The oil paper umbrella is one of the oldest traditional items of the Han Chinese and has spread to other parts of Asia such as Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan, where it has developed local characteristics.
In traditional Chinese weddings, when the bride is getting off the sedan chair, the matchmaker will use a red oil paper umbrella to cover the bride to avoid evil spirits. Influenced by China, oil paper umbrellas were also used in ancient weddings in Japan and Ryukyu.
The elderly prefer purple umbrellas, which symbolize longevity, and white umbrellas are used for funerals.
In religious celebrations, it is also common to see oil paper umbrellas used as shelters on the mikoshi (portable shrine), which is a symbol of perfection and protection from the sun and rain, as well as protection from evil spirits.
Nowadays, most of the umbrellas used in daily life are foreign umbrellas, and they are mostly sold as artworks and souvenirs for tourists. The classical oil paper umbrella making process in Jiangnan is also the representative of the oil paper umbrella. Fenshui Oil Paper Umbrella Factory is the only remaining paper umbrella manufacturer in China that maintains the traditional craft of tung oil and stone printing, and the traditional production technique of Fenshui Oil Paper Umbrella is regarded by experts as “the living fossil of Chinese folk umbrella art” and the only “national intangible cultural heritage” in the oil paper umbrella industry.
In 2009, Bi Liufu, the sixth generation successor of Fenshui Oil Paper Umbrella, was listed as a representative inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage projects by the Ministry of Culture, thus becoming the only representative inheritor of handmade oil paper umbrellas in China.
Post time: Dec-20-2022