Shen Shou Art Museum

Shen Shou Art Museum

The Shen Shou Art Museum was built in 1992. It is located on the scenic Haohe River in Nantong, on the former site of the “Nantong County Women’s Industrial Training School” (China’s first embroidery school). The museum’s name was inscribed by [Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress]. The art museum displays a series of historical photographs and embroidered works by Shen Shou, a modern master of embroidery in China, and provides a detailed introduction to Shen Shou’s artistic achievements and the essence of her disciples’ embroidery art. Shen Shou, originally named Xuezhi, with the courtesy name Xuejun and the pseudonyms Xuehuan and Tianxiangge Zhuren, was born in 1871 into an antique dealer’s family at Haihongfang, Changmen, Wuxian, Jiangsu. Her father, Shen Chun, was well-versed in literature and history, studied salt administration, and once served as a salt official in Zhejiang. He had a deep love for cultural relics and a rich collection, and later opened an antique shop. Her mother, Lady Song, gave birth to three sons and two daughters, with Xuezhi being the fifth child. From a young age, she learned to read and write with her father. The cultural relics and calligraphy paintings in her home provided her with rich artistic influence, stirring the strings of beauty within her young heart.

Suzhou embroidery has long been famous. Especially in the Mudu area outside Suzhou city, almost every household raised silkworms and practiced embroidery, making it known as the “hometown of Su embroidery.” As a child, Xuezhi often visited her grandmother’s home there and developed a strong interest in the marvelous art of Su embroidery. Under the guidance of her elder sister, Shen Li, she started handling a needle at the age of seven and learning embroidery at eight, beginning a lifelong career in embroidery. Xuezhi was intelligent and eager to explore, quickly progressing in her embroidery skills. At first, she embroidered flowers and plants, mainly practical items. Later, she used famous paintings from her family’s collection as models to create artistic pieces. By the age of sixteen or seventeen, she had become a renowned embroidery expert in Suzhou. Xuezhi married at the age of twenty. Her husband, Yu Jue (also known as Bingchen or Zhaoxiong), was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, but later lived in Suzhou. He came from a scholarly family, was skilled in calligraphy and painting, and was financially well-off. After marriage, the couple complemented each other—one using a brush like a needle, the other a needle like a brush—creating a harmonious blend of painting and embroidery. Aside from managing household duties, Xuezhi dedicated herself to embroidery without interruption.

In October of the 30th year of the Guangxu reign (1904), it was the 70th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. The Qing government ordered localities to present birthday tributes. Upon hearing the news, Yu Jue, following the advice of friends, decided to embroider birthday screens as gifts. They selected “The Eight Immortals Offering Birthday Wishes” and “The Buddha of Infinite Life” from their family’s collection of ancient paintings as models, quickly drafted the designs, and enlisted several skilled embroiderers to work on them. Xuezhi poured a great deal of effort into these pieces. When Cixi saw “The Eight Immortals Offering Birthday Wishes” and three other “Buddha of Infinite Life” pieces, she highly praised them as peerless masterpieces. In addition to awarding Shen Xuezhi the Fourth-Class Commercial Merit, she personally wrote the characters “Fu” (blessing) and “Shou” (longevity), presenting one each to Yu Jue and his wife. From then on, Shen Xuezhi changed her name to “Shen Shou.”

In 1914, Zhang Jian founded the Women’s Embroidery Training School in Nantong. Shen Shou was invited to come to Nantong, where she served as the director and instructor, while Yu Jue became the manager of the Nantong Civilian Workshop. The embroidery training school was initially attached to the Nantong Girls’ Normal School and later moved to Haoyang Road in Nantong. The first class enrolled over twenty students, with numbers increasing year by year and the curriculum gradually improving. The school offered accelerated classes, regular classes, art classes, and research classes.

Shen Shou was not only an outstanding embroidery artist but also an experienced embroidery educator. In her teaching, she advocated “learning from nature,” cultivating students’ ability to observe things carefully. When embroidering flowers, she would place a fresh flower on the embroidery frame and embroider while observing it. For figure embroidery, she emphasized making the eyes come alive and capturing the spirit of the person. Under Shen Shou’s meticulous guidance, the Nantong Women’s Embroidery Training School trained many Su embroidery talents. Nantong’s embroidery gradually developed a style that was “fine, thin, even, and clean,” opening up sales both domestically and internationally.

Shen Shou “taught embroidery in Nantong for eight years, tirelessly and diligently” (as described by Zhang Jian). Unfortunately, she fell ill due to overwork. Fearing that her artistry would not be passed on, Zhang Jian, while arranging for renowned doctors to treat Shen Shou, obtained her consent and personally recorded and organized her embroidery techniques. When Shen Shou’s health slightly improved, she dictated her memories while recalling details, and after several months, the book “Xuehuan Embroidery Manual” was finally completed. In the preface to the manual, Zhang Jian wrote: “It took several months to complete this manual. I repeatedly asked questions, reviewed, and revised the drafts. Not a single word was written by me that did not come from Shou.” This shows that the embroidery manual is indeed the crystallization of Shen Shou’s forty years of artistic practice. The book is divided into eight chapters: Preparation for Embroidery, Embroidery Basics, Stitch Techniques, Key Points of Embroidery, Embroidered Works, Embroidery Ethics, Embroidery Seasons, and Embroidery Mastery. It provides a relatively comprehensive explanation on the use of threads and colors, key points of embroidery, the moral cultivation artists should have, and even health care, making it the first specialized work in China to systematically summarize the artistic experience of Su embroidery.

On June 18, 1921, Shen Shou passed away in Nantong at the age of 48. According to her wishes, Zhang Jian buried her in the Ma’anshan Cemetery in Nantong. The stone gate of the tomb bears Zhang Jian’s regular script inscription: “Tomb of Madam Shen from Wuxian, World Artisan.” A stele was erected behind the tomb, with the front engraved with “Memorial Tablet for Madam Shen from Wuxian, World Artisan” written by Zhang Jian, and the back carved with Shen Shou’s portrait. The master is gone, but her art lives on. Her exquisite embroidered works remain in the world, shining brightly to this day. Museums in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nantong all house Shen Shou’s embroidery pieces. When people see her works such as “The Eight Immortals Offering Birthday Wishes,” “Portrait of Jesus,” “Portrait of Becker,” “Buddha of Infinite Life,” “Evergreen,” “Flower and Bird Album,” “Zodiac Portraits,” “Guanyin Statue,” “Clam Painting,” and “Willow and Swallow Painting,” they are all captivated and amazed by how this Su embroidery master, with her extraordinary wisdom and skillful hands, elevated the traditional Su embroidery craft to a more magnificent and magical artistic realm.

The Shen Shou Art Museum officially opened to the public in May 1992. Standing by the Haohe River, it adds even more brilliance to the scenic Haohe in Nantong.