A painting from the Palace Museum's collection shows ancient women using circular fans. [Photo/Official Wechat account of Palace Museum's Taobao]

Circular fan

Circular fans first prevailed in the royal court, so it was also called a "mandarin fan" in ancient times, featuring the most traditional use of the tool.

Circular fans emerged as early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). During the Sui (581-618) and Tang dynasties, it spread to Japan, so the circular fans Japanese still use today actually originated from ancient China.

Most people may think circular fans were used only by females, but ancient men used them too.

The circular fan was used not only as a tool to cool people down, but also as a cover to hide a female's mouth or face when laughing, to add more charm to the shy women of ancient times.