Lianzhou Embroidery

Lianzhou Embroidery

　　Lianzhou embroidery has a long and storied history. According to local custom, one of the essential skills a young woman was expected to master in her boudoir included weaving, sewing, and embroidery. From childhood, girls learned embroidery, starting with simple patterns like crosses and lotus flowers. Gradually, they honed their craft with depictions of flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, and human figures—until they could embroider floral patterns on the uppers of cloth shoes worn when going up the mountain to cut thatch, cut and paste cat ears, eyes, and noses onto the toes of children’s shoes; and stitch vibrant blooms, lush green leaves, and endearing animals onto collars, aprons, and fabric bags. Only then were they considered to have mastered the craft and earned the right to marry.

In winter, young women and married ladies would gather to do embroidery, aiming to wear beautiful new clothes for the New Year. Piece by piece, seasonal embroidered items emerged—floral and animal patterns woven from threads in red, yellow, green, white, and other colors, blending the real and the abstract, clustering and spacing just right, showcasing an ancient, elegant, and graceful style through simple repetition and symmetry. Gradually, Lianzhou embroidery grew into an industry. When high-end materials such as silk satin, gold and silver threads, and bead chains entered the embroidery trade, this traditional craft finally stepped into the limelight and embraced the world of art. A red cheongsam embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in water and butterflies fluttering among flowers adds to the demure charm of an Eastern bride; while an old-fashioned, elegant black silk cheongsam adorned with pine, cypress, plum, and deer makes a female birthday celebrant appear vigorous and radiant. Lianzhou embroidery artisans also successfully revived Guangdong’s nearly lost gold and silver embroidery technique, bringing it back to glorious life. Among embroidery crafts, gold and silver embroidery is the most demanding—on smooth silk fabric, gold and silver threads are laid first, then a middle layer of cotton, and finally a base of velvet thread. The embroiderers pour their heart into every stitch and pay attention to every thread. What they create is art; in a sense, every one of them is an embroidery artist.

Lianzhou beaded embroidered cheongsams, velvet-embroidered Spanish shawls, thread-velvet handbags, gold-silver-color embroidered cushions, and Japanese kimono belts are all provincial-quality export products that generate foreign exchange and are deeply loved by people.