In 1911, the rule of the late Qing government was in turmoil and diplomatic crisis. Empress Dowager Cixi, who had ruled the ancient empire for nearly half a century, still tried to save the day. She was well aware of the inexhaustible appeal of China's ancient civilization to Western society, so she ordered someone to make an exquisite state gift with a mysterious oriental charm to give to Italy.
Empress Dowager Cixi
The Italian royal family opened the expensive and exquisite gift, and it turned out to be the statue of the Italian Queen Alina! This exquisite portrait of the Queen is not a painting, but an embroidery of stitches and threads. Every hair is so delicate and moving, and the eyes and manners that freeze for a moment are so noble and elegant. You can see the legacy of the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci, such a work of art shocked the entire Italian government and opposition!
Art knows no borders. At such a weak moment as the Qing government, this praise from the Western Empire once again confirmed that the noble cultural bloodline of Chinese civilization would not be despised by any political dynasty.
Queen Alina of Italy
The Emperor and Empress of Italy fell in love with the work and immediately wrote back in person. Praising the exquisite art of Chinese Su embroidery, the letter specifically emphasized that the creator of this work, Shen Shounai, was "the world's first artist"!
Friday Junyan: Shen Shou, a woman in Suzhou, almost single-handedly created the technique of "Shen Xiu" on the basis of Su embroidery, which was praised as "embroidery in embroidery". At present, it has been included in the national intangible cultural heritage.
Shen Shou
However, who could have imagined that she also had two feelings that made people sigh. These two unspeakable love affairs accompanied her short and brilliant life...
<h1>The Shen family had a daughter who had just grown up and became known to her neighbors at the age of eight</h1>
In the autumn of 1874, the summer heat in Wu County, Jiangsu Province, was still gone, and every family was running a business for generations in a bustling and bustling town. There is a Shen family in this Lumen Haihongfang, who was happy to have a daughter in September, and is running to tell each other. The Shen family was a well-known local Confucian merchant who opened an antique shop and mainly engaged in calligraphy and painting. And this boss is called Shen Liuqiao, who is a Chinese student. This newborn daughter is ranked fifth, named Yunzhi.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, although the country's fortunes were not good, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were still prosperous. In particular, this Su embroidery is extremely famous. Generations have relied on this skill to sustain the glory of the family. Mudu Ancient Town outside Suzhou is the hometown of Su embroidery. Here, every household raises silkworm spinning thread, and every household embroidery business. In that era, it was the time when the "boudoir show" in Suzhou was popular, and it was the "boudoir family set up an embroidery shed, and every woman and aunt learned needles skillfully." ”
This Shen family girl Yunzhi often went to her grandmother's house in Mudu Ancient Town and became strongly interested in embroidery. She began to learn embroidery with her sister Shen Li, and of course, a Confucian merchant family like the Shen family would also teach her daughter to read and write, and learn to appreciate the family-run collection of calligraphy and paintings.
Mudu Ancient Town
Perhaps, geniuses will be sharp from an early age. When Yunzhi was 8 years old, under the parallel embroidery education of her mother and sister and the education of her father in poetry, calligraphy and painting, she embroidered her first work "Parrot". The parrot comes to life, as in the painting. At that time, the neighbors were amazed that this was actually from the hands of an 8-year-old girl!
Parrot photos
By the time Yunzhi grew up to the age of sixteen or seventeen, it was already famous in Suzhou embroidery circles. At that time, the imperial court sent a special person to Suzhou to buy embroidery products, and the selection of products was very harsh, but the embroidery of the daughter of the Shen family was highly praised.
<h1>May the hearts of one man be struck by the white head</h1>
When Yunzhi was twenty years old, he was already out of the blue. Father Shen Liuqiao had already found a good son-in-law for his beloved daughter. Whether it is from the family lineage, personality, appearance can match the daughter. This person was born in a family of scholars, or a juren, his hometown was in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and later moved to Suzhou. He is Yu Jue.
Afterthought
Yu Jue is a gentleman of the family, good at calligraphy and painting, and can also run a family. This is a pair of talented people. On the day of the wedding, the moment the hijab was lifted, Yunzhi must have thought of that sentence: May the heart of a person be won, and the white head will not be separated.
The married life of two people, just like "Six Memories of Floating Life", is endlessly interesting in ordinary life. Yunzhi is good at embroidery, while Yu Jue is good at calligraphy and painting. The two have a common hobby and a high level of appreciation in painting. They studied together and envied others.
Illustration of the Six Tales of The Floating Life
Yunzhi is the main lord, and rarely goes out after marriage. Things at home are only taken care of, and the rest of the time is spent on embroidery. And Yu Jue is the main outsider, and the external business is the promotion of the embroidery of the beloved wife. Under such mutual support, the embroidery of Yunzhi has become the representative of Su embroidery. In 1903, the famous scholar Yu Fan of the late Qing Dynasty wrote an inscription for her, called "Needle God".
Although the careers of the two people are in full swing, Yunzhi has been sitting in front of the window embroidering for many years, his body is weak, and he has been married for so many years without any signs of pregnancy. When they were preparing to cultivate for a while and have a group of their own children, the news of Empress Dowager Cixi's seventieth birthday came, Su Xiu became a tribute to Heshou, and Yunzhi and Yu Jue had to do their best to prepare. At this time, Yunzhi was pregnant.
Shen Shou's embroidery "Horse Head"
Maybe that's fate. In order to rush to make embroidery for Heshou, Yunzhi almost worked day and night. Yu Jue took good care of her from the sidelines, constantly discussing with her wife to improve the embroidery process. Such high-intensity labor made Yunzhi, who was already weak, suddenly miscarry. They didn't keep their children. But they have had unprecedented success in embroidery
In 1904, on the seventieth birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, eight embroideries by Yunzhi and Yu Jue were presented to the empress dowager, which was greatly appreciated by Cixi. And personally gave the words "blessing" and "shou".
At this point, Shen Yunzhi changed his name to Shen Shou. Later, the Ministry of Commerce of the Imperial Court established the Women's Embroidery Department, with Yu Jue as the general office and Shen Shou as the chief teacher. It was the first official embroidery school in China.
The husband and wife are young and have already passed the way of scientific examination in their careers and embarked on the bright road.
<h1>Shuo wind is like a solution, easy to destroy</h1>
Because of his exquisite embroidery skills, Shen Shou was sent to Japan by the Qing government to investigate and exchange. Japanese painting and embroidery techniques are already a model of the combination of East and West. During the days of studying there, Shen Shou was quite inspired. After returning, he began to push the "simulation show" to a new stage.
In 1910, Shen Shou participated in the Nanyang Persuasion Association held in Nanjing. At this meeting, she met an important person in her life, Zhang Xiao. Zhang Jian was a famous artist of a generation, the leader of the late Qing Dynasty. In his lifetime, he founded more than 370 schools and more than 20 enterprises, making great contributions to the rejuvenation of China's modern industry. In his brilliant life deeds, Shen Shou may only occupy a corner, but in his heart, perhaps there is more hidden.
Zhang Xiao, who was the chief censor of this conference at that time, was amazed to see Shen Shou's embroidery, and the traditional Chinese embroidery skills did not expect to be combined with Western painting techniques to re-bloom the brilliance of the new era.
Zhang Jian
Not long after, in 1911, the scene at the beginning of the article occurred. Shen Shou's "Portrait of the Italian Queen Elena" sensationalized the world. Then, she embroidered "Jesus Statue", "American Female Vobek Statue" and other famous works. Shen Shou wants to go to the exhibition all over the world to promote Chinese embroidery culture. At this time, the marriage has quietly cracked.
The Statue of Jesus
Shen Shou was over forty years old at this time, and she had not been pregnant since the last time she gave birth. In the era, no queen was greater. Yu Jue needed to take concubines and have children to continue the incense, and Shen Shou was understandable. However, when Shen Shouyuan was in the United States, Yu Jue took two rooms of aunts and wives in a row, and such behavior undoubtedly made Shen Shou feel cold.
"American Actress Becker Portrait"
"The Statue of Jesus" won the first prize at the American International Exposition for thirteen thousand DOLLARs. When "American Actress Beck Portrait" was exhibited, it was also a major event in the American art circle, and many people came to pay respects. Shen Shou's name has become a representative of Chinese Su embroidery, and her "simulation show" has gone to the world.
Shen Shou's "Aries Diagram"
But, from the heart, she is still a little girl in Suzhou. She hoped that under the aura, back home, there was a husband who loved her. But none of this seems possible anymore.
Years have passed, the face is easy to grow old, after experiencing so much glory, the couple's heart has begun to appear disgusted and complaining.
<h1>I don't know what to do, but I go deeper </h1>
After Shen Shou's death, Zhang Jian wrote forty-eight poems of remembrance, all of which were collected in the "Forty-Eight Truncated Sentences of Regret", one of which described the situation when he first met Shen Shou.
"Whoever returns to Cai Ji's body in gold is often said to be a lovely person; the situation is the southeast pearl jade show, who endures the banana to extract the northern dust." There is a spring aquatic life in front of the Fei Pavilion, and the twilight tide outside the Tang Family Gate is flat; the impromptu climbing the building is particularly dignified, not like the surprise of the beginning of the shock"
From this song, it can be seen that the first glimpse of the meeting made Zhang Xiao extremely impressed. Shen Shou's super high artistic appreciation ability and gentle and elegant character made him extremely appreciative.
In 1914, Zhang Jian founded the Women's Red Transmission Institute in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. He hired Shen Shou to come here as a director and teacher.
Women's Workshop
This year, Zhang Jian was 61 years old at this time, and Shen Shou was 40 years old.
Zhang Xiao did not look at the wrong person, Shen Shou is not only an excellent artist, but also an excellent educator. She has a unique perspective on teaching and dares to innovate. She adopts the embroidery teaching method of combining Chinese and Western, allowing students to observe things, teaching students the art of Chinese and Western painting, and understanding the artistic connotation of painting, and then learning technology. Shen Yun is the soul of embroidery, and she pays attention to cultivating students' inner thoughts, on the basis of which to improve their skills.
Embroidered woman
Under her leadership, the institute of more than twenty people expands every year, and Nantong's embroidery has formed its own unique style to open up the domestic and foreign markets.
However, in Shen Shou's heart, there was a huge pain hidden deeply, that is, Yu Jue. They were separated and never looked like they had been before. Shen Shou's body was not as good as a day.
Shen Shou's "Statue of Ji Gong"
At this time, Zhang Xiao took care of it day and night. He deliberately arranged Shen Shou's dormitory to the elegant environment of the "Humble Pavilion" for recuperation, and personally taught her poetry and song. Zhang Xiao, the industrialist Zhang Xiao, these brilliant names he quietly put down, silently wrote a poetry book for this woman he admired, he personally annotated and bound into the "Shen Shou Xue Poetry Reader".
In 1916, Zhang Xiao's diary recorded this passage: for Shen Xuejun Shulian: Embroidery Paragraph Newspaper Qingyu Case, the pearl is tied in the red Luo. This couplet has a profound meaning, among which the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Yuan's "Festival Women's Yin" said: "Junzhi concubines have husbands, and give concubines double pearls." The sense of the king is lingering, tied in a red robe. ”
Zhang Xiao is a champion, and it is impossible not to know the origin of the allusion. When this couplet was given to Shen Shou, it secretly expressed a kind of friendship.
However, Shen Shou replied in "Weeping Willow":
"Xiao Feng opened an account to send spring colors, and the weeping willows were thousands of straight; the hair in the mirror was often full of combs, and self-pity was not more than three feet long. Weeping willows are soft and soft, high and low, and the heart has its own master, and does not follow the wind. ”
Because of the rumors that had been spread at that time, the feelings of the two people became a lace news circulating in the news. And Shen Shou knew that he was already someone else's wife, and Zhang Xiao also knew that all this was impossible. He just wanted to take good care of this talented woman and make her feel at ease.
photocopy
However, Shen Shou is not an iron heart, she can feel this unspeakable feeling, so when she was sick, she embroidered with her hair, embroidered the word "Qianting" to Zhang Xiao, expressing a wordless return.
In 1919, the situation was turbulent, and Shen Shou's old illness recurred. In order to keep Shen Shou's skills from being lost, Zhang Jian persuaded Shen Shou to dictate a book for posterity. During these months, when Shen Shou was in good health, he dictated the techniques and techniques of embroidery, and Zhang Xiao began to record, proofread, review, and revise.
This is the crystallization of Shen Shou's life, and this book summarizes the essence of "Shen Xiu" in eight chapters, from embroidery preparation, embroidery introduction, stitching, embroidery to embroidery, embroidery, embroidery, The following year, Nantong Hanmerin Book Company published this "Snow Palace Embroidery Spectrum".
In June 1921, Shen Shou, a master of embroidery art, died in peace. Zhang Jian wrote a tombstone for her, "The Tomb of The World Artist Wuxian Ms. Shen Que".
Zhang Xiao endured great grief, he presided over Shen Shou's memorial service, and personally inscribed the elegance:
True art experts, call shou to themselves, shou is not called in name, talent is strange, if it is, if it is;
She also learned poetry as a female brother, who regarded Yu as a father, Yu had to regard Yuzi, and his wife as mourning, mourning, and mourning.
Shen Shou's life is a life of chasing art, and she has continuously improved her embroidery skills in childhood, youth and middle age. She seems to be low-key, never flaunting herself, but she spills all her passion in a burst. 【Friday Literature and Art】
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