The history of embroidery in China.

In which dynasty did China's embroidery originate? Because embroidery works are difficult to preserve, it is extremely difficult to explain this problem. The earliest embroidery we can see now is probably from Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty. Judging from the unearthed cultural relics of that period, the lines of silk and embroidery patterns attached to the soil are faintly visible. Especially 1982, embroidered quilts and Zen (single) clothes unearthed from No.1 Chu Tomb in Mashan, Jiangling, Hubei Province, were embroidered with dragons, phoenixes and tigers, which were beautiful and varied in form and spirit. Facts have proved that embroidery has developed for a long time in China, and has formed a high technical level and unique technical categories.

People will definitely think, why does embroidery appear? In fact, the most important factor is determined by two aspects:

First, when it comes to embroidery, we can't help but talk about silk weaving. It can be said that it is the appearance and perfection of silk weaving that brings the birth of embroidery. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, agriculture was more developed than before, and male farming and female weaving became an important economic feature of this period. Almost every family grows mulberry and hemp and engages in textiles. Because the sericulture method at that time was very particular, the silk produced was of high quality. Its fiber fineness can be comparable to that of modern times. When it was developed to the Western Han Dynasty, according to the brocade unearthed from the Western Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province in 1972, each yarn was composed of 4-5 silk threads, and each silk thread was composed of 14- 15 silk fibers, which means that each yarn was twisted by 54 silk fibers. Such a high level of silk spinning has also promoted the development of dyeing and embroidery, making its finished products more beautiful and expressive.

Second, the strengthening of social hierarchy, the improvement of human aesthetic consciousness and the formation of commodity system are also important factors. As early as the transition period from primitive society to slave society, the leaders of the tribal alliance of the Chinese nation must wear coats embroidered with the patterns of the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, dragons and China insects (pheasants) and bottoms (skirts) embroidered with the patterns of Zong Yi, seaweed, fire, rice noodles, squid and pheasants when holding major ceremonies and sacrifices. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, embroidery technology gradually matured, which can be confirmed by a large number of cultural relics unearthed in the past hundred years. During this period, there were exaggerated and deformed animal patterns such as dragons, phoenixes and tigers, and occasionally flowers and plants or geometric figures were used. The tiger leaped over the dragon, and the dragon danced when the dragon and phoenix danced, which was beautifully depicted and had facial expressions. The layout structure is patchy, interspersed appropriately, with rich colors, harmonious contrast and a sense of rhythm.

After entering the Qin and Han Dynasties, embroidery technology has been quite developed. It is particularly worth mentioning that Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty described it in "On Heng Cai Cheng": "Shu embroidery is omnipotent in Qixian; Xiangyi custom tapestry, plain without strange girl. I see it every day and do it every day. Linzi, Qixian County (now Linzi, Shandong Province) set up three official uniforms for the Han royal family, with thousands of weavers, costing hundreds of millions every year. In the era before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, not only the imperial house was embroidered with wooden clothes, but also the dogs and horses were quilted (woolen goods), even the general rich people were "embroidered with five colors, embroidered with Luo Wan and plain ice brocade", the mats for sitting and lying were also embroidered, and the curtains on the bed were also embroidered. Folk, not to mention the court nobles. Their palaces are all decorated with silk weaving and algae embroidery, so that "the house is not made of wood, and the walls are not exposed", and even "the pillars are decorated with brocade", and its luxury can be seen in general. The unprecedented prosperity of embroidery in Han dynasty made the artistic treatment of embroidery take a big step forward. There are three embroidery names recorded in the bamboo slips of Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb, namely "Belief Embroidery, Cloud Embroidery and Longevity Embroidery".

By the end of the Han Dynasty and the Six Dynasties, China began to enter the era of "increasing image religion" (Buddhism was also called "image religion" because of its numerous statues), thus prospering the wind of embroidering Buddha statues. 1965, an embroidered fragment of a picture of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas in the Northern Wei Dynasty was found in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Buddha statues, bodhisattvas, donors and corresponding figures are all embroidered with several kinds of colored silk threads. The donor robe is embroidered with gold and silver patterns and grass scroll patterns, which shows that foreign cultures represented by Buddhism are intertwined with local cultures and are reflected in embroidery. When it comes to embroidery in this period, we have to talk about the "three unique skills" of Mrs. Zhao, the king of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period-machine, needle and silk. According to Zhang Yanyuan's "Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties", "Lady Zhao of the Prince of Wu is the sister of the Prime Minister. He is good at calligraphy and painting, unique and unparalleled. He can weave colorful silk between his fingers into a brocade of dragons and phoenixes. The medium-sized palace is even more "unique". Sun Quan regrets that he thinks that a good painter can draw mountains and rivers, and his wife is in the mountains of Kyushu. My wife embroidered the terrain of Wuyue nationality on the square silk, and the name at that time was "Needle Jue". He also attacked the screen with glue silk, numbered "silk" (see Renzi Nian's "Collection"). Another notable feature of embroidery in the late Han Dynasty and the Six Dynasties is the appearance of figures, which is a precedent for later figure embroidery and has very important artistic significance.

Embroidery in the Tang and Song Dynasties has developed into refinement. This is mainly determined by its social environment. In the feudal society where men plowed and women wove, girls had to learn needlework and master embroidery. Because of this, embroidery has become their only pastime, cultivation and spiritual creation. The appearance of "boudoir embroidery" is not accidental. In the Ming Dynasty, Tu Long wrote: "In the Song Dynasty, boudoir embroidered paintings, landscape figures terrace flowers and birds, fine needle and thread, no seams exposed. It uses velvet to stop one or two threads and needles as thin as hair, so the eyebrows are perfect and the velvet color is dazzling, but it is better than painting. The cleverness of needlework is beyond the ability of spring breeze. Due to the further expansion of embroidery objects, the different cultural qualities and material conditions of the authors, and the participation of literati, embroidery developed greatly in the Tang and Song Dynasties. To some extent, it can be said that it has developed from paying equal attention to daily use and appreciation to separating daily use and appreciation, especially in appreciation. Due to the active participation of literati, calligraphy and painting art have been more closely combined, forming the contribution of painters and the embroidery system of artists.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many professional workshops for commodity production appeared in urban and rural areas throughout the country. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, the decline of official handicraft industry promoted the development of folk handicraft industry, from the uncompetitive official courtyard handicraft industry to the specialized production of commercial workshops. In addition, the great influence of literati and artists in the Tang and Song Dynasties combined with embroidery crafts, which made embroidery technology and production reach an unprecedented level. The four famous embroideries are Su embroidery, Yue embroidery, Xiang embroidery and Shu embroidery.

From the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the development of embroidery technology is very representative, both in the collocation and application of colors and the diversity and combination of stitches have reached an unprecedented level. With the participation of literati painters, higher requirements are put forward for the embroidery skills of imitation painting. Because of their efforts to pursue the vivid effect of original calligraphy and painting, they greatly promoted the development and innovation of acupuncture. For example, in the processing of color lines, the silk thread is divided into thinner strands, which makes the performance of lines weaker and more realistic; For example, a large number of new stitches have appeared in the stitch method, such as disorderly stitch, stitching, looping, mixed stitch, needle roller, needle embroidery, etc., which refines the texture and structure of the embroidery object into a special general technology and stitch method; Even the use of painting skills makes the primary and secondary structure and light and heavy performance of the picture more in line with people's aesthetic habits.

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