英语畅谈中国文化50主题 09

9. Chinese fans

Fans seem to have special meaning in Chinese culture. I’ve received a number of them as gifts from my Chinese friends. The fans are very pretty. So I assume they are not meant to be used. Also they are too cute for a man like me to use. Fans used to be a favorite item for women in China. You may have noticed that nearly all female figures in traditional Chinese paintings carry a silk fan. In the movies of the 1930s and 1940s, fans are a very visible article for Shanghai women on the bond. Usually the structure of the fans is made of sand wood, and the faces are made of silk or paper. Because the fans are always scented¹, women who use them appeared even more attractive. Fans are probably one of the most appropriate expressions of female elegance². Men also use fans. But these fans are usually much bigger. Men’s fans often use valuable materials for that structure and the faces are always painted with plants, landscapes or calligraphy³ to express the only status and aspirations⁴. But none of fans I have look the same as what you have just told me. The paintings are also different. Mine are painted with either Beijing Opera masks or Chinese dragons. As a result of open-door policy, fans have become popular again, not for people to use at home, but as a gift for foreigners. However, unlike fans of the old days, the ones people use as gifts nowadays do not take a lot of craftsmanship⁵ to make. Neither are the materials unique. In some of the popular tourist markets around Beijing, you can buy traditional Zhejiang fans made of blue painted cloth. In stead of sand wood, very scented substitute materials are used for the structures. Because fans are small, inexpensive and typically Chinese, many people like to use them as gifts from the overseas trips. I heard westerners appreciate these gifts. My Mexican friends told me that Chinese fans are all over the place in Mexico. Things are probably true in Chinatowns throughout the United States. That reminds me of an article by a Chinese writer. He wrote that two former Soviet⁶ Union experts paid a special visit to a fan factory in Suzhou during the 1960s. They wanted to buy some fans to take home. The workers were very excited about that visit. The factory held a meeting of its 200 workers to discuss the production plan. They were determined⁷ to make the best fans they could for their Soviet friends. Now, although fans are still a very good gift for foreigners, we seem to be using excessively. Someone needs to have a look at the fans factory and people who go on overseas trips about the over-supply of fans.

1 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

3 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

4 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

5 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。