You may think you cannot live through summer without air conditioners. But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only help for people to drive the heat away.

Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2,000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes, such as round and square. They were also made from all kinds of materials. Palm leaf (棕榈叶) fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans showed the owner’s high status (地位). Sandalwood (檀香) fans could send out sweet smell.

Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into artworks, in which Tuanshan (round fans) and Zheshan (folded fans) were the most common.

In the shape of a full moon, Tuanshan was usually made of silk. They had beautiful birds and flowers on them. Women, especially those in the imperial palace (皇宫), liked to use them. Poets in ancient China often compared a woman’s abandoned fate (被抛弃的命运) to tuanshan. Nalan Xingde wrote during the Qing Dynasty, “if only life were as beautiful as when we first met, why should the autumn wind bother to pity deserted painted fans?”

However, men, especially the literati (文人), used Zheshan or folded fans. The literati liked them because Zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems on them. It was a way for them to show off their talents in literature, painting and calligraphy (书法). Almost anything can be painted on Zheshan, but the most popular ones usually featured landscapes (以风景画为特色).

Today, Chinese people still use these fans, only not many write or paint on them anymore. So the next time you use a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.

We go to bed when we’re tired. Sometimes, however, we wake up feeling tired even though we’ve slept for ten hours. Should we get more sleep then?

We go through life thinking we’ve rested as long as we’ve gotten enough sleep. But in fact, rest is much more than our nightly hours of shut-eye. Many of us are missing out on the other types of rest that we badly need.

The first type of rest we need is physical rest. It can be passive or active. Passive physical rest refers to sleeping, while active physical rest includes activities like yoga (瑜伽). These activities help your body relax.

Have you ever heard your parents or others complain that they have a hard time focusing on their work? Have they ever said that when they lie down at night to sleep, they have trouble “turning off” their brains as conversations from the day fill their thoughts? These people need mental rest. You can advise them to take a short break every two hours during their workday. These breaks remind them to slow down a bit.

The third type of rest is sensory rest. Bright lights, computer screens and background noise can make our senses feel tired. But this problem is easy to solve. You can close your eyes for a minute in the middle of the day or put away your electronics for a while.

Then comes creative rest. Allowing yourself to take in the beauty of nature—even if it’s just at a local park—provides you with this type of rest. You can also place your favorite artwork around your desk. Enjoying art is another great way to get creative rest.

The last two types of rest we need are social rest and emotional rest. Spend some time with people who can provide help. Try to open up to them and share the hard things that have been troubling you lately.

Now you know we need much more than a good night’s sleep to feel well-rested. It’s time for us to focus on getting the right type of rest we need.

Music helps us exercise. Why does it have this effect? 【小题1】 The first is simple: Music distracts (使分心) us. When we listen to a song we like, our brains pay attention to the music. Our body might be tired after we exercise for 20 minutes. But we may not feel this at once because we are listening to music. 【小题2】

Music also cheers us up. When we hear dance music, for example, we naturally start to move to the beat. 【小题3】 This gives us energy and helps us exercise longer. Music with a quick beat is good for exercising. “But the music shouldn’t be too fast.” says sports scientist Fritz. In a study, Fritz put 61 people in small groups. One time, each group did sports while listening to music for six minutes. Another time they exercised for six minutes. In the end, 53 of the 61 people said the same thing: 【小题4】 When we exercise and make music with other people, doing sports seems to be easier.

【小题5】 “Maybe people did better on the special machines because they had more control,” he says. People created the beat. They could make it go faster or slower. Also, the activity was social. Each group was making music together and having fun. Fritz believes that Jymmin exercise may have other advantages, too. He wants to find out if it can help with more serious problems in mind.