Embroidery is a brilliant pearl in Chinese art. From the magnificent Dragon Robes by emperors to today’s fashions, embroidery adds a great deal of pleasure to our culture and our lives.
The oldest embroidery on record in China dates from the Shang Dynasty. Embroidery in this period symbolized social status. Te was not until later on, as the national economy developed, that embroidery entered the lives of the common people.
After the Zhou dynasty, the Han dynasty witnessed a leap in both techniques and styles of embroidery. Embroidered objects ranged from the sun, the moon, stars, grasses, clouds and geometric patterns. Auspicious words were also fashionable. Both historic records and products of the time prove this.
The cultural relics found in the Mawangdui Han Tomb are the best evidence of this unprecedented development in embroidery.on addition, embroidery unearthed from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, the ancient tombs in Turpan and northern Inner Mongolia, further strengthen this observation. The Chinese word for embroidery is “绣”, a picture or embroidery in five colours. It implies beautiful and magnificent things.
Embroidery was an elegant task for ladies who were forbidden to go out of their homes. It was a good pastime to which they could devote their intelligence and passion. Imagine a beautiful young lady embroidering a dainty pouch. Stitch by stitch, she embroiders a pair of love birds for her lover. It is a cold winter day and the room is filled with the aroma of incense. What a touching and beautiful picture!
