Suzhou
embroidery (Su embroidery for short), Hunan
embroidery (Xiang embroidery for short), Sichuan
embroidery (Shu embroidery for short) and Guangdong
embroidery (Yue embroidery for short) are the four
most famous styles of embroidery in China.
Suzhou Embroidery
is made in Suzhou City which is considered the
'paradise of China' and lies in the south of Jiangsu
province. Suzhou embroidery has a history of
artistic features such as bright colors, detailed
needlework and intricate images. And it's also known
as 'the oriental pearl'.
Suzhou Embroidery
has a rich history of 2000 years. With the
development of economy and culture in the Song
Dynasty, silkworm breeding grew rapidly and Suzhou
became a land of silk. Since then Su Embroidery
became an art to appreciation.
It is recorded that
there was a lane called silk thread lane in Suzhou.
where craftsmen could gather and dye eighty to
ninety different colors, when added to the different
level of darkness, the total shades of color could
reach up to 700.
During the Yuan,
Ming, And Qin Dynasty , there was new creation and
development of Suzhou Embroidery. Mainly they used
great artists's paintings as inspiration. They began
to create art with people, landscapes, flowers ,
birds ,etc. Suzhou embroidery focuses on balance ,
vividness, varied patterns, and different levels of
color when they compose a picture. One of the
distinctive features of Suzhou embroidery is that
some pieces are two-sided; that is, the picture is
repeated on both sides of the embroidered piece. The
stitching on Suzhou embroidered pieces is done with
silk threads that have been divided until the actual
thread is almost impossible to see. Through the
repetition of stitches a very dense embroidering
occurs. Suzhou embroidery has been used in clothing,
wall hangings, and even intricate book covers dating
back almost 1,000 years.
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