Embroidery

Su Embroidery

Su embroidery has a history of over 2000 years. It was produced on a large scale during the Song Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, Shen Shou absorbed Japanese and Western fine art sand combined them with traditional Chinese embroidery skills to create the simulated embroidery with ray effects. In the 1930s, the irregular embroidery technique was created in the Zhengze Girl's Vocationa1 School in Danyang. In 1957, the Embroidery Research Institute was established in Suzhou. Su embroidery is known for its delicacy and elegance. The design is usually very simple, high lighting a main theme. Its stitching is smooth, dense, thin, neat, even, delicate and harmonious. The thin thread is divided into up to many strands that are barely visible to the naked eye. Double-sided embroidery has the same pattern on both sides and uses the same embroidering method that does not show the joins in the stitches. The style of Su embroidery has become increasingly famous throughout the world.

Xiang embroidery

Xiang embroidery was initiated in the Chu Kingdom of the Warring States Period. It had become the main craft in places around Changsha, capital city of Hunan Province, in the Qing Dynasty Xiang embroidery was developed from Hunan folk embroidery methods, but it also drew on the skills of Su embroidery and Yue embroidery. Xiang embroidery products use loose colorful threads to embroider the pattern and the stitches are not as neat as those of other embroidery styles. The various colored threads are mixed together, showing a gradual change in color with a rich and harmonious tone. Designs on Xiang embroidery mostly derive from traditional Chinese paintings of landscapes, human figures, flowers, birds and animals. The most common designs on Xiang embroidery are lions and tigers. The tigers appear strong and bold, revealing their power and menace as a king of animals. Xiang embroidery won the best award in the Torino World Fair in Italy in 1912 and the First Award in the Panama World Fair in 1933. Xiang embroidery is known abroad as the ideal embroidery.

Shu embroidery

Shu embroidery with age-old history, one of the four famous embroideries in China, enjoys the same reputation and popularity with Su embroidery, Xiang embroidery and Yue embroidery. Because Shu embroidery has developed in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, therefore, it has been also named “Chuan embroidery”. They are made with soft satins and colored threads as the raw materials. The varied stitching methods form their unique local style' Designs on Shu embroidery.? The products themselves include quilt covers, pillow covers, back cushions, table cloths, scarves and handkerchiefs. The various colored threads are mixed together, showing a gradual change in color with a rich and harmonious tone. Designs on Shu embroidery mostly derive from traditional Chinese paintings of landscapes, human figures, daily articles, flowers, birds and animals, showing a fortunate and merry atmosphere. In the middle and later period of Qing dynasty, Shu embroidery absorbed the essences from Gu embroidery on the basis of regional traditional stitch and needle skills.

Yue Embroidery

Yue embroidery has a history of over 1000 years and was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The Imperial Palace has collected Yue embroidery which is representative of its particular style. The designs of Yue embroidery are rich and complicated in content, and bright and attractive in color, and elaborate and meticulous in needlework, all of which indicate strong decorative effects. Ancient Chinese craftsmen used peacock feathers twisted together as the embroidering thread to stitch the ornamental designs; horsetail was used to stitch the outline to make the work more expressive.

Yue embroidery won worldwide acclaim in Panama Exhibition and London competition in 1915 and 1923 respectively. The embroidery is smooth and even. One type, gold and silver cushion embroidery, creates a magnificent three-dimensional effect Yue embroidery has a wide range of designs, the most common ones being birds worshipping the sun, dragons and phoenixes. In a word, Yue embroidery with its strong local style has gained popularity among compatriots in Hongkong, Macao and international community.