Su embroidery is one of the four famous embroideries in China, with a history of more than 2,600 years, not only has a unique style of beautiful patterns, ingenious conception, meticulous embroidery, lively stitching and elegant colors, but also one of the most representative national intangible cultural heritages in the mainland. As early as 2006, Su embroidery was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
The birthplace of Su embroidery is in The area of Wu County (now Suzhou Zhenhu) in Suzhou, where women have a soft temperament, a skillful mind, and are good at slow needlework. Nowadays, there are more than 100,000 embroidery girls in Suzhou, especially in Suzhou Zhenhu, the hometown of embroidery in the country, almost every family has embroidery, and every household has embroidery women.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Guo had used embroidery for clothing. By the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan had become the center of the silk weaving handicraft industry. In the art of painting, the Wumen school represented by Tang Yin and Shen Zhou appeared, which promoted the development of embroidery. Embroidery artists combine painting works to re-produce, the embroidered masterpieces are vivid, pen and ink charm is vivid, there are "needle painting" and "ingenious craftsmanship". Since then, the art of embroidery has formed a unique artistic style in terms of stitching and color patterns, and it is very beautiful in the art garden, which is comparable to the art of calligraphy and painting.
The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of Su embroidery, after liberation, especially after the reform and opening up, there has been a great development, it can really be described as the reproduction of genres, famous hands competing for shows, and broad themes. In the past, a large number of embroideries enjoyed by the Ming and Qing imperial families were almost all from the hands of Su embroidery artists. There are complete types of embroidery: according to the variety, there are double-sided embroidery, single-sided embroidery; according to the volume of modeling, there are desktop screens, wall screens, floor screens and large combination screens; according to the performance content, there are characters, pets, flowers and birds, landscapes, still life, characteristic buildings, etc.
Su embroidery is an art of needlework, the raw materials are mainly made of mulberry silk, and then through the hand stitching, a needle and a thread to create a variety of wonderful patterns and shapes. It is the most representative cultural symbol of the Chinese nation. Each handmade Su embroidery work is a thousand stitches and threads, unique and irreproductible, its artistic effect is amazing, exquisite details, often using a silk thread of 64 or even 128 parts to embroider, especially precious, has a high collection value.
Su embroidery has strong local characteristics. Embroidery technology has the characteristics of "flat, flush, and harmonious, light, smooth and uniform". "Flat" refers to the flattening of the embroidery surface; "Qi" refers to the neat edge of the pattern; "fine" refers to the fine use of needles and fine embroidery lines; "dense" refers to the compact arrangement of lines and does not show stitches; "and" refers to the appropriate color; "light" refers to dazzling brilliance and bright color; "shun" refers to the smooth rotation of the silk; "uniform" refers to the fine and uniform lines, dense and consistent. The main artistic characteristics of Su embroidery works are: landscapes can distinguish between far and near interests; pavilions have a profound body; characters can have vivid feelings of looking at them; and flowers and birds can repay the intimate state. Su embroidery's imitation painting embroidery and photo embroidery are famous all over the world for their realistic artistic effects.
"Splitting silk" is one of the embroidery processes in Suzhou, that is, a flower thread is divided into several parts. Pay attention to the rational use of threads and changes in silk. According to different fabrics, colors and themes, not only flexible and comprehensive needles, but also the thickness and fit of the thread, so as to fully express the texture of the object image. For example, Su embroidered goldfish tail, the thread should be thin, the row needle should be virtual, in order to show a sense of lightness and transparency. The line of the embroidered fish body should be slightly thick and the needles should be dense in order to show a sense of thickness. Another example is embroidered stone, old tree stem, etc., the thread is thick, and the needle does not have to be too uniform. Another example is the embroidered cat, according to the change of the object hair silk to grasp the silk theory, embroidered cat furry terrain ten thousand words book realistic and vivid. Su embroidery process is good at summarizing experience and blazing a trail, followed by embroidery, double-sided embroidery, and then successfully created double-sided heterochromatic embroidery, double-sided heterochromatic embroidery and other new works. As far as pure appreciation of fine art embroidery is concerned, it is made of needle ghostwriting and accumulating threads. The characteristics of techniques and stitches have also been summarized as four famous sayings: "no trace of color, uniform ironing, clear silk, light and loose hair".
Su embroidery is mainly divided into single-sided embroidery and double-sided embroidery according to the type. The so-called one-sided embroidery, that is, on a piece of Su embroidery substrate, embroidery of one-sided images, a wide range of themes, all-encompassing, can be flowers, characters, animals, photographs and the like, of which character embroidery is the most difficult, but also the most classic.
The so-called double-sided embroidery is embroidered on the same piece of substrate, in the same embroidery process, embroidered with positive and negative images, the contour is exactly the same, the pattern is equally exquisite, and it is an embroidery that can be carefully appreciated. Double-sided embroidery can be divided into ordinary double-sided embroidery, double-sided heterochrome embroidery, double-sided three-sided embroidery. The most wonderful thing is the double-sided three-way embroidery, the same work embroidered on both sides of the same pattern is not the same pattern, different manuscript, different needle, different color, amazing.
Under the efforts of generations of Su embroiderers, Su embroidery art as a national treasure can be inherited and innovated, history and today also emerged many representative Su embroidery masters, Shen Shou in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, known as a generation of embroidery saints, she integrated Western painting styles to create a simulation embroidery technique, her works were given to Italy as a national gift in 1911, sensationalizing the country's government and opposition, her works also won the international first prize in 1915.
In the 1930s, art educator Lv Fengzi, embroidery master Yang Shouyu and other predecessors pioneered random needle embroidery, which caused a sensation in the industry and further enriched the form and content of Su embroidery.
Yao Jianping, a famous artist of modern Su embroidery, on the basis of inheriting her predecessors, created the Yao school art with the fusion of needle embroidery style as the core, since 1996, she has created the Su embroidery national ceremony dozens of times and has been given by the state to foreign heads of state and international dignitaries, so she is known as "national embroiderer".
Su embroidery artist Yao Jianping
Su embroidery in each era has left a deep imprint, reflecting the artistic level, social life and spiritual culture of the times characteristics at that time, is our most representative national treasure, the development of contemporary Su embroidery, not only more artistic and diversified, but also gradually into life, service life, look forward to and more social public together to protect the inheritance, development and innovation.
Artist Profile
Yao Jianping
Famous Su embroidery artist, representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project (Su embroidery), master of Chinese arts and crafts, member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the China Literary and Art Volunteer Association, member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Jiangsu Province, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Federation of Literature and Art, adjunct professor of Nanjing University, chairman of the embroidery professional committee of the China Arts and Crafts Association, a young and middle-aged worker of virtue and art, a national "March 8" red flag bearer, and an expert enjoying special allowances of the State Council.
Engaged in the cause of Su embroidery for more than 30 years, he has won the highest award of national folk craftsmanship for four times - the Mountain Flower Award, and on the basis of inheriting the predecessors, he has created a unique "fusion needle embroidery" technique. He has held solo embroidery art exhibitions in art halls such as the Shanghai Art Museum, the National Art Museum of China, and the Suzhou Museum, and has also created main works for international events such as the Beijing Olympic Games, the Shanghai World Expo, and the Shanghai Expo.
Appreciation of works