Fan-Making (Rongchang Folding Fan)
국가급 무형문화유산 · 제2차 선정The Rongchang folding fan is a traditional handicraft of Rongchang district in Chongqing, its fan-making reaching back to the Ming and Qing as one of the area's hereditary mainstay crafts. Choice in material and fine in workmanship, it is ranked with Suzhou silk fans and Hangzhou painting fans among China's three famous fans, once sold across the southwest and abroad.
Its making is intricate, dozens of steps from selecting bamboo, shaping the ribs, baking the color, and threading the leaf to pasting and decoration; the ribs, often of mottled or palm bamboo, are finished smooth and even, while the leaf, plain or painted with verse and image, unites everyday use with refined pleasure.
The Rongchang fan is an emblem of the region's traditional handcraft, distilling generations of mastery in bamboo work and fan culture. In 2008 it was added, as an extension of fan-making craft, to the second national intangible-heritage list.
The fans can be seen at Rongchang's fan workshops, intangible-heritage displays, and related cultural events in Chongqing, a craft through which to savor the beauty of the region's artisanship.