Suzhou Embroidery

Suzhou 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.

History

Su Xiu originated in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Because of its superior geographical environment, Suzhou is a city which is rich in producing silk. This provides a favorable environment for the development of Su Xiu.

Suzhou embroidery has a history of more than two thousand years. It was recorded as early as the era of Three Kingdoms.

In Three Kingdoms era (220–280 A.D.), Su Xiu was used as a decoration for clothing. It gradually moved into people's lives.

During the Song dynasty (960–1697 A.D.), Su embroidery reached a high level.

During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 A.D.), Suzhou embroidery became a popular avocation for people living in Suzhou. At that time, almost every family was doing embroidery. Not only that, an imperial office was founded to oversee dyeing, weaving and embroidering for court use. At that time, Su Xiu was not only an object for family use, but also loved by the royals.

During the ensuing Qing dynasty (1644–1912 A.D.), Su Xiu reached its heyday. At that time, Suzhou had more than 100 embroidery workshops and markets. It was widely used to decorate clothing, costumes, quilts, pillow bags, curtains, cushions, shoes, sachets and other items. At that time, it was the most popular art form for royal clothing and wall decoration. Some ladies from affluent families made embroideries as a pastime. In the later part of the Qing dynasty, Su Xiu was further developed as an embroidery technology. Exquisite "Double-sided Embroidery" appeared.

In the early 20th century, between 1912 and 1949, after the Xinhai Revolution, the Su Xiu industry declined.

After the founding of new China (after 1949), the government showed great concern for Su Xiu. China set up the Suzhou embroidery institute and opened embroidery training classes. People made innovations to bring new life to the traditional skills. The embroidery method of Su Xiu developed from 18 kinds to more than 40 kinds.

Traditional patterns

Dragon
Dragon worship has a long history in China. In ancient times, the dragon was a symbol of power. Only the emperor could wear yellow clothes embroidered with dragons. Now, "The descendants of the dragon" is a symbol of the Chinese nation.

Phoenix
Phoenix is a kind of auspicious bird in myth and legend. It is also a mascot in Chinese traditional culture and gradually becomes the representative of women. In symbolises a happy marriage and good luck in Su Xiu.

Mandarin ducks
Mandarin ducks are famous ornamental birds in China. Their images are widely used in the embroidery art. It's It symbolizes faithful love and a happy marriage.

Bat
Bats symbolize luck and wealth. The bat is thus used because the words “bat” and “happiness” have the same sound, although there is a slight difference in tone.

Kylin in traditional Chinese designs
Kylin is a kind of auspicious animal in Chinese mythology, symbolizing rarity and auspiciousness.

Peony
Peony is the “queen of the flowers”. In traditional Chinese designs, peonies are often used as symbols of great wealth and honor.

Lotus
Lotus belongs to the aquatic root plant of water lily family, which has a high status in Chinese traditional culture and is called "the gentleman in the flower". It's a symbol of integrity and purity. Because it rises undefiled from the black mud. Not only that, lotus is also the main symbol of Buddhism. The embroidery with lotus patterns sometimes shows the sanctity and purity of Buddhism, and inviolability.

Peach, pomegranate and hand fruit
They symbolize longevity. A free translation of their meaning would be, “May you have many years, many honors and as many male descendants as there are seeds in a pome granate.”

Overlapping coins
The overlapping coin with a square hole is a symbol of wealth. A favorite background is a series of overlapping circles which forms an all-over design of these coins.

Words
People will embroider words to express the meaning intuitively. Like “shou” means long life, “fu” means happiness, "xi” is used for marriage, meaning beautiful love.

Innovation

Technique
In the modern craft, Su Xiu has carried on the innovation which combine the old embroidery technology and the modern technology or material.

After the 19th century, people invented the machine of embroidery. Machines stitches could save time and have greater advantages than hand stitches. Although the machine stitches are more convenient, they only play an auxiliary role and improve embroidery development, never replacing handwork. Modern technology is a combination of machine and hand. Together they can complement each other.

For the embroidery in silk scarf, embroidery is combined Su Xiu with Swarovski crystals. The combination of two different cultures makes Su Xiu more acceptable to modern fashion, expanding into a new space. In the Suorang 2012 collection, the design adopts method of combining embroidery with beads.[14]

Art form
With the change of time, in order to comply with the development of modern. Su Xiu is not only used in the design of clothes, but also in the design of furniture and jewelry.

Like the ring with Su embroidery. The ring with embroidery instead of gems or diamonds, break the viewers’ inherent imagination, thus deepening the visual experience.

Theme
The original patterns of Su Xiu are mostly animals and plants. The whole embroidery picture can be very impactful, but may not accord with the aesthetic concept of modern people. In order to adapt to modern aesthetics, the embroidery created new patterns such as geometric patterns, or western paintings, which are accepted by more people. These show the aesthetic nature and the decorative elements of designs.

Value

Historical value
Suzhou embroidery has experienced many dynasties in the course of its 2,000-year historical development, and the works of Su Xiu in each dynasty are strongly influenced by The Times. Due to the origin of Su Xiu is in the Suzhou, with its grid structure of roads and waterways, ancient Suzhou used to be one of the largest cities in China[16]. The folk embroidery products have been rich in color and life atmosphere of the town, which reflects the cultural life and folk customs of the people of Suzhou from one side. We can see the changes of Su Xiu in the works of different periods. Through these works, we can study the life customs, social customs and aesthetic styles of Chinese people in different era.

Cultural value
As a traditional handicraft, Su Xiu has always been closely combined with Chinese traditional culture and Western culture. It already becomes an important part of Chinese traditional culture. Among them, the traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting have been incisively and vividly expressed in the Su Xiu works, which mostly draw the artistic essence from them. Contemporary Chinese culture and art are also fully expressed in Su Xiu works. Not only that, Su Xiu also combined the Western culture such as the oil painting. Su embroidery shows oil paintings with needle and thread. Makes people feel the integration of Chinese and western cultures.

Artistic value
The artistic value of Su Xiu is mainly reflected in its exquisite craftsmanship. Artists of Su Xiu embroidered their works with needles and threads instead of pigment. Due to the artistic effect of silk, the calligraphy and painting patterns on the embroidery products appeared more vivid. Whether it is to show landscapes, flowers, birds, animals or figures, exquisite Su embroidery skills can make it looks truly. Because of this, Su Xiu is praised as "the pearl of the east" by people all over the world.

Collection value
Suzhou embroidery inherits an ancient and traditional craft with strong national characteristics, and its value potential mainly comes from the scarcity and uniqueness of the works' resources. Due to the complexity of Su Xiu technology, each process has different techniques, and a good embroidery product often takes several years or even longer to complete, which also leads to fewer and fewer people willing to learn and master Su embroidery techniques in contemporary fast-paced life.