‘Mandarin’ folding fan with a view of the Pearl River Delta

Folding fan of a type referred to as “Mandarin”, composed of two guards and fourteen sticks – in gilt brass and silver filigree with applied cloisonné enamelled decoration – and double, overlapping and pleated paper leaf painted in gouache and gilt. The sticks are fixed by a riveted loop, from which hangs a green silk cord of intertwined “endless” knots and two jade beads, ending in one red and one yellow tassel.

The fan’s front is divided into three frames. Centrally placed, an original and unique riverine landscape that we attribute to the Pearl River delta, an unavoidable passageway for European ships sailing towards Canton, as evidenced by the 1841 map illustrating the positioning of English battleships[1]. At the forefront Ersha Island with its fortress and opposite, crossing the river, Whampoa anchorage and Honam Island – or Henan – with its pagoda (Chigang).

Close to the Ersha Fortress five Chinese males with Manchu hairstyles – shaved foreheads with hair braid towards the nape – and berthed sampan. In the distance, various Chinese and foreign anchored vessels.

 

                 The island would also become known as Napier Island in honour of William John Napier (1786-1834), the first superintendent-general of Canton trade, appointed by the British Government in 1834 following the abolition of the East India Company monopoly.

                On arriving in Macao, Napier challenged the Chinese authorities by refusing to request an official travel permit to sail to Canton, the hub where all the trading with the west, mediated by the hongs[2], was consumated. Once arrived in that city, he demanded to be received by Lu Kun (1772-1835) – the viceroy of Liangguang – who refused him an audience, ordering his return to Macao.

                In response, Lord Napier instructed that three frigates should return to Whampoa[3] – the anchorage port for foreign ships – a fact that would generate an armed conflict between the British ships and the Chinese land battery. As a result Lu Kun decreed the interdiction of trade with Great Britain and the eviction of the British from Canton. The escalation of hostilities would only end with Napier’s sudden and unexpected death.

                This incident will be the casus belli that triggers the First Opium War (1839-1842), leading to the occupation of Ersha Island, and ending with the capture of Canton by the British troops in 1841.

                Across the river stands Honam Island, whose pagoda was built in 1619 during the reign of Emperor Wanli (1572-1620), supposedly to mirror the “pagoda of Whampoa” (on Pazhou Island) and to bring good fortune to the port of Canton.

                Sailing close to the shore three, clearly visible, Chinese vessels (a junk and two sampan). A steam clipper, flying the United Kingdom red ensign, is anchored nearby[4]. In the distance it is also possible to recognise other foreign tall ships.

                The scene is encased in an oval lobate frame of foliage branches, interlinked with the “endless” or destiny knot, auguring good fortune, harmony and longevity to the lands depicted in this panoramic view. It is flanked by two court scenes of identical frames, laterally embraced by two bats – symbols of joy, happiness, good luck and, when facing each other, of doubly good fortune – having at its lower edge, the lotus flower, a wealth and fertility metaphor.

All the human figures depicted in these sections have ivory faces – cut-out and painted – and silk costumes ornate with sophisticated painted decorative elements. Their attire follows the styles worn by the ancient Han ethnic groups as it is usual in this type of accessory. The female figures are depicted with elaborate hairstyles adorned with pearls and holding fans, attributes of royalty.

The three framed scenes are encircled by numerous symbolic motifs that follow ancient, inherited Chinese cultural traditions and customs and by auspicious Buddhist emblems: The Wheel of Law (falun) sitting on swastikas (Wàn) and clouds (Yún) in an allegory to the eternal renovation of Buddha’s infinite heart – a sign of protection, good augury, authority and longevity; the vase (quan), in a wish of good fortune and perpetual harmony; and the parasol, a metaphor of dignity. Associated to them are the scholar’s treasures such as the ruyi sceptre – aiming at success, prosperity, longevity and immortality, or the books and scrolls, embodying science, and essential in erudite scholarly activity. Completing this panoply the symbols normally associated to the Eight Immortals, such as the castanets of the mystic Taoist Cao Guojiu (Cao Yi) – patron of theatre – and the fan, attribute of Zhongli Quan – the eldest of the Immortals, capable of reviving the dead, turn stones into gold and silver and holding powers that could save China from starving. Some examples of the “Eight Precious Things” – popular representations in Chinese Art – are also depicted, such as the jade sound stone, emblem of justice and perfection, and the coin, in a yearn for riches. Also present is the frog – insignia of the unattainable, evoked in desires for wealth, the peony (fukeihua) and the lotus flower (lian), which, when together convey long years of health and wealth.

On the obverse, the paper leaf is densely populated by courtly palace scenes on the terraces of garden pavilions, inspired by the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written in the 14th century by Luo Guanzhong. This literary work describes the turbulent later years of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period (ca.169-280 AC)[5], in a new genre that, based on historical facts, narrates endless adventures lived by both fictitious and real characters.

Without attempting to identify the precise episode depicted on this fan, due to the complexity of the novel and of its characters, it is possible to point out on the central scene, the figure of General Lu Bü (ca.153-199) easily recognisable by his double “antennae” helmet. A brilliant career warrior, almost invincible, he was known as the “Flying General” thanks to his horse (Chi Tu) that could run thousands of miles a day.

The fan’s painted decorative type suggests a fusion between the popular models of free creation from the Suzhou School[6] – exemplified by the 14000 paintings found at Beijing’s[7] Summer Palace (Yihe yuan) Long Corridor, and the Mandarin style adopted for export pieces.

The frame repeats, in a synthetized manner, the flower, foliage and symbolic motifs of the leaf front, adopting traditional allegories of good fortune also evident in contemporary porcelain exports. In these the Chinese potters combine European decorative shapes and styles with intimate family scenes or flower and bird landscapes that evoke, to the avid western eye, exotic atmospheres admired by their aesthetic beauty rather than symbolic meaning.

Although plain at the head, the openwork gilt silver filigree ribs are scalloped and edged at the top and decorated with stylised blue and green enamel foliage elements. The chiselled guards’ fronts are applied with raised filigree flower bouquets.

Filigree fans of enamelled cloisonné decoration were always in great demand by the Western markets. Mainly produced in Macao throughout the first half of the 19th century, their production expanded from the end of the First Opium War, when some craftspeople transferred their workshops to the Islands of Honam and Hong Kong and also to Shanghai.

This fan’s adopted decorative theme is associated to the figure of Lord Napier, the First Opium War precursor, as if in praise of his heroic accomplishments from which resulted considerable benefits for the British Crown, that were formalised in the Treaty of Nanking. Out of this treaty came the end of the Canton regulatory system and the opening of four additional Chinese ports to Western trade; the payment of a large compensation in silver; and the concession of Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom.

Napier Island and its fort were occupied by the British in 1841 and returned to the Chinese at the end of the conflict (1842), who immediately rebuilt the fortress, equipping it with canon guns for the defence of the Pearl River double passage[8] before it approaches Canton. Even though the terms of the Treaty of Nanking allowed the British to enter Canton, the restrictions to access the city remained in place and, in 1847 the Governor of Honk-Kong, John Davis (1844-1848), ordered a punitive expedition that ended with the apprehension of this and other Pearl River forts[9].

The Chinese figures on Ersha Island, as well as the vessels depicted, suggest that this fan was produced at a time of Chinese control (ca.1842-1847), probably in Macao, or even in Honam Island, to where some fan making workshops relocated following the First Opium War.