Warring States (481-221B.C.) Embroidery

Chinese embroidery was inherited from the Neolithic cultures and developed through Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 B.C.), Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.) and Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.). Embroidery was plain at Zhou Dynasty but got more detailed gradually to Warring States Period. Embroidery products were mainly in Chain-stitches. The designs were precise, geometric and morphological. They combined the images of plants and animals. Their style was coexisted realistically and abstractly with narrow-shaped stitching and plenty of unstitched spaces. The main stitches were still in Chain-stitch.

An embroidery piece with dragon-and-phoenix pattern was unearthed at 1958 from Chu tomb (Warring Sates Period, 475 -221 B.C.) and the “Longevity embroidery” & “Token embroidery”  unearthed at 1972 from Mawangdui Han tomb (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) in Changsha of Hunan Province, proving that embroidery reached a high level of development over 2000 years ago.

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