The Chinese are believed by some scholars to have been the first to paint on fans. From the 17th century onward fans produced in China were designed specifically for either domestic consumption or for trade. While fans for export were often elaborate and colorful, those for the home market were considered an art form equivalent to other aspects of Chinese painting and usually featured similar themes and a restrained style. This fan illustrated a love-poem by Dan-Shii Fei in which she speaks of sitting by her window gazing at the blooming pear tree and dreaming of her lover Ke Ting. Many Chinese and Japanese fans survive as unmounted or dismounted fan leaves, perhaps unlike their Western counterpart the sticks used on the Chinese fans tended to be simple and unadorned. Translated by: Suewhei T. Shieh Director, Asian Arts Center Towson State University