Chen's Fans 陈小姐的杭扇

Amid the holiday crowds flooding the streets, few passersby step into the dimly lit shop tucked away behind a narrow doorway. Yet through the crack of the entrance, faint colors emerge from the darkness — hues belonging to Hangzhou fans, a traditional craft dating back to the first year of the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era in 1875.

Ms. Chen, the shop owner, lifts a half-finished fan and unfolds it gently. “The mulberry-bark paper and persimmon lacquer used in making these fans make them resistant to both sun and rain,” she explains. “Even today, every piece must still be completed by hand, combining painting, carving, gold stamping, and inlay techniques.”

On the display shelves, fan surfaces shimmer softly beneath carefully arranged lighting. Together with the subtle scent of sandalwood lingering in the air, they evoke the quiet elegance unique to this centuries-old art form.

Nearby, stacks of antique books from around the world document the history of fan-making traditions. Ms. Chen pulls out one volume detailing the history of European fans, then shakes her head. “China’s fan-making craftsmanship was never recorded in this way,” she says. “The original identity of this craft is slowly disappearing.”

The gradual fading of Hangzhou fan-making reflects a larger truth about intangible cultural heritage: documentation is essential. It marks the birth, evolution, and transmission of a craft across generations. And the words you are reading now are precisely what Bridgery strives to do — to preserve and document China’s intangible cultural heritage before it fades into silence.

正值假期，街上人群熙攘，却鲜少有人走进这家灯光昏暗的小店。一扇窄小的门，其实可以隐隐约约瞥见店里隐隐约约的色彩---这是一家始于杭州的非遗传统小店，昏暗中透露出色彩的是于清光绪元年（1875年）的杭扇。

店主陈小姐拿起一把还未完工的作品，轻轻打开：“制作扇子用的桑皮纸和柿漆，可以让扇子不怕日晒，不怕雨淋。到今天，也只有通过手工，结合书画、雕刻、烫金、镶嵌来完成”。陈列架上，扇面在恰到好处的灯光下泛起淡淡的彩色，伴随着淡淡的檀木香，仿佛是这项传统艺术独有的魅力。

书架上，堆放着来自世界各地有关扇子的古籍，陈小姐展示一本展示欧洲扇子的载史，却摇摇头，说道：“中国制作扇子的技艺却没有这种记载，（这项技艺）在慢慢丧失本名”。杭扇技艺的逐渐遗印证了对于非物质文化遗产来说，“记载” 是最重要的一点，标记着一项技术的诞生、传播、和完善。而你现在正在阅读的文字，正是Bridgery所努力的---记载中国的非物质文化遗产。