Suzhou embroidery (Su embroidery for short) was
originated in Wuxian, Suzhou and later on spread to
the neighboring areas such as Nantong, Wuxi,
Changzhou, Yangzhou, Suqian and Dongtai in Jiangsu
province. These areas, located in the lower reach of
Youngest River, have been famous for their high
quality silk productions for centuries. The fertile
soil, mild temperature, and booming production of
silk fabric and thread naturally nourished the
burgeoning and flourishing of Suzhou embroidery.

According to "Shuo Yuan", written by Liu
Xiang during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24
AD), the country of Wu (current Suzhou area) has
started to use embroidery to decorate garments over
2,000 years ago. In the Three Kingdoms Period (220 -
280), Sun Quan, emperor of the Wu Kingdom (current
lower-middle Yangtse valley), ordered the sister of
his prime minister to embroider a "Map of the
Kingdoms." Mountains, rivers, towns and
barracks were depicted in minute detail on this
square piece of silk fabric. As described in the
book of "Secret Treasures of Qing," the
Suzhou embroiders in Song Dynasty (960-1279) used
"needles that could be as thin as the hair. The
colors are so brilliant as to dazzle the eye. The
landscapes and buildings are positioned in proper
perspective, figures are vivid and touching, and
flowers and birds seem to have been brought into
lives. The best embroidery work can beat
paintings."
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Suzhou has
become a thriving center for silk industries and
handicrafts. Artists in Wu area, represented by Tang
Yin (Bohu) and Shen Zhou, helped the further
development of Suzhou embroidery. Embroiders
reproduced their paintings using needles. These
works were so vivid and elegant as to be called
"paintings by needle" or "unmatchable
even by the nature." Since then, Suzhou
embroidery evolved a style of its own in needlework,
color plan and pattern.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Suzhou
embroidery reached its peak, with the prevalence of
various styles and master embroiders. The
embroidered products used by the royal family were
almost exclusively from Suzhou. Folk embroidery
products were even more diverse, including
decorations on garments, theater costumes, quilt
covers, cushions, shoes, perfume bags and fan bags.
They were extremely popular among common people.
Another type of embroidery, "painting-like
embroidery," however, was regarded as exquisite
collectibles. According to history accounts, the
embroidery works of Qian Hui and Cao Moqing from
Wuxian, Yang Maojun and Chen Guanguan from Wujiang
and Ding Pei and Xue Wenhua from Wuxi were very
famous during that era.
At the turn of the 20th century, under the influence
of Western civilization, Suzhou embroidery artists
started to seek innovations as well. Shen Yunzhi
(1874-1921), a master in Suzhou embroidery,
integrated the effect of portraits in oil-painting
into her embroidery work, and created a new style
called "realistic embroidery." In 1904,
Shen made eight pieces of embroidery works for the
Empress Dowager Cixi as her 70th birthday present.
Cixi was so delighted that she wrote Shen and her
husband two characters, Shou (longevity) and Fu
(happiness) as blessings. Shen changed her name then
into Shen Shou. Later on, her "Portrait of the
Italian Queen" was sent to Italy as national
gift and invoked a sensation there. In 1915, Shen's
"Portrait of Jesus" won the first prize at
the "Panama-Pacific Exhibition" hold in US
and was priced at a marked high US$13,000. Another
portrait of an American actress also received great
acclaim when being exhibited in the US. Shen's
"realistic embroidery" achieved remarkable
recognition both home and abroad.
Embroidery training schools, associations and trade
unions were established in Suzhou, Nantong, Danyang,
Wuxi and Changshu as a result of Shen's efforts.
Shen also lectured in Beijing, Tianjin and other
cities. Her best-known contemporaries included Hua
Ji, Wang Shaoming, Tang Yizhen, Li Peifu, Zhang
Yingxiu, Cai Qunxiu and Jin Jingfen, whose works won
prizes at many international exhibitions.
In the early 1930s, a new style of Suzhou embroidery
needlework, named "random-stitchwork" was
created by Yang Shouyu, director of the embroidery
department at the Zhengze Girls' Vocational School
in Danyang, Jiangsu. As the name implies, this style
uses stitches of different lengths and directions
and seemingly random overlapping layers to achieve a
better effect of tone and depth for the final work.
This marked the prelude to a new epoch of the
development of Suzhou embroidery.
In the 1950's, research institutes and workshops
were established in Suzhou, Nantong, Wuxi,
Changzhou,Yangzhou and Dong Tai. Embroidery artists
were able to devote themselves to research and
development of new or lost embroidering skills. They
use various kinds of needlework, thread, and fabric
to create vivid portraits of landscape, flowers,
birds, and figures.
Suzhou embroidery is now renowned for its
"refinement, elegance and beauty". The
double-side embroideries of "Goldfish" and
"Kitty" are representative pieces of
Suzhou embroidery. Besides the traditional single-
and double-side embroideries, Suzhou embroidery
includes a wide range of other needlework as well,
such as brocade-like embroidery, hair embroidery,
knot embroidery, and etc. As a very traditional form
of art, Suzhou embroidery is still developing in
styles and themes with the effort of contemporary
artists. Exhibitions are held around the world,
traditional-art-lovers are constantly astonished by
the beauty and exquisiteness Suzhou embroidery can
achieve.
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