Hangzhou Embroidery

Hangzhou Embroidery

　　　Hangzhou Embroidery, also known as Hang Embroidery or Ancient Embroidery, originated in the Han Dynasty and reached its peak during the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, embroidery was divided into two categories: “Imperial Embroidery” and “Folk Embroidery.” The former specialized in sewing various garments for the royal family and imperial gardens, while the latter was used for official attire, quilt covers, screens, wall hangings, and more. This tradition continued to flourish without decline until the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, with nearly twenty embroidery workshops located in areas such as Houshi Street, Bijiao Fang, and Tianshui Bridge within the city. The number of skilled embroiderers reached two to three hundred.

Hangzhou Embroidery emphasizes stitching techniques, featuring a wide variety of stitches including flat stitch, random stitch, layered stitch, appliqué embroidery, base-borrowing embroidery, hair embroidery, bead embroidery, treasury embroidery, dot embroidery, woven embroidery, net embroidery, and gauze embroidery. There is a rich diversity of embroidered products, particularly renowned for gold-thread couching, gold-wrapped embroidery, silver-thread embroidery, and colored-silk embroidery. Gold-thread couching is resplendent and luxurious; gold-wrapped embroidery features distinct layers and harmonious brilliance; silver-thread embroidery is simple and elegant, refined yet unpretentious; colored-silk embroidery is delicate, vibrant, and lively. In terms of technique, Hangzhou Embroidery absorbs and integrates the strengths of the four great embroidery styles of Suzhou, Hunan, Sichuan, and Guangdong, employing versatile stitching methods to develop its own distinctive style. The design motifs of Hangzhou Embroidery largely draw from traditional patterns beloved by the public, such as dragons, phoenixes, qilins, bats, peacocks, peonies, lotus flowers, longevity peaches, ruyi scepters, decorative knots, the Eight Trigrams, and West Lake scenery. The designs often employ exaggeration and distortion for decorative effect, which is a hallmark feature of Hangzhou Embroidery.