Artisan Li Jing graces Chinese traditional cut silk circular fan

China

Artisan Li Jing graces Chinese traditional cut silk circular fan

2018-02-01 12:49 Last Updated At：12:50

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

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Liu Wen. Photo courtesy: Bazaar

Fan Bingbing. Photo courtesy: Bazaar

Liu Wen. Photo courtesy: Bazaar

Fan Bingbing. Photo courtesy: Bazaar

Li Jing. /By CGTN

CGTN Photo

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

"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."

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.

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."

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."

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."

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."

Marcus Smart gets in shouting match with a fan in his return to Boston with Wizards

2025-04-07 09:30 Last Updated At：09:41

BOSTON (AP) — Former Celtics and current Wizards guard Marcus Smart said a fan “crossed the line” when he was heckling Washington's bench during Sunday’s game in Boston, leading to a bit of shouting before the fan was ushered out of the TD Garden.

“He just crossed the line. We all know, I don’t do line crossing,” Smart said after the Celtics beat the Wizards 124-90. “You never want to see that, especially for a guy who’s coming back and has given the city everything he has.”

The game between the defending NBA champions and a team competing for the worst record in the league was never close, and Boston led by 35 with about six minutes left when a hubbub arose behind Washington's bench. Smart was pointing at a fan and it appeared his teammates and a coach were trying to hold him back.

Smart said he was pointing the man out to security. “Just trying to get him out before it escalated more than what it was,” he said.

Smart was drafted by the Celtics in 2014 and played the first nine years of his career with the team, but he was traded to Memphis in the summer of 2023 in a deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.

The Celtics, who reached the Eastern Conference finals six times with Smart and the NBA Finals once, went on to win it all in the first year without him. Smart did not play in last year's game when the Grizzlies visited Boston; he did play for Memphis in Boston in December.

Back in the city for the first time since he was traded to Washington in February, Smart did not play on Sunday as the Wizards focus on young players and the draft lottery. During the game, fans chanted: “We want Marcus!”

“Flashbacks, baby,” Smart said. “The love is always there. From both sides – myself and the fans, the city. It’s definitely emotional coming back and you try to hold it back. But I love it. I love every last bit of it. I’m a part of the city -- nine years. A kid to a young man.”

Smart spent a long time after the game catching up with his former teammates.

“It’s always good to keep in touch with those guys,” he said. “Grew up with those guys. We went through a lot of battles -- blood, sweat and tears. A few of those guys came to my mom funeral. So it’s a deeper bond than just basketball between us.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba