Xiang embroidery

Last updated

Hunan embroidery, or Xiang embroidery, as one of the traditional folk arts of China, together with Cantonese embroidery, Sichuan embroidery and Suzhou embroidery, is regarded as the four most distinguished embroidery styles in China. It is a general name for the embroidery products which rise from and are mostly produced at Changsha, Hunan, with distinct characteristics of Chu culture. Hunan embroidery is particularly famous in embroidering with silk thread, and the patterns have a high sense of reality. In 2006, Hunan embroidery was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. [1]

Contents

History

According to the embroidery unearthed from Chu tomb in 1958 in Changsha, Hunan, a conclusion can be drawn that the embroidery technology had developed to certain extent in some local places of Hunan early back to the Spring and Autumn period, existing in over two thousand five hundred years ago. The forty pieces of embroidered garments excavated from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha in 1972, have also evidenced the excellence of the embroidery technology boomed in local places of Hunan during the Western Han Dynasty some two thousand and a hundred years ago. In the long developing course afterwards, Xiang Embroidery gradually cultivated its simple and graceful style. [2]

In the 24th year of Emperor Gangxu's reign (1898), Wu Hancheng, son of the embroiderer Hu Lianxian, established in Changsha the first embroidery workshop, named “Wu Caixia Embroidery Workshop” and with its products produced and marketed all by itself. And thanks to the embroideries produced there, Xiang embroidery was widely spread and made its name throughout the nation. At the end of Guangxu period, the folk art of Xiang Embroidery developed a particular embroidery system and became the incubator of market-oriented handicrafts with strong local characteristics of Hunan area different from other types of embroidery. Since then, the term “Xiang Embroidery” has been born and widely used.

The book of Changsha County written in the Tongzhi period of late Qing Dynasty, said, “In the provincial capital, women prefer embroidering to spinning, and the powerful or rich families highly praise and give great honor to embroidery.” Changsha County is the traditional base of Xiang embroidery with the name of “Home of Xiang Embroidery”, where the majority of peasant women work in embroidery. By the end of Qing Dynasty, the number of embroidery workshops had increased to 26 in Changsha County, the embroidery craftsmen had reached tens of thousands of people and the annual output of embroideries exceeded 20 thousand pieces, among which the bulk are used as daily necessities such as the quilt sheet or the pillowcase and the minority are exquisite and high quality screen covers. [3]

In the 1930s, the highest production value of Xiang Embroidery can reach up to 800 thousand silver dollars, and one third of it is exported abroad. During decades after liberation, Xiang Embroidery had achieved remarkable progress and been put into the list of “the four famous Chinese embroideries”, attributing to its unique style and superb embroidery technology. What’s more, it has also become the art name card of Hunan province or even the nation, with an annual total export of 5 million US dollars. [2]

Characteristics

The proficient manipulation of different shades of grey, black and white and the natural chiaroscuro in Xiang Embroidery both enhance its texture and stereoscopic effect; the combination of the void and the solid in its structure makes a good use of emptiness on the embroidery cloth, thus highlighting the subject. In addition, borrowing skills of traditional painting, Xiang Embroidery has also given full play to the embroidery technology. Therefore, it finally forms a realistic, bright and simple style strongly affected by the local culture of Hunan and has the simplicity and elegance of Chinese wash painting on the other hand.

Thread

Xiang embroidery uses pure silk, hard satin, soft satin, transparent gauze and nylon as its materials as well as a variety of colorful silk threads. Traditional Xiang Embroidery uses threads in a very distinctive way—the thread is firstly boiled with Gleditsia and then wiped with bamboo paper, which prevents the thread from pilling and thus is convenient for embroidering. In Xiang Embroidery, there is a special type of thread—in one thread dyed one color with different shades of that color, by which the sfumato effect can be presented after the embroidering finished. In addition, Xiang Embroidery is also renowned for its careful thread splitting technique, [4] making the thread as thin as hair. And people call the embroidery using this kind of thread “Yang Mao Xi Xiu”.

Stitch

There are 72 types of stitches in traditional Xiang Embroidery including You stitch, Mao stitch, Peng hair stitch, Qi stitch, Ping stitch(flatting stitch), Wang stitch, Dazi stitch, random stitch and Gold Wire stitch, etc. and they can be divided into five major types: flat embroidery, brocade embroidery, mesh embroidery, twist embroidery and knot embroidery. [5]

Subject

In Xiang Embroidery, Landscape, animals and characters are common subjects, and the peonies, tigers, cats, dogs and dragons are the most representative designs characterized by rich changes in the layering of the colors and the high sense of painting. Embroidering landscape is relatively easier than embroidering animals, but characters are the most difficult ones to embroider with its higher requirements for the density of the thread, furthermore, it’s not easy to capture the characters’expression.

The expression “Su Embroidery’s cats and Xiang Embroidery’s tigers” circulated in the folk is a high praise for the excellence of Su Embroidery in embroidering the animal cats and Xaing Embroidery in tigers.

Use

Xiang embroidery crafts include valuable works of art, as well as materials for daily use, such as screens, quilt sheets, pillowcases, back cushions, tablecloths, handkerchiefs, embroidered shoes, etc.

Achievements

Xiang Embroidery attracts people both at home and abroad. Xiang Embroidery was praised “the threads have flawlessly and fluently covered the sketches”at the Nanyang Industrial Exposition in Nanjing In 1910. In 1915, Xiang Embroidery works won 4 more medals at the Panama Expo held in San Francisco, America. In the 1930s, the portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt embroidered by the Xiang Embroidery artist, Yang Peizhen, was sent as a personal present to President Roosevelt and is still now being showcased in the “Little White House” museum, an exhibition for the life story of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the southeast of the US. [6]

Inheriting the traditional embroidery craftsmanship, Xiang Embroidery has made another breakthrough and created a sophisticated new type of embroidery: the Double-sided disparate embroidery, that is, in one piece of cloth, while one side of the embroidery is finished, the other side is simultaneously completed but with different colors or designs. In that sense, there is no such a thing as the obverse side or the reverse side since both sides depict a thing. The representative splendid works of this type have Lady Yang, [7] Hua Mulan, [8] Viewing the Moon [9]

Because of continuous dedication to Xiang Embroidery, Xiang Embroidery has moved towards a decorative art and collection art from the practical art of living, and is often chosen as good presents which indicate the workmanship level and carry the culture of the place creates it.

Exhibition

To protect and inherit the national intangible cultural heritage and revitalize the Xiang embroidery industry, Mr. Mao yongzhen, the chairman of TianLi Xiang Embroidery Co. Limited, established the Shaping Xiang Embroidery Museum in Hunan. [10] It is conferred “the first batch of civilian-run museums in Hunan” by the Hunan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, that is, it is the first private supporting museum for the Xiang Embroidery industry in Huan. The establishment of the museum was planned in 2006 and wasn’t completed until 2010. Its predecessor was WuyiRoad TianLi Xiang Embroidery Art Gallery. The museum has now been rebuilt on the northwest corner of Xiang Embroidery Cultural Square and has been open to the public since May 18, 2010.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidery</span> Art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn

Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on caps, hats, coats, overlays, blankets, dress shirts, denim, dresses, stockings, scarfs, and golf shirts. Embroidery is available in a wide variety of thread or yarn colour. It is often used to personalize gifts or clothing items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackwork</span> Technique of monochrome embroidery originating in Tudor England

Blackwork, sometimes historically termed Spanish blackwork, is a form of embroidery generally worked in black thread, although other colours are also used on occasion, as in scarletwork, where the embroidery is worked in red thread. Originating in Tudor period England, blackwork typically, though not always, takes the form of a counted-thread embroidery, where the warp and weft yarns of a fabric are counted for the length of each stitch, producing uniform-length stitches and a precise pattern on an even-weave fabric. Blackwork may also take the form of free-stitch embroidery, where the yarns of a fabric are not counted while sewing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crewel embroidery</span> Type of embroidery using wool

Crewel embroidery, or crewelwork, is a type of surface embroidery using wool. A wide variety of different embroidery stitches are used to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old.

Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, many needlepoint designs use only a simple tent stitch and rely upon color changes in the yarn to construct the pattern. Needlepoint is the oldest form of canvas work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean embroidery</span> Embroidery style of Korea

Korean embroidery techniques and artifacts have a long history, but there is the most evidence from the Joseon Dynasty, after the 14th century in Korea. This article talks about the history, styles, preservation, artists, and examples of screens, costumes, and domestic wares of this exacting and beautiful art form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chikan (embroidery)</span> Traditional embroidery style from Lucknow, India

Chikankari is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow, India. Translated, the word means embroidery, and it is one of Lucknow's best known textile decoration styles. The main market in Lucknow for Chikankari based products is Chowk. Production is mainly based in Lucknow and in the adjoining districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phulkari</span> Folk embroidery of the Punjab

Phulkari refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab. Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. The main characteristics of Phulkari embroidery are use of darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth with coloured silken thread. Punjabi women create innumerable alluring and interesting designs and patterns by their skilful manipulation of the darn stitch. According to Kehal (2009), a cloth where only a few flowers are embroidered is called a Phulkari. The other types are distinct varieties. The traditional varieties of Phulkaris are large items of cloth and include Chope, Tilpatr, Neelak and Bagh. Sometimes, the Bagh is given separate categorization of its own as on other varieties of a Phulkari, parts of the cloth is visible, whereas in a Bagh, the embroidery covers the entire garment so that the base cloth is not visible. Further, in contemporary modern designs, simple and sparsely embroidered dupattas, odhinis, and shawls, made for everyday use, are referred to as phulkaris, whereas clothing items that cover the entire body, made for special and ceremonial occasions such as weddings are called baghs. The Phulkari continues to be an integral part of Punjabi weddings to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidery of India</span> Any of the various styles of embroidery indigenous to India

Embroidery in India includes dozens of embroidery styles that vary by region and clothing styles. Designs in Indian embroidery are formed on the basis of the texture and the design of the fabric and the stitch. The dot and the alternate dot, the circle, the square, the triangle, and permutations and combinations of these constitute the design. Why Traditional Indian Clothing Is Gaining Popularity Worldwide? India is known for its rich cultural heritage, and traditional clothing is a significant part of it. From elegant sarees to stylish kurta-pajama, Indian clothing has always been admired for its uniqueness and versatility. In recent years, traditional Indian clothing has gained immense popularity worldwide, and in this article, we will explore why. Read More

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutwork</span> Needlework technique

Cutwork or cut work, also known as punto tagliato in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldwork (embroidery)</span> Embroidery with metal threads

Goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads. It is particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper. The metal wires used to make the threads have never been entirely gold; they have always been gold-coated silver or cheaper metals, and even then the "gold" often contains a very low percent of real gold. Most metal threads are available in silver and sometimes copper as well as gold; some are available in colors as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian embroidery</span>

Ukrainian embroidery occupies an important place among the various branches of Ukrainian decorative arts. Embroidery has a rich history in Ukraine, and has long appeared in Ukrainian folk dress as well as played a part in traditional Ukrainian weddings and other celebrations. Appearing all across the country, Ukrainian embroidery varies depending on the region of origin. From Poltava, Kyiv, and Chernihiv in the east, to Volyn and Polissia in the northwest, to Bukovina, and the Hutsul area in the southwest, the designs have a long history which defines its ornamental motifs and compositions, as well as its favorite choice of colors and types of stitches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese embroidery</span> Any of the various embroidery techniques of China

Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Guangdong embroidery and Sichuan embroidery. All of them are nominated as Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English embroidery</span> Embroidery worked in England or by English people abroad

English embroidery includes embroidery worked in England or by English people abroad from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day. The oldest surviving English embroideries include items from the early 10th century preserved in Durham Cathedral and the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, if it was worked in England. The professional workshops of Medieval England created rich embroidery in metal thread and silk for ecclesiastical and secular uses. This style was called Opus Anglicanum or "English work", and was famous throughout Europe.

Embroidery City(湘绣城) is the biggest embroidery products production base in China. It is also included in the China National Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection and Research Base for the following functions: it researches and produces Hunan embroidery, clothes and home textiles, Chinese ceramics and silver jewelry and retains the production process of China's traditional crafts. In 2015 an accident occurred in their main factory. A disgruntled employee, not happy with his workplace conditions, set off 45 pounds of RDX explosive, killing between 6 and 14 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiangtan</span> Prefecture-level city in Hunan, Peoples Republic of China

Xiangtan is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, are in Xiangtan's administration, as well as the hometowns of Qing dynasty and republic era painter Qi Baishi, scholar-general Zeng Guofan, and tennis player Peng Shuai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic embroidery</span> Embroidery styles of the Islamic world

Embroidery was an important art in the Islamic world from the beginning of Islam until the Industrial Revolution disrupted traditional ways of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutch Embroidery</span> Handicraft and textile art tradition of Kutch, Gujarat, India

The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujarat and Sindh. This embroidery with its rich designs has made a notable contribution to the Indian embroidery traditions. The embroidery, practiced normally by women is generally done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of a net using cotton or silk threads. In certain patterns, it is also crafted over silk and satin. The types of stitches adopted are “square chain, double buttonhole, pattern darning, running stitch, satin and straight stitches”. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs. Depending on the tribal sub groups of Rabari, Garasia Jat, and Mutava involved with this craft work many hand embroidered ethnic styles have evolved. These six styles: Suf, khaarek, paako, Rabari, Garasia Jat, and Mutava.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Hunan</span> Provincial culture of Hunan, China

The culture of Hunan (湖湘文化) refers to the culture of the people based in the Hunan province of China. The mountainous terrain of Hunan separates it from the surrounding Chinese provinces, resulting in its own distinct characteristics. As the Xiang River runs through the province from south to north, Hunan is called "Xiang" for short and boasts its "Xiang Cuisine", "Xiang Embroidery", "Xiang Opera", and "Xiang Army". Therefore, the culture of Hunan is also called the Huxiang culture. The culture of Hunan is originated in Chu (state) culture from the Zhou dynasty. The meaning of Hunan culture contains two aspects. Generally speaking, it refers to the sum of folk customs, social consciousness, scientific culture, and material culture that have been created in the long-term history of people of all ethnic groups in Hunan. In a narrow sense, it refers to the spirit that developed and accumulated on this basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzhou embroidery</span> Embroidery created near Suzhou, China

Suzhou embroidery, Su embroidery or Su xiu is the embroidery created around the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world and is the most representative type of art in Chinese embroidery. One of the well-known "four great embroideries of China" along with Cantonese embroidery, Sichuan embroidery and Xiang embroidery, Suzhou embroidery already has a history more than 2,000 years and is an important form of handicraft in the history of Chinese art and folk custom, representative of Chinese traditional folk arts. It is famous for its variety of stitches, beautiful patterns, elegant colors, and consummate craftsmanship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sichuan embroidery</span> Style of embroidery folk art native to Sichuan and Chongqing

Sichuan embroidery or Shu embroidery, is a style of embroidery folk art native to Sichuan and Chongqing. It originates from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Sichuan embroidery is one of the well-known "four great embroideries of China" along with Cantonese embroidery, Suzhou embroidery and Xiang embroidery. It is based on the use of coloured silk and satin cloth. It is marked by its even stitching and subtle colours. The general closeness of the stitches allows for embroidering intricate details. It is used to decorate pillow cases, shoes, quilt covers, garments, and screens.

References

  1. 国务院关于公布第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录的通知 Accessed 15.12.2016
  2. 1 2 四大名绣-湘绣 Accessed 15.12.2016
  3. 童芸《刺绣》黄山书社:2012
  4. 关于批准对洪湖莲子、薤山叠翠、碣滩茶、湘绣、马水桔实施地理标志产品保护的公告 Accessed 15.12.2016
  5. 湘绣针法 刺绣针法 湘绣针法介绍及应用 Accessed 16.12.2016
  6. 湘绣《罗斯福绣像》誉满全球 Accessed 16.12.2016
  7. 杨贵妃 Accessed 16.12.2016
  8. 花木兰 Accessed 16.12.2016
  9. 望月 Accessed 16.12.2016
  10. 湖南省湘绣研究所 Accessed 16.12.2016