888 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



in the opiniou of the writer, to the bu^'lle of engraved or painted 

 arrow-derived slips used in divination, j. eed the Korean name for 

 the pack of cards, tjil, is defined by the Chinese tit, applied in Korea 

 to a complete set of volumes of the same work. 



Fig. 200. 

 TLINGIT TABLETS. 



LeDgths, 3|, m, and 2J inches. 



Cat. No. 16837'2«, o, p, U.S.N. M. 



The folding fan of China and Japan is not unlikely to have origi- 

 nated from these tanzaku or writing slips, whicli the nobles carried in 

 order to make memoranda when in the i)resence of the sovereign. The 



fan is constantly used for writing 

 upon, one side originally being left 

 blank for the purpose. In Japan 

 a folding fan, ogl (fig. 202), formed 

 an essential part of the ceremonial 

 costume of a gentleman, and was 

 carried in front in the belt. Refer- 

 ring to the folding fan, Mr. Giles 

 says: 



MfflUSi: 



Fig. 201. 



ALASKA INDIAN TABLET. 



Length, 4 inches. 

 Alaska. 



Cat. No. 15319, Museum of Archaeology, University of Penn- 

 sylvania. 



The number of its bones or ribs is a 

 matter wbicli is by no means left to 

 chance. Sixteen, including the two 

 outer pieces, may be quoted as the 

 standard ; but fans made in certain localities have more, as many as thirty-two, and 

 sometimes even thirty-six. The reason why the number sixteen is prei'erred is that 

 such a fan opens into a convenient number of spaces to receive the poetical inscrip- 

 tion, which custom has almost, but not altogether, tied down to a given number of 

 lines.' 



^Herbert A. Giles, On Chinese Fans, Historic China and other Sketches, London, 

 1882, p. 299. 



