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Fantastic fans, splendid swords, umbrellas for sun, rain and status
By Xu Wenwen |
October 14, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HANGZHOU is famous for its fans, knives, scissors and swords - and umbrellas. The three are showcased in three newly opened museums near the Grand Canal of China - fans at the northwest of Gongchen Bridge, umbrellas and swords/knives/scissors housed in a complex southwest of the bridge.
Over the National Day holiday, the three museums attracted around 200,000 tourists and those who answered a survey reported 98 percent satisfaction.
The three are converted factories and workshops, with old-looking exteriors and new exhibition rooms and halls.
Reconstruction required nearly two years. The three display around 1,400 items.
There are plans to expand the collections and to invite professionals to give free lectures about fans, umbrellas, swords and other cutting implements.
The China Umbrella Museum and the China Knife, Scissors and Sword Museum are housed in a converted cotton mill, the most difficult to preserve of the old structures. The walls were reinforced and a wing was added. It covers 16,519 square meters.
Fans
The China Fan Museum covers 15,912 square meters. Large and small fans are suspended from the ceiling in the entrance hall, and on the walls are projected videos of fan construction. There are long-handled and short-handled fan, round fans and folding fans. Ancient melodies are played and glittering fan-like lights suggest a more graceful world.
Fans used to reflect social status. Men and women had different fans, which also reflected their status. Famous artists were often commissioned to paint pictures on the surface of fans, so the culture of fans is also related to calligraphy and art.
On the first floor of the museum, there's a "fan street," with workshops and stores, reminiscent of the prosperous Hangzhou fan street in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
In front of one store, a robot seller promotes fans to passersby and another tells the famous "Legend of White Snake," an ancient Hanghzou tale of love and sorcery. The story is told in traditional pingshu, the art of storytelling to music.
In the workshop, models demonstrate each step of the fan-making process. Visitors can draw and make their own fans.
The second floor displays a treasure trove of fans.
One of the most interesting is the Gong Fan, made entirely of bamboo in Zigong City, Sichuan Province.
It uses bamboo filament instead of paper, silk or cloth. It's made of qingci bamboo that only grows in Sichuan. The handle is made of ivory or ox bone. The workmanship is masterful.
The biggest fan is a 2.6-meter-high folding fan made by Wangxingji Fan Co, an old Hangzhou company founded in 1875. It opens to more than five meters and features a panoramic view of the West Lake.
Another notable fan only expands to 73cm (it's 40cm high) but on it are written more than 7,000 characters from the "Dao De Jing," the fundamental book of Taoism. Knives, scissors and swords
Stone knives and swords were used in prehistoric times. Bronze daggers date back to the Western Zhou Period (1046-771 BC).
The museum exhibits Chinese swords from the Stone Age to modern times, as well as swords from other countries.
A special temporary exhibition features 100 swords from Huangfu Jiang's personal collection.
A lacquer scabbard sword from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) is perfectly preserved and still glossy after 2,000 years. A broadsword from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) has a handle decorated with gold, and a blade decorated with silver. The scabbard is also gilded.
A wootz steel sword from the 18th century has a handle made of a single piece of white jade encrusted with red and green gemstones. Wootz steel is high carbon and famous for its durability and sharpness.
Moving on to scissors, a video shows how workers forge and polish scissors. They are the workers from Zhang Xiao Quan Scissors Co in Hangzhou. Models reproduce every step of the scissor-making process.
It also shows ancient scissors from the Han Dynasty made from a single piece of iron shaped like the number "8."
Another section shows all kinds of knives used for harvesting, butchering, cooking, surgery and other uses.
Umbrellas
In the entrance hall, thousands of strands of white thread hang from the ceiling, giving the impression of rain in sparkling blue lights. Hanging red umbrellas take the audience into the umbrella world.
In ancient China, umbrellas and their color were linked to social status. Common people in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) could only carry green umbrellas, while the emperor used yellow and red. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), common people could only use umbrellas made with oiled paper.
Hangzhou is famous for its silk umbrellas which were typically given to an administrator when he left his position.
A yellow umbrella made in 1888 for an official of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is embroidered with 142 citizens' names and four encircling dragons - a sign of great affection and respect.
West Lake silk umbrellas are typical souvenirs from the lake, produced by the Dujinsheng Silk Weaving Mill. Early in the 1900s the company sent workers to Japan to learn techniques of making silk umbrellas. Today they are made from Hangzhou bamboo and local silk, painted with West Lake scenes.
Over the National Day holiday, the three museums attracted around 200,000 tourists and those who answered a survey reported 98 percent satisfaction.
The three are converted factories and workshops, with old-looking exteriors and new exhibition rooms and halls.
Reconstruction required nearly two years. The three display around 1,400 items.
There are plans to expand the collections and to invite professionals to give free lectures about fans, umbrellas, swords and other cutting implements.
The China Umbrella Museum and the China Knife, Scissors and Sword Museum are housed in a converted cotton mill, the most difficult to preserve of the old structures. The walls were reinforced and a wing was added. It covers 16,519 square meters.
Fans
The China Fan Museum covers 15,912 square meters. Large and small fans are suspended from the ceiling in the entrance hall, and on the walls are projected videos of fan construction. There are long-handled and short-handled fan, round fans and folding fans. Ancient melodies are played and glittering fan-like lights suggest a more graceful world.
Fans used to reflect social status. Men and women had different fans, which also reflected their status. Famous artists were often commissioned to paint pictures on the surface of fans, so the culture of fans is also related to calligraphy and art.
On the first floor of the museum, there's a "fan street," with workshops and stores, reminiscent of the prosperous Hangzhou fan street in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
In front of one store, a robot seller promotes fans to passersby and another tells the famous "Legend of White Snake," an ancient Hanghzou tale of love and sorcery. The story is told in traditional pingshu, the art of storytelling to music.
In the workshop, models demonstrate each step of the fan-making process. Visitors can draw and make their own fans.
The second floor displays a treasure trove of fans.
One of the most interesting is the Gong Fan, made entirely of bamboo in Zigong City, Sichuan Province.
It uses bamboo filament instead of paper, silk or cloth. It's made of qingci bamboo that only grows in Sichuan. The handle is made of ivory or ox bone. The workmanship is masterful.
The biggest fan is a 2.6-meter-high folding fan made by Wangxingji Fan Co, an old Hangzhou company founded in 1875. It opens to more than five meters and features a panoramic view of the West Lake.
Another notable fan only expands to 73cm (it's 40cm high) but on it are written more than 7,000 characters from the "Dao De Jing," the fundamental book of Taoism. Knives, scissors and swords
Stone knives and swords were used in prehistoric times. Bronze daggers date back to the Western Zhou Period (1046-771 BC).
The museum exhibits Chinese swords from the Stone Age to modern times, as well as swords from other countries.
A special temporary exhibition features 100 swords from Huangfu Jiang's personal collection.
A lacquer scabbard sword from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) is perfectly preserved and still glossy after 2,000 years. A broadsword from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) has a handle decorated with gold, and a blade decorated with silver. The scabbard is also gilded.
A wootz steel sword from the 18th century has a handle made of a single piece of white jade encrusted with red and green gemstones. Wootz steel is high carbon and famous for its durability and sharpness.
Moving on to scissors, a video shows how workers forge and polish scissors. They are the workers from Zhang Xiao Quan Scissors Co in Hangzhou. Models reproduce every step of the scissor-making process.
It also shows ancient scissors from the Han Dynasty made from a single piece of iron shaped like the number "8."
Another section shows all kinds of knives used for harvesting, butchering, cooking, surgery and other uses.
Umbrellas
In the entrance hall, thousands of strands of white thread hang from the ceiling, giving the impression of rain in sparkling blue lights. Hanging red umbrellas take the audience into the umbrella world.
In ancient China, umbrellas and their color were linked to social status. Common people in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) could only carry green umbrellas, while the emperor used yellow and red. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), common people could only use umbrellas made with oiled paper.
Hangzhou is famous for its silk umbrellas which were typically given to an administrator when he left his position.
A yellow umbrella made in 1888 for an official of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is embroidered with 142 citizens' names and four encircling dragons - a sign of great affection and respect.
West Lake silk umbrellas are typical souvenirs from the lake, produced by the Dujinsheng Silk Weaving Mill. Early in the 1900s the company sent workers to Japan to learn techniques of making silk umbrellas. Today they are made from Hangzhou bamboo and local silk, painted with West Lake scenes.
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