Shangdang Embroidered Brocade

Shangdang Embroidered Brocade

Shangdang Embroidered Brocade is a national-level intangible cultural heritage.

　　Shangdang Embroidered Brocade, commonly known as Changzhi Piled Flowers, is a traditional handmade art unique to the ancient Shangdang region of Shanxi (now Changzhi City), one of the cradles of the Chinese nation. In April of the third year of the Shenlong era during the Tang Dynasty (707 AD), Li Longji, then Prince of Linzi and not yet the reigning Emperor Xuanzong, served as the deputy governor of Luzhou (present-day Changzhi). He brought the silk-based pile embroidery craft from the imperial court to the ancient city of Shangdang, where it later spread among the people. After more than a thousand years of historical evolution, this handicraft technique has been perfected. In 1915, Shangdang Embroidered Brocade’s “Four Screens of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter” won a silver medal at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, gaining fame both domestically and abroad. In 2008, it was included in the second batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the State Council. In 2010, Shangdang Embroidered Brocade was exhibited and demonstrated at the Shanghai World Expo, earning widespread acclaim from visitors around the world.

　　Tu Bicheng (original name Benyuan), the inheritor of Shangdang Embroidered Brocade, was born in June 1947 in Duan Shi, an ancient town in Shanxi. He started painting at a young age, is a member of the Communist Party of China, holds a graduate degree, and is a Senior Arts and Crafts Artist. He is also among the first group of Shanxi Province’s Master Craft Artists and a Chinese Embroidered Brocade Artist. Since 1968, he has been engaged in the creation, design, and research of Shangdang Embroidered Brocade, a supreme art of the Tang Dynasty, making him the pioneer in revitalizing and innovating this traditional craft. His finest embroidered brocade works were displayed in the First, Second, and Third National Arts and Crafts Exhibitions held in Beijing in 1972, 1978, and 1987, respectively. He has also participated in numerous national arts and crafts exhibitions and has won many gold, silver, bronze, and excellence awards. In 2003, Tu Bicheng was recognized as a National Science and Technology Expert by the China Arts and Crafts Association. In 2007, he was named an “Outstanding Inheritor of Chinese Folk Culture” by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese Folk Artists Association. In 2009, he was awarded the title of “Chinese Intellectual Property Culture Ambassador” by the State Intellectual Property Office and the Chinese Ethnic Art Treasures Museum. Tu Bicheng’s exquisite brocade artworks have received numerous honors from national and industry authorities, including gold awards at the “Hundred Flowers Cup” and “Tian Gong Yi Yuan · Hundred Flowers Cup” for his masterpieces “Guanyin • Manjushri • Vajrapani” and “White Tara.” Other masterpieces such as “Full View of the Buddha Hall,” “Majestic Taihang,” and “Auspicious Five Buddha Mothers” have been designated as “Chinese Ethnic Art Treasures” by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Chinese Ethnic Art Treasures Museum.

　　The Shangdang Embroidered Brocade Cultural Industrial Park consists of Shanxi Shangdang Embroidered Brocade Culture and Art Co., Ltd., the Shanxi Changzhi Embroidered Brocade Research Institute, the Shangdang Embroidered Brocade Art Museum, and the Tu Bicheng Artists’ Studio under the China Arts and Crafts Association. Its goal is to expand and strengthen the Shangdang Embroidered Brocade cultural industry, establishing it as one of the most vibrant and dynamic traditional cultural industries of today.