The Emperor was quite satisfied with this answer, and the matter dropped. The story is repeated everywhere now-a-days as symbolic of domestic felicity. I see in it, above all things, the triumph of feminine coquetry, which knows how to subjugate mankind, even the most austere, and enslaves us to its delicious trivialities and its irresistible frivolities.
CHAPTER XIX
FANS
I say fans in the plural, because we have two kinds, the folding fan and the round fan. We use the former during the mild seasons, and the latter during the very hot weather. The reason of this is not easily understood, as the round fan fans much less effectively than the other one. Doubtless it offers this advantage—that it can be used as a substitute for the parasol, which we never carry, and thus plays a double part. I may add, that in summer men and women alike go out bareheaded, so that some protection, such as is afforded by the screen fan, is needed. As a general rule, there is a picture on one side of our fans, and some writing on the other. Common folk buy their fans ready painted and written upon, whereas people of fashion buy their fans blank, and ask distinguished people to illustrate them with a painting or a piece of writing. Some collectors possess hundreds of fans, which replace with us the autograph albums that you have in Europe.
Fans are given as presents to one’s friends. They are always given by schoolmasters as prizes to their scholars.
The folding fan has a varying number of stems. Women’s fans have generally thirty thin stems. The most common are made of bamboo; the best are made of ivory, betel, or sandal wood. They are carried in a case of embroidered satin, which is fastened to the belt by a ring of jade. The round fan is usually made of silk, with ivory or bamboo handles, the prolongation of which is either hidden between a double mask of stuff, or is visible on one side only. Ladies use them at play for catching butterflies, or fireflies at night. On such occasions they fasten a sachet of scent to the end of the handle, which scents the air as the fan is moved.