New Britain herald., 1927-05-24

1s|@(,
 Miss Jenny X,. Colder, the : Australian stage VI
 beauty, and the
 huge ostrich feather fan with which she appears in . current
 Paris music hall revue
 "HOSE Chinese generals, whose
 doings are filling 50 much space
 in the newspapers, always carry in the field a "baton of command" which is fan.
 Lp China nobody thinks of doing anything or going anywhere without a fan. Fans are said to have been Chinese invention, dating back at least aa far as 1000 B. C., and it is related that an Empress of the Middle Kingdom, in days of long ago, carried on her chariot feather fan which was used to keep the wheels free from dust.
 Custom in that country decrees the use of special kinds of fans for different occasions and different purposes. But etiquette in this regard is not less rigid in Japan.
 The Japanese youth on attaining his majority receives the formal gift of a fan. Fans are used by priests, of spe- cial pattern. There are "tea fans" car ried at the annual celebration in honor of tea, on the first day of the first month.
 The Empress has a royal fan of exclu- sive design, which no one is allowed to initiate. It is folding fan with seven streamers of ribbon four feet long at tached to it's outer sticks.
 In olden times Japanese generals car ried "war fans" made of iron. There are court fans, tea fans, and dancing fans which are gracefully employed by dancing girls in gesturing. Water fans, for kitchen use, are of bamboo, covered with vanished paper; when dipped in water they give more eoolness by evapo- ration. Fans are used by jugglers in feats of skill, by umpires to signal de- cisions at wrestling matches, and by singers to modulate their voices.
 There is . story of samura named Araki, whom the ferocious daimio Na- bunaga summoned, wishing to kill him. Kneeling on the threshold of the audi ence chamber, his neck came in line with sliding panels which a servant was in- structed to slam together, decapitating him. But Araki, suspecting mischief, laid his fan in the groove, tanning the shutters and saving himself.
 The Chinese claim the invention of the folding fan. So also do the Japanese, who say that it was suggested to the in- ventor by the structure of bats wing. But it is worth mentioning that the de. veloping leaf of the palmetto might have furnished a perfect model, being as neatly pleated and packed as any folding fan.
 At first, only women of the demi- monde made use of folding fans. But later on they came to be more widely employed than any other kind. They were commonly made of paper, but also of ivory, tortoise shell, lacquer, mother of-pearl, gold, silver, silk, and sandal wood. Carved ivory fans are marvels of patient ingenuity.
 In China every important city and district has it's folding fans, distinctive in pattern, color, and ornament. They are made to suit people of all classes, from mandarin to peasant; to suit the changing seasons, and in different sizes. according to the amount of breeze re- quired. The Emperor uses a summer fan of feathers and winter one of silk Fashion in China lays down memorable rules in regard to fans. To be seen with fan that is too early or too late to be seasonable, is shockingly bad form, The fan is part of the ceremony of tea drinking. As soon as the tea is drunk, the host takes his fan and says, "I in- vite you to fan yourselves" Whereupon each guest uses his fan with dignified gravity. It is breach of etiquette to