Folding fans were introduced to China from North Korea in the Northern Song Dynasty. In Dream, Wu, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, said "Zhou Jia Folding Fan Shop". It can be inferred that folding fans were made in China in the Southern Song Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou famous folding fans emerged in large numbers, with a wide variety and increasingly sophisticated production. Shen Defu, an Amin, recorded in Wild Goods: "All kinds of rosewood, ivory and ebony in Wuzhong folding fans are vulgar, and brown bamboo and bamboo poles are regarded as elegant things with sleeves. Its face is not expensive, but its bones are fashionable. In the past, all the famous hands belonged to Ma Xun, Ma Fu and Liu Xinhui, and they were worth several baht. In recent years, Shen Shaoqi and Liu Yutang appeared, and the price reached one gold. At the same time, Jiang is famous for his unique skills. A handle is worth three or four gold, and several people are vying for it. For example, it is also a demon. "

Suzhou fans are famous for their elegance and exquisiteness. It is not only a good companion in midsummer, but also a pleasing work of art. There are many kinds of fans in Suzhou, among which three are the most famous. Silk Gongshan, also known as Tuanfan, was a famous mountain in Suzhou during the Jin and Song Dynasties. Xie Fangzi (Suzhou native) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote "Song of the Round Fan": "The round fan is a complex fan, and it may be self-defeating." Lu You, a poet in the Song Dynasty, also said: "Wuzhong knows the gentleman's recent affairs, and every family in the group paints." In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, silk gongshan was often used by literati as poetry and painting materials, and its sales increased greatly. Suzhou silk Gongshan fan silk is light in texture and delicate. The fan ring is made of bamboo and covered with ivory, tortoise shell and the like. The fan handle is made of precious bamboo, wood teeth and wood horns, and decorated with painting, carving or inlay, painting, etc. Fan styles are diverse, including bronze mirror, palace lantern, admiralty, bell, heart-shaped, phoenix-tailed, dragon ball, begonia, Yu Pei, black fancy and hexagon. These things happen to be good at design and production, so all places come to Suzhou to purchase Sigong Mountain, and the production is quite prosperous. Folding fan, also known as multi-head fan, is also called unfolding fan because it is unfolded when used and folded when closed.

Although this kind of fan appeared and became popular in modern times, it was soon widely loved by Chinese and foreign women. It is said that the earliest workshop in Suzhou to make sandalwood fans is called "Zhang Duoji", and sandalwood fans were produced in the 1920s. The style of the fan made at that time was similar to that of ordinary folding fans. Later, there was a significant change. Zhong Ding, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Bo Gu and flowers and birds are engraved on the big bone. Around 1930s, Hangzhou "Wang" firm, which is famous for its fans, once selected several Japanese female fans (small silk fans) popular in the international market and entrusted Suzhou sandalwood fan workshop to process sandalwood, thus becoming the famous "Wang" sandalwood fan in Hangzhou. Because the firm is located in Hangzhou, Hangzhou scenic spots are used as the names of various sandalwood fans (such as "Jade Belt", "Shuangfeng" and "West Cold").

Suzhou sandalwood fan has a long history, complete categories and exquisite craftsmanship, and enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad.

Suzhou folding fan is famous for its fine production and various varieties. It is said that there are as many as 300 or 400 kinds of bone-shaped sectors in the works of artists in past dynasties. Artists not only make folding fans with different lengths, widths, sizes and thicknesses according to different users (male, female, old, young, tall, short, fat and thin), regions (southeast, northwest, at home and abroad), climate (early summer, midsummer) and uses (dancing in the wind). , but also can burn out all kinds of patterns even if the fan head is as small as a grain of rice. Folding fans are divided into painting fans and plain fans, and the production of plain fans is the main one.

It is said that Wen Zhiming, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, was not a square. There are brothers Ma Fu and ginger who are good at setting bones, especially ginger, which is called "". Sandalwood fan, which is formed by folding the fan surface along the edge, and the fan bone is sandalwood. This kind of fan is mostly used by women, so it is particularly small and exquisite, gorgeous and exquisite. Besides, sandalwood smells good. A fan in your hand is full of fragrance, which has the effect of refreshing your mind on a hot summer day. A Suzhou proverb says, "Fan a sandalwood fan in June, no matter how hot it is." Hiding in a box after summer can prevent insects and eat clothes. Sandalwood fans are mainly suitable for women to beautify as a decoration, so their form and structure are rich in decorative interest.

Because literati painters can use it to make pens. Although it is a plain face, artists are still changing skillfully, not only with various colored sectors (such as gold face, sprinkled gold face, patterned gold face, porcelain blue face, coral face, etc.). ), but also with a variety of white face (such as antique, stationery, silk face, etc. ), giving the painter all kinds of convenience. Therefore, there are various forms of folding fans in Suzhou, and it is not an exaggeration to describe them as "a hundred flowers blossom". Suzhou folding fan industry has seen many famous artists since the Ming Dynasty, such as Fang who is good at making folding fans.