A Contrastive Study Of Folding Fan Culture Between China And Japan From The Perspective Of Semiotics

Folding fan is a typical manifestation of Chinese and Japanese culture.From the Ming Dynasty,folding fan gradually replaced the status of group fan,and became the mainstream of fan technology.In addition to the practical function of fan cooling,folding fan,as an ideographic symbol,not only deeply rooted in Chinese culture,but also played an important role in the process of cultural exchanges between China and Japan.The author takes Chinese folding fans as the research object and compares them with Japanese folding fans near East Asia.Starting from their shape,evolution and scope of use,the author analyses and expounds the different cultural meanings of folding fans as symbolic ideographic texts,which are independent but interacting with each other.So,what is the difference between Chinese and Japanese folding fan culture? And what is the reason for this difference? This paper starts from the following aspects:Firstly,the development history and status of Chinese folding fans are comprehensively and meticulously sorted out,and the typical characteristics of Chinese folding fans are summarized.Meanwhile,Japanese folding fans are taken as cultural references for corresponding research.On the basis of the above analysis,the differences between Chinese and Japanese folding fans in shape,evolution,usage etiquette and important cultural expressions are analyzed by means of semiotics.Secondly,the synchronic comparative analysis of folding fans between China and Japan is made,and the connotation and denotation of folding fans between China and Japan are compared and analyzed as a system.Finally,it makes a diachronic comparative analysis of folding fans between China and Japan.The study of folding fans in China ranges from Ming and Qing dynasties to modern times,and in Japan from Nara to Ping An to modern times.It studies the diachronic change process of the shape,evolution,use and cultural expression of folding fans between China and Japan.It finds out typical features in folding fans between China and Japan,and conducts systematic research on the expression activities occurring in the process of material,shape and use.Through the above comparative study,it is found that a folding fan has different symbolic meanings in different cultures of two countries.The main reasons for the differences are Japan’s deep-rooted hierarchy and ideology,China’s diversity in regional and nationalcultures,and the different levels of economic development.By comparing the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and Edo times of Japan,we can see that the folding fan bones of Suzhou and Rongchang in Ming and Qing dynasties are changeable,and the unique clay-gold fan surface has been developed.The types of the folding fan bones are more diverse,while the folding fan bones of Japan rarely change.In fan art,most of the folding fans in Suzhou and Rongchang are literati paintings,with diverse themes and contents.Most of the Japanese are Ukiyo paintings,which are relatively single.In terms of function,Suzhou folding fan pays attention to aesthetic function,Rongchang folding fan pays more attention to practicality,while Japan folding fan has stronger aesthetic,and its more prominent feature is its strict regulations in all levels.To sum up,fans originate from practicality,and indeed give them more symbolic meanings and enrich culture in the development of culture.