柳条青青，南风熏熏，轻罗小扇，藏着笑语殷殷 | Reigniting Fan Artisan

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有韵地，

你走来，

像一首小令。

轻罗扇下，

你，笑语殷殷。

有位姑苏少年，

独步静听。

In 2016, super models and film stars offered some stunning fashion shots with the round fans in their hands.

2016年，接连有国际名模和明星凭借一把团扇惊艳时尚界。

Dressed in western gown in a British castle, Chinese supermodel Liu Wen still managed to convey the charm and grace of an oriental woman holding a delicate fan.

虽然身穿西式华服，身处英国古堡，刘雯却从内而外散发出独属东方的魅力和韵味。

Fan Bingbing, who played in many costume dramas, also used the round fan to connect the classical and the modern fashion.

演绎过众多古代名人的范冰冰，则用一把团扇，实现了古典与现代的时空转换。

The round fans are from the Leisure Cottage Round Fan Studio in Suzhou, east China. The studio is located inside the deep lanes, with a classical garden just like the ones in ancient poems and paintings. Li Jing is the owner of the studio. Although graduated from a design school, he wasn't a professional round fan craftsman at the beginning.

她们手中的团扇皆出自姑苏城中的嗜闲居团扇工作室。工作室所处的地方，古巷深深，庭院萋萋，正如诗画中的水乡园林。工作室的主人名叫李晶。学设计出身的他，最早并非专业的团扇手艺人。

Round fans, also called circular fans, were first seen in the dynasty of Han, and became important belongings for women in the palace during the Tang and Song dynasties. Painters and poets liked to leave their works on the fans, turning them into pieces of art. Women tended to hide their faces behind the fans to show their elegance. Sometimes they would use the fans to imply the solitary life in the royal palace. All these infused the round fans with a sense of feminine grace and sorrow.

团扇，又称宫扇、纨扇，自汉代出现，在唐宋时期开始流行，成为宫中女子的随身物件。一方面，文人雅士爱好在扇面上作画题诗，使得扇子从日常用具升格为观赏品；另一方面，古代女子时常以团扇遮面，以示娇柔，或以团扇自比，抒发深宫生活的寂寥。这让精致的团扇身上，又多了一份女性化的优美与哀愁。

Li got to know about the round fans through traditional operas. He found them very appealing as props on stage. Later he began to collect antiques, including pieces of round fans. "Round fan was actually one of the earliest fans in China. In the poems and literature works even before the dynasty of Ming, the 'fans' all referred to round fans. It has such a long history," explains Li.

李晶最早接触团扇，是通过戏曲。身为戏迷的他通过戏曲道具发现了团扇的美。后来，他开始收藏各种古玩，其中不乏团扇的零件。“团扇是我们中国最早的一种扇子。明代以前的诗词里，文学作品里，提到的扇子其实都是指团扇，它的历史非常悠久。”

"I got some frames and handles from the antique markets. They had very beautiful carvings, which attracted me so much. I took them to Suzhou, hoping to find some craftsmen to restore them." 

“我在古玩市场收到一些团扇的框架，或者是团扇的柄，有的雕工很漂亮，”李晶说，“当时就觉得好看，想拿来苏州找师傅来修复。”

To his surprise, there wasn't any craftsman in the city who was able to restore the k'o-ssu fans. As a dedicated collector who always wanted to have control, Li decided to do it himself. Bringing all his savings, plus 100 thousand yuan given by his father and 50 thousand lent by friends, he came to Suzhou and established the studio. He went to every corner of the counties around on foot, searching for the craftsmen who still knew the k'o-ssu technique.

没想到，苏州已经没有会做缂丝团扇的师傅了。身为一个控制欲很强的收藏癖，李晶决定自己动手。揣着父亲给的十万元，好友借的五万元，再加上自己之前的积蓄，李晶只身来到苏州，创办了嗜闲居团扇工作室。他走遍苏州的下辖市县，步行几百里寻找缂丝老手艺人。

K'o-ssu fans require very sophisticated techniques. In ancient times, they were exclusive to the royal families. An old craftsman said: "K'o-ssu was as valuable as gold. If you used the wrong color here, you'll have to dismantle it and do it all over again.”

缂丝扇面的工艺非常复杂，在古代是宫廷的专属。一位老师傅说：“老话说，一寸缂丝一寸金。这地方要是做错了颜色，就要从头到尾，全部拆掉再做。”

It may take several craftsmen to finish a round fan inlaid with gold and silver threads. However, most of the craftsmen are in their sixties or seventies. They don't have successors. "Young people wouldn't learn it," says Li, "although I want to promote the traditional things so that people can enjoy it."

完成一把镶金嵌银的精致团扇，有时可能需要好几名师傅。但现在师傅们年纪偏大，六七十岁，后继无人。“没有年轻人愿意学。”李晶说，“我想把这些传统的东西挖掘出来，让大家可以享用到。”

Li believes that the most attractive part in the round fans is the classical aesthetics: "The Chinese values inner spirits more than the figures. When we make a butterfly, it doesn't have to be exactly the same as a real one. How do we make it as beautiful, but not limited to the real thing? We'd have to put our own imagination and preference in it. That's why the traditional art is fascinating."

李晶认为，团扇中的古典美学是最吸引人的部分：“中国讲究写意。我们做一个蝴蝶不一定要做得跟真的一样。怎样把一个蝴蝶做得又像实物，但又不是实物，又很好看，这就要有自己的遐想，自己的喜好在里面。传统东西最吸引我们的地方就在这里。”

For Li, making fans is like communicating with the ancient people. The enjoyable hobby, however, has to meet the reality: "As the craftsmen, we hope that more people could appreciate its beauty and be willing to spend money on it. The art can be passed on, but not merely by preaching the love for it.”

做团扇，对李晶来说是跟古人进行心灵交流的过程，让他乐在其中。不过，爱好总有与现实碰撞的一天：“我们作为手艺人，还是希望更多的人认识到它的美，有更多的人愿意花钱来消费，而不是纯粹靠情怀来呼吁大家来学。这样这门手艺才能真正流传。”

Cameraman: Fang Zhijun

Film editor: Wang Na, Yang Zhou

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Charlotte Bates

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