Chàng Sơn

Chàng Sơn lies in Thạch Thất, west of Hà Nội, in a district known for its woodworkers and close to the old Tây Phương pagoda with its celebrated carved figures. The village has two trades. Its carpenters built houses and furniture for the surrounding countryside, and its fan makers, for around two centuries, have made folding fans of bamboo and paper for summer, for festivals and for the stage. Fans were sold at markets and to Hà Nội shops, and the village’s carpenters were hired far beyond the district.

Both trades are still alive. The furniture workshops are larger and more mechanised now, while fan making has stayed largely a household craft, with each house often specialising in one stage: ribs, paper, painting or assembly. Fans are made for dancers and theatres, for weddings and for visitors, from plain paper to painted silk. The two trades still borrow from each other. Fan makers judge bamboo with a carpenter’s eye for grain and seasoning.

A good Chàng Sơn fan opens with a clean, even sound and closes flat without the ribs splaying. The ribs should be matched in colour and thickness, smoothed on every edge, and the pleats sharp and regular. The paper should be glued firmly along each rib with no bubbling. Painted fans are best when the painting follows the folds instead of fighting them. The pin at the base should be tight, so that the fan neither wobbles nor sticks. Carpentry from the village is judged as joinery anywhere is: by tight joints, sound timber and careful finishing.