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中国的制扇技术有三四千年的历史，扇子的品种有四百多种。从制作扇子的骨架、扇面，到扇子的造型以及附加其上的文化符号，种类繁多，令人目不暇接。		Craftsmanship for making Chinese fans dates back to some three or four thousand years ago and features more than 400 varieties of hand fans. Chinese fans vary in their frames, coverings and shapes, even in the cultural symbols on them, treating the audience to a visual feast.
中国扇子的四大产地是江苏、浙江、四川、广东，其中有三大产地在长江流域。		Chinese fans are mainly produced in four places, namely Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Sichuan Province and Guangdong Province, three of which are situated along the Yangtze River.
“杭州雅扇”自古有名，尤其是南宋迁都临安（即今天的杭州）后，制扇工艺更为发达。明清以后，杭扇生产兴旺，当时的杭扇与丝绸、茶叶齐名，被称为“杭产三绝”。杭州王星记扇厂创办于公元1875年，王星记扇子共有15大类，400多个品种，3000多个花色，其中以黑纸扇和檀香扇最负盛名。		The city of Hangzhou has been famous for its “elegant fans” since ancient times. Its fan-making industry especially developed in the Southern Song Dynasty when the capital was moved to Lin’an (present-day Hangzhou). The Ming and Qing dynasties witnessed a boom in the production of Hangzhou fans, which, enjoying equal fame as silk and tea, boasted one of “the three specialties of Hangzhou”. Founded in Hangzhou in the year 1875, the time-honored fan factory Wangxingji now produces fans of 15 major categories, over 400 varieties and some 3,000 designs and colors, including the most famous black paper fans and sandalwood fans.
黑纸扇是纯手工制作，选料考究，汇聚了中国民间传统手工制扇的精髓，整个扇子制作下来要经过大大小小86道工序。由于扇面所用的是纯天然桑皮纸，所以质地绵韧，不易断裂。而用来粘合扇面的是用柿子发酵而成的柿子漆，反复刷数遍后，扇面与扇骨融为一体，同时不怕水蚀，因而有“一把扇子半把伞”的美誉。		Black paper fans are purely made by hand and only use choice materials, representing the very essence of the traditional folk art of fan making in China. It takes as many as 86 procedures, major or minor, to make a fan. Using natural mulberry paper, the covering of the fan is both soft and durable and will not crack easily. After being brushed several times with a specialized paint fermented from persimmon, the covering is tightly glued together with the ribs and becomes waterproof, thus the famous saying “a fan is half an umbrella”.
在传统的制扇技术中，为了保证扇面干了之后不变形，制作扇子时不能烘干和曝晒，只能用很长时间自然阴干。有人算过，如果一把扇子由一个人按顺序来完成，至少需要半个多月的时间。做好的扇子必须存放一两年方是上品。于是，黑纸扇就有了“做一年，卖一时”的说法。		According to the traditional techniques, a newly made fan, rather than being dried over a fire or under the blazing sun, has to be placed in the shade to dry for a long time so that the covering won’t be out of shape after it is dried. As once calculated, it takes a craftsman at least over half a month to make a fan if he follows all the procedures and finishes the job on his own. A well made fan won’t be of the highest rank unless it has been stored for one or two years. Therefore, it is often said that a black paper fan is “made in a year but sold in a minute”.
历代文人墨客都喜欢在扇子上题诗作画，几百年来，扇面绘画已经成为一个专业行当。由于扇面绘画需要具备非常高的工艺和艺术水准，所以画师们都把画扇面作为对自己技艺的一种挑战。自古以来书法和绘画大师们不吝在扇面上挥毫泼墨，一展自己的才华。简单的扇子被赋予了更多的人文气息，从生活用具演变成集实用与审美为一体的工艺品。		Men of letters in all times love to write poems or draw pictures on the covering of a fan; as a result, calligraphy and painting on fans have become a professional craft over the last several hundred years. Since it requires outstanding craftsmanship and artistic ability, all artists take it as a challenge to their skills to draw on the covering of a fan. Since ancient times, great calligraphers and painters never spare any effort in showing their talents by writing and painting on fans. Simple as it seems, the fan, with its strong cultural presence, is no longer just a daily utensil, but a work of art with both practical and aesthetic values.
传统的中国制扇技术承载着上千年的历史和文化。2008年，制扇技艺被列入中国国家级非物质文化遗产名录。		The traditional craftsmanship for making Chinese fans carries a history and culture of over 1,000 years. In 2008, it was added to the list of China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage.