*Xinhui Palm Leaf Craft

85.*Xinhui Palm Leaf Craft

Nominating Unit: Xinhui District, City of Jiangmen

Xinhui District, City of Jiangmen, is the famous hometown of fan palm trees in China. As early as 1600 years ago in the Eastern Jin Period, there was plantation and processing of fan palm trees. According to the History of the Ming Dynasty, fans made with fan palm tree were already articles of tribute to the imperial court, which proved its excellence in craftsmanship. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the craftsmanship of fan palm processing gained even more prosperity, and there were more than 300 workshops in this area, with more than 500 models of palm fans manufactured. The quickly-improved techniques gained its world fame. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Xinhui has become the biggest fan palm production base in the world, with annual sales of palm fans reaching 120 million. The pyrographic and woven fans are even sold in Europe, the United States and countries in Southeast Asia. In 1965, a Palm Fan Factory was established in the county, which marked a prime period of this craftsmanship. Now it is mainly distributed in Huicheng, Tianma, Tianlu, Nantan, Sanjiang, Meijiang, Muzhou, Da’ao, etc.

Xinhui Palm Leaf Craft uses locally made fan palm trees as its raw material. Its natural shape and structure make it perfect material for making fans, and is called “glass fan palm”. All of the tree’s body can be utilized, making product of three broad categories: the first is daily necessities, such as shades, brushes, brooms, and raincoats; the second is woven handicrafts, such as flower baskets, hats, mattress, cushions, and screens; the third is the renowned palm fans, which have more than 100 models. Among them, the glass palm fan is made by repeated processing of a fresh fan palm tree leaf. The face of the fan is clean and slick, perfect for practical usage with a cheap price. Therefore it has entered the common people’s life. In 1911, Tan Yueshan invented a woven fan, which was made by first ripping the fan palm tree leave into strips, and weaving them into a full moon shape. This ingenuity quickly attracted people’s attentions and made its place across the country. Later, embroidery techniques were also included, embroidering colored patterns on both sides of the fan to make it more exquisite. In 1913, Lin Zhao first put calligraphy and paintings on the woven fans, and created a new style, which won a gold prize on 1915’s Panama-Pacific International Expo.(https://www.daowen.com)

The main representative of Xinhui Palm Leaf Craft is pyrographic fan, or fire paint fan. It was created allegedly by a famous painter, Chen Wan during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. It is made by drawing with a red hot iron pen on a palm fan, or more specifically by first drawing the details with a thin iron pen, then the shades with a thick iron pen. This technique is called a wonder of southern China, because of the great skills in controlling the strength and temperature of the iron pen to make a perfect drawing. In 1952 it was designated as a special kind of handicraft by the country and enlisted into the list of the second batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

With the grand scale production and sales of modern commodities, palm fans have already become unpopular, replaced by electric fans and air-conditionings. Xinhui Palm Leaf Craft craftsmanship is losing its ground, and the plantation area of fan palm trees are also diminishing. A lot of the craftsmen of this trade have changed their jobs, and today only four persons mastering the iron drawing technique are left, namely Liao Chenglin, Li Kangchi, Zhu Xiaofen, Ye Rongzhuo. Its transmission is in jeopardy and urgent attention and protection are caller for.