Tide embroidery originated in the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty formed a unique style. Chao embroidery is on a par with The Four Famous Embroidery Su Embroidery, Xiang Embroidery, Shu Embroidery and Cantonese Embroidery in China, and is famous for its exquisite skills and colorful composition, and is well-known at home and abroad.
According to the relevant history books of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Chaozhou is rich in banana, kudzu, linen and silk fabrics, so the weaving and embroidery process also came into being. According to the "Chaozhou Chronicle", after Han Yu degraded the tide, he advocated that women go out to "cover their faces with silk scarves and soap cloth and cover their heads to their knees", which was called "Han Gongpa" by posterity. It can be seen that Chaoshan in the Tang Dynasty already had a simple embroidery process. By the Ming Dynasty, the patterns and stitches of tide embroidery were much the same as those of modern times.
In the second year of the Qing Dynasty (1910), chao embroidery products were produced one after another, among which "Guo Ziyi Baishou", "Sea Dragon King", "Lion's Head" and so on participated in various competitions and won awards. At that time, 24 craftsmen such as Lin Xinquan and Wang Bingnan, who participated in the production of tide embroidery, were known as the "Twenty-four Embroidery Champions", and they were famous for a while.
In 1915, the fine embroidery was selected to be sent to the Panama International Exposition in the United States, and in 1923 and 1925, it participated in the London Games in The United Kingdom twice, and was well-known at home and abroad. On the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, more than 20 embroidery villages in Chaozhou City, such as "Guangchengxing" of Kaiyuan Temple, "Lin Wanhe" of Xianqiaotou, and "Golden Sheng" of Ximen, were quite famous at that time, with more than 2,000 embroiderers.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, thirteen embroidery villages in Chaozhou formed the Gu Embroidery Association, and soon Shantou City and Chaozhou City also set up a yarn drawing company and set up a Gu embroidery department to be responsible for the export business of Chaoxiu. In 1956, the Chaozhou Embroidery Federation established the public-private partnership Chaozhou Gu Embroidery Factory, which was officially renamed Chaozhou Embroidery Factory in 1962. Later, it cooperated with Shantou Tongping Opera Costume Gu Embroidery Society to set up a factory. During this period, chao embroidery factory sent chao embroidery artists to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study, so that the art of chao embroidery was restored and developed. Jieyang, Chenghai, Raoping, Chaoyang and other places have successively established professional embroidery cooperatives. All of this has promoted the further exhibition of tide embroidery artworks.
Ten years of civil unrest, the production of tide embroidery suffered great damage, until 1972 was restored. Among them, the three major tide embroidery products such as embroidery pieces, gold and silver opera dresses, and theatrical costumes have won the title of "Guangdong Quality Product Award". In 1982, Chaozhou's Chaozhou Chao embroidery masterpieces "Kowloon Screen" and "Blowing Flutes and Leading Phoenixes" won the Chinese Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Gold Cup Award.
The theme of tide embroidery is dragons and phoenixes, flowers, birds and animals. There are four categories: daily necessities, sacrificial supplies, appreciation supplies, and costume decorations. According to the process, there are four categories of velvet embroidery, thread embroidery, gold and silver thread embroidery, and gold velvet mixed embroidery. There are five kinds of embroidery, pad, paste, spelling and embellishment. There are more than 200 kinds of stitching methods, such as hexagonal triple stacked needle brocade, pad cotton over gold needle, double ding scale, pad embroidered chrysanthemum scale... and other unique stitching methods. The image of the work is vivid, golden and brilliant, graceful and luxurious, full of three-dimensional sense. "Kowloon Screen" is a representative work of tide embroidery, which uses five major techniques, especially the unique nailed gold cushion floating embroidery method, to make the dragon come to life, the embroidery surface is full of vitality, giving people the enjoyment of beauty, with high artistic value and collection value.
Many fine works of tide embroidery have been selected by the state as exhibits and gifts. In the early 1980s, more than 200 pieces were provided to the country, which effectively promoted cultural and artistic exchanges between China and other countries. Tide embroidery products are exported to more than 50 countries and regions in Europe, America, Africa, Australia and Asia, creating a large amount of foreign exchange for the country and greatly enhancing the international popularity of the Chaoshan region.
Source: 1860 Cultural and Creative Park
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