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How do you keep cool during summer? Air conditioners or electric fans are good tools in modern society. But1that, people could only use fans.
Over 3,000 years ago, fans began to be used. They were made of feathers (羽毛), bamboo or silk. They came in different2, including round and square.
Later, with the invention of paper, folding(可折叠的) paper fans became popular during the Song Dynasty. There are usually beautiful3on fans. Some are landscapes（风景）. Others are flowers and animals. Moreover, many great people including Su Dongpo, a poet of the Song Dynasty, and Tang Yin, scholar (学者) and painter of the Ming Dynasty, once painted their masterpieces (杰作) on fans. This made fans not only4tools in daily life but also great artworks.
So, with its value ofbeauty, people take fans as a symbol of status （地位）. That's why in old China, emperors and scholars often held fans.
Today, fans are also great collectors' items (藏品) and gifts. On the opening ceremony of the2008 Beijing Olympic Games, folding fans were 5to leaders and officials (官员 ) of othercountries. While they were6fans to get cool, they were also experiencing Chinese culture.
