs; amongst these is an account of
Tadahira, who is said to have painted upon a fan a cuckoo which uttered
its characteristic note whenever the fan was opened, and of Tsunenori,
who drew a lion so life-like that other beasts fled from it.
The leading schools of Japanese painting are the Buddhist,
Yamato-Tosa. Chinese, Sesshiu Kano, Matahei (popular), Korin,
Shijō (naturalistic), and Ukiyo; each of these has well-marked
characteristics preserved even to the present day.
The art of Japan was to a great extent founded upon, and is in certain
directions a development of, that of the older civilisation of China.
The earliest artist, therefore, recorded in Japanese annals, is a
Chinese, Nanriu by name, of royal descent, who came to Japan about the
end of the fifth century; but of this master, and of his immediate
successors, there are no known examples.
It was in the succeeding century, upon the introduction of Buddhism
into Japan, that we find the first establishment of a school of
Japanese art, initiated by the Chinese and Coreans, and dedicated to
the mural decoration of Buddhistic temples.
From the sixth to the ninth centuries, the history of Japanese painting
is more or less clouded in doubt, and the first great artist who
emerges from the general obscurity is Kanaoka (ninth century), although
the few examples extant which are attributed to this painter are
doubted by the best experts.
The Yamato-Tosa school, though the direct outcome of the study
of Chinese methods, was essentially Japanese and naturalistic in
character, and was founded by Kasuga Motomitsu in the latter part of
the tenth century.
In the thirteenth century Tsunetaka, son of Kasuga Mitsunaga, assumed
the name of Tosa and gave to the Yamato school the name it has since
retained.
An important movement set in at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
no less than a Chinese renaissance. For centuries Chinese influence had
been waning, and the national style of Yamato and Tosa had held the
field.
[Illustration: Hotei and the Children. by Kanō Shō-Yei, 1591.
Japanese:
Mr Wilson Crewdson.]
Sesshiu, the remarkable painter who founded the school bearing his
name, was of the noble family of Ota, and was born in 1440. At the age
of twelve or thirteen he was intended for the Church and placed under
the instruction of the abbot of the temple of Hōfukuji. Sesshiu’s
sympathies, however, were all in the direction of the fine arts, he
neglected religious training, and a story is told of him—one of those
extraordinary legends familiar in Chinese and Japanese annals—that upon
one occasion, when bound to a pillar as punishment for some misconduct,
he beguiled the weary hours of waiting by drawing rats upon the floor,
using his toes for pencil and his tears for ink (!), the representation
being so life-like as to alarm his janitor. Some versions of the story
affirm that, upon the approach of the priest, the rats scampered away.
At the age of forty he visited China, the fountain-head, but was
surprised to find that he had more to teach than to learn.
The fan of Hotei and the children, probably by Kanō Shō-yei,
1591, may be accepted as one of the finest examples of a painted
fan of the Kanō school, the last of the three branches of the
fifteenth-century revival of Chinese teaching. The school was founded
by Masanobu, a painter of landscape, born _c._ 1423 and died 1520, its
actual head, however, being Motonobu, his son, born 1476.
Hotei (Master Linen-sack), the god of prosperity, was a Chinese priest
of the tenth century, famous for his fatness and his love of children.
He could sleep in the snow, never washed himself, and had the power of
infallibly predicting future events. The legends attached to his name
are very similar to those narrated of many Taoist Rishis, but his claim
to a position as Divinity appears to be due to the view enunciated in
the _Butsu-Zō dzu-i_ and other works, that he was an incarnation
of Miroku Bosatsu Mâitrêya, the Messiah of the Buddhists, in which
capacity his image has long been worshipped in Chinese temples. He
is usually represented with a fan of the pear-shaped gourd type, and
carries a cloth bag as a trap for little boys and girls, who are
enticed inside to see the wonderful things it is supposed to contain,
and then imprisoned until they can beg their way out. These ‘Precious
Things’ include the Lucky Rain Coat, the Sacred Key, the Inexhaustible
Purse, etc.[51]
Innumerable pictures of Hotei by Japanese artists are in existence,
some dating from the fifteenth century.
The charmingly poetic view of the Tamagawa River, with the tea-plant in
blossom, and flying cuckoo (Hoto-Togisu), is probably by Kanō San
Raku, 1633. Both these fans are accompanied by a Japanese certificate
of authenticity.
Autograph, motto, and inscription fans are referred to in another part
of this work.[52] The practice of inscribing sacred texts upon fans,
obtained during the latter part of the eleventh and beginning of the
twelfth century, the period ‘when the Buddhist religion was openly
professed by the wealthy and warmly supported by the luxurious.’
Fragments of Buddhist sûtras written on fans and fan leaves exist at
the temples at Yamato, Ôsaka, the Imperial Museum Tôkyô, and elsewhere.
These are copied from the ‘Lotus of the True Law,’ or other Mahâyâna
texts of a like nature. The fans, though differing somewhat in size,
are all alike in paper, pigments, and style of painting, and evidently
had a common origin; they are overlaid with gold-leaf and dusted
with fine sand; upon this a thin wash of red or black pigment is
applied. The sacred text is written in ink, over a painting, usually a
figure-subject and bearing no reference to the text; the faces sketched
in a curious convention known as Hikimé Kagihana (eye with a line, the
nose with a key), in which the eye is represented by a straight line
and the nose with a somewhat acute angle. This convention has been
traced to Kasuga Takayoshi (beginning of the twelfth century), who
painted a number of picture rolls illustrating the tales of the Genii.
[Illustration: The Tamagawa River. with tea-plant & flying cuckoo. by
Kanō San Raku, 1633.
Japanese:
Mr Wilson Crewdson.]
[Illustration: Japanese War Fans, Gumbai Uchiwa.
Mr L.C.R.Messel.
Mr. W Harding Smith.
Mr W.L.Behrens.]
A fan leaf owned by the Temple of Saikyôji, Sakamoto, Omi, is
illustrated in _Selected Relics of Japanese Art_, S. Tajima. A hi-ogi,
with figures and pine-tree, in the Shinto Temple, Itsukushima-Jinsha
Aki, is illustrated in the same work: this latter, doubtless, is a
production of the Taira era, possibly a dedication to the temple from a
scion of the Taira family, and painted by a daughter of Taira Kiyomori,
the premier, 1167-1180, the writer of the ‘Lotus of the True Law.’
A similar combination of painting and writing obtained later, and was
practised by Kôyetsu Hon-Ami, the predecessor of Kôrin Ogata, the
reputed founder of the Korin school. This artist was a skilful writer
of Chinese ideographs, in which art he was one of the ‘Three Pens’ of
his time, being the founder of the Kôyetsu school of caligraphy.[53]
A fine example of Kôyetsu in the possession of Baron Ryûichi Kuki is
reproduced in Mr. Tajima’s work. This is painted on a gold ground, and
represents a rabbit in a flowered field. The fan is divided in two
parts, the writing, which is by the artist, being on the gilt portion.
Kôyetsu died at Kyoto in 1637, aged eighty-two.
The Ukiyoyé school included most of the makers of colour prints; two of
the more famous of them, Masanobu Kiato, and Hokusai Katsushika, born
in the same year, 1760, also painted fans. The former opened a shop
at Ginza for the sale of smokers’ implements and medicine, and sold
besides folding-fans and long panels upon which poems were written;
both of these he ornamented with sketches; they became renowned far and
wide, and from their sale he derived large profit.
A fan leaf by Hokusai, a masterly sketch of the head and shoulders of a
‘Beauty,’ is illustrated in Tajima’s work, as also several fans painted
with courtesans, by an almost equally celebrated maker of colour
prints, Kunisada.
Battle- or war-fans are of two kinds—the flat, rigid screen (uchiwa)
which is the earliest, and the folding (ogi). In both, iron is the
material of which it is mainly composed. The first named is sometimes
formed completely of metal (iron and brass), is of considerable weight,
and is used by officers both for direction, offence and defence, _i.e._
as baton, weapon, and shield.
This sometimes assumes a circular form, and is occasionally inlaid with
the more precious metals; more often, however, it resembles the pear-
or gourd-shaped screen. In the centre example illustrated, belonging to
Mr. W. Harding Smith, the handle is of lacquered wood, the ornaments
at its extremities, together with the rim of the fan blade, of bronze
gilt; it bears an inscription on the obverse in Japanese, and on the
reverse in Chinese, as follows:—
Japanese script.
‘Kisei ai shozaru jun-kwan
no hashi naki-ga gotoshi.’
‘Wrong and right (or odd and even) happen for ever,
impartially, like the revolving ball.’
This may, possibly, be rendered by the following:—
‘Defeat and victory succeed each other
by a turn of Fortune’s wheel.’
Chinese script.
‘Sono toki-koto kazé no gotoku
Sono shizuka-nuru koto hayashi no gotoshi.’
‘Its sharpness is as the wind, its softness
as the grave.’
The fan in the possession of Mr. W. L. Behrens is ornamented with two
dragons in low relief, the motto ‘Tenka tai hei’ (international peace).
In the folding battle-fan, the stick is of wrought iron, the branches
varying from ten to fourteen in number; in many military fans,
the stick is of bamboo, painted black, the guards of iron, often
arrow-shaped, and richly inlaid with silver.[54]
The decoration of the mount, of thick paper, consists of the sun,
moon, or north star, usually in red, but also in gold, on a black or
coloured ground. An unusual example, illustrated, has a gold sun on the
one side, and a silver crescent moon and nine golden planets on the
reverse; the ground being light, the guards of yellow bronze, ‘seutoku.’
The fine fan in the possession of Mr. L. C. R. Messel has on the
obverse a golden sun with two flying birds, and on the reverse a silver
sun with similar birds.
The sun _motif_ is occasionally abandoned in favour of a
figure-subject. M. Ph. Burty exhibited at Liverpool in 1877 a fan that
belonged to a commander-in-chief; the leaf, of stout buff paper covered
with silk tissue, is painted in india ink with the Seven Sages in the
Forest of Bamboru. The brins are of plain whalebone, the panaches
of oxidised iron, elaborately inlaid with scroll-work and crests in
silver, the latter being of the powerful family of Nai-To. Another fan
from the same collection belonged also to an officer of high rank. The
brins are of bronze gilt, the panaches of polished iron, shaped like
slips of bamboo, and chased with lions and flowers. On the inside of
one panache is an inscription in inlaid gold, stating that the ironwork
was made by U. Da-Kane-Signe; the leaf of glistening paper.
The most characteristic war-fans are, however, those having the simple
red sun, with no superfluous decoration, the initial purpose of
these instruments being that of a signal. They constantly appear in
representations of battle-scenes, the general on his war-horse in the
heat of battle brandishing in his right hand the fan, the symbol of
his authority and command. In Hokusai’s painting of ‘Tamétomo and the
Demons’ (British Museum, No. 1747), the hero is grasping a huge bow in
his right hand, and waving the folding battle-fan in his left.
In a print by Kuniyoshi (_c._ 1820) of the battle of Kawanakajima
between Uyesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen (fifteenth century), a
sword-cut is parried by the war-fan.
In a representation of the same battle by Yoshitora, a dismounted
general is directing with a war-fan an attack by spearmen.
In the colour print by Hiroshige II. of Yoshitsune and Benkei, the
war-fan also appears.
In the print by Shunsui of Atsumori and Kumagai, the hero, mounted, is
plunging into the sea followed closely by his adversary Kumagai, also
mounted, brandishing the war-fan as a signal and challenge.[55] Two of
the many stories or legends relating to the war-fan may be given.—The
first refers to Nasu no Yoichi, an archer, whose clan took the fan
as their crest,[56] in allusion to his performance at the battle of
Yashima in 1185. ‘When the Taira were driven from Kyoto by the Minamoto
in 1182, the Empress Ni no Ama flew with the child-emperor Antoku, to
the shrine of Itsukumisha, where thirty pink fans, bearing the design
of the sun disc (Hi no Maru) were kept. The head-priest gave one to
Antoku, saying that it contained in the red disc the Kami of the dead
Emperor Takakura (1169-1180), and would cause arrows to recoil upon
the enemy. The fan was accordingly attached to a mast of the Taira
ship, on which a court lady is always depicted, and a challenge sent
to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, which was accepted by one of his archers,
Nasu no Yoichi, who on horseback rode in the waves, and with a
well-directed arrow broke the rivet which held the leaves together, and
thus shattered the fan.’
[Illustration: War Fans, Gun Sen.
Mr. W. Harding Smith.
Mr. L. C. R. Messel.]
The second tells of Araki, a Samurai whom Oda Nobunaga wished to kill,
summoning him to audience, placing himself in such a position that the
neck of the Samurai came in line with the sliding panels separating the
audience chamber from the daimio’s room, intending to have the _shoji_
slammed together as the man knelt, and thus decapitate him. Araki,
suspecting the trap, promptly laid his iron fan in the groove, jamming
the shutters, and thus saving himself.[57]
The Ha uchiwa (jin sen) is a camp-fan originally introduced from China
in the seventh century and made of the feathers of the eagle, pheasant,
or peacock, the handle usually lacquered red, black, or blue; the
interesting example illustrated is formed of eagles’ feathers fixed in
a horn handle.
Dancing-fans (Mai ogi) were introduced at the beginning of the
seventeenth century. The brins are ten in number, the mount of thick
paper, usually bearing a family crest. One of the earliest of these
fans is to be seen in the painting of a dancer by Matabei (born 1578),
in the Morrison collection (reproduced in _Painting in the Far East_,
Laurence Binyon), the decoration of the mount consisting of a few
scattered leaves.
The fan is the most usual accompaniment of the dance, and is generally
seen in the hands of the Kagura dancers or of the performers with the
Shishi mask. The fan dance, which is more nearly allied to jugglery
than to the dance, is said to commemorate the performance of Uzume
while alluring the Sun Goddess Amaterasu from the cavern, whither
she once retired, plunging the world into temporary darkness by her
absence. In this, the fan represents the leaves of the pine-tree, the
performer balancing a number on his forehead, nose, mouth, hands and
feet.
Tea-fans (Rikiu ogi) are for use at the tea ceremonies celebrated in
honour of tea in every province on the first day of the first month,
and commemorating the curing of the Emperor Murakami, 947-967 A.D.,
of a disease against which the physicians were powerless. The Emperor
recovered after drinking an offering of tea made to the Goddess
Kwanyin. The code, that formerly was of a gorgeous description, was
modified later by Sen-no Rikiu, from whom the fan set apart as cake
tray or saucer derives its name. The Rikiu fan is of the simplest
possible construction, having only three sticks, the decoration also
being of a simple character. It is used for handing round little cakes,
and for no other purpose, fanning being strictly tabooed during such a
dignified proceeding.[58]
The giant closing fans (Mita ogi) were used in the processions at
Ise in honour of the Sun Goddess, the traditional originator of the
Japanese dynasty. These were six or seven feet long, five men being
appointed to carry one of this huge magnitude.
Water-fans (Mizu uchiwa), for kitchen use, date from the eighteenth
century. These are of bamboo split into segments, covered with stout
paper, and varnished or lightly lacquered so as to allow of the fan
being dipped in water, thus securing extra coolness by evaporation.
They are often decorated with figures and other subjects, the varnish
subsequently applied being of a rich warm brown.
Roll-up fans (Maki uchiwa) are circular, the paper stiffened with thin
strips of bamboo; the handle is of bamboo cut through with a slit to
allow the circular fan, which is set on a pivot, to have free play.
When open, the strips of the bamboo foundation are horizontal, thus
securing rigidity; when not in use, the position of the strips may be
reversed, and the disc rolled round the stick and tied.
[Illustration: Modern Japanese Fan, Ivory with gilt Lacquer, and
Painted Fan signed Kunihisa.
Mr. W. Tomkinson.]
Of modern fans, those of ivory and tortoise-shell, carved or decorated
with lacquer and inlay, are, for the most part, made for exportation,
and are often of extreme beauty. The excellent example in the Victoria
and Albert Museum is decorated with circular medallions in gold lacquer
of various shades, portions being carved in relief. It is finely
inlaid in places with mother of pearl; signed by Taishin (a pupil of
Zesshin), and dated 1884. An example, equally fine, is given from the
collection of Mr. M. Tomkinson. This is decorated with a view of Fuji
san, or Fuji-no-yama (peerless mountain); those born within its watch
are considered most happy and fortunate beings.
‘Great Fujiyama, tow’ring to the sky!
A treasure art thou giv’n to mortal man,
A god-protector watching o’er Japan—
On thee for ever let me feast mine eye.’[59]
Of the cheaper hand-screens exported in large quantities to Europe, the
simplest form is that of a dried palm leaf cut to the required shape,
and bound round the edge, the stem forming the handle. The most common
variety is made by splitting bamboo into thin strips that are spread
out radially, fastened with thin cord, and covered with paper; these
are decorated with designs displaying high qualities of arrangement
and graphic skill, and are printed in that process of chromoxylography
which, if not actually invented by the Japanese, has been carried by
them to its highest point of excellence. A more elaborate hand-screen
is also exported, the covering of silk, painted.
It will be readily understood, that the fan, entering as it does so
closely into the daily life of the Japanese, should also form the
subject of many games. Two characteristic instances may be cited.
The ‘fan and cup’ game was particularly favoured by court nobles and
ladies. A company met by the river, each member launching on the water
a fan prepared with varnish or lacquer to ensure buoyancy and to
prevent absorption of moisture. The game consisted in the composition
of a verse or couplet of poetry during the time the fans were at the
mercy of wind and wave, and before they regained terra-firma. Tea-cups
were also used, this last being illustrated in a Chinese makimono by
Hwei-chi Ku-Yuen, British Museum, 276.
In the ogi otoshi or fan target game, a target called ‘cho,’ made
somewhat in the form of a butterfly, is placed on a low table or
pedestal on the floor. A fan is thrown from a given distance with a
sudden and peculiar turn of the wrist, causing it to reverse itself in
its passage through the air and strike the target with the rivet end.
This game is played by two people facing the target at opposite ends.
Bells are attached to the outer edge of the ‘cho,’ that sound when a
successful hit has been accomplished.[60]
No notice, however brief, of the fans of Japan would be complete
without some reference to the constant employment of the fan form as
a decorative _motif_ in Japanese design, one of the many evidences of
the important place the fan holds in the affections of the people.
Lacquered tea-trays assume the shape of the fan; inkstands take the
form of a closed fan, the ink-well at the rivet end, the body of
the fan forming a case for pens;[61] while in diapered patterns,
borders, and other decoration, both flat and in relief, the fan motif
is constantly made use of. The interesting series of fan-shaped
panels illustrative of Japanese history, by an unknown artist of the
Yamato Tosa school, seventeenth century, British Museum, 305-324, are
excellent instances of the use of the fan form in flat decoration,
these being probably removed from an old screen. Three kakémonos in
the collection of Mr. R. Phené Spiers are each finely painted with
four full-sized fans, decorated with various lilies, drawn with that
consummate skill and knowledge of plant form which would appear to be
the peculiar heritage of the sons of Dai Nippon.
[Illustration: Three Chūkei.
Mr L. C. R. Messel.]
[Illustration: Palm Leaf Fan, used by the Great Chiefs, Fiji.
Hide Fan, Nigeria.
British Museum.]