Chinese Embroidery History -- hand made embroidery arts history

Chinese Embroidery History

The history of silk begins in China--silkworms were domesticated as early as 5000 years ago. The production of silk thread and fabrics gave rise to the art of embroidery.

Chinese embroidery boasts a very long history. 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.

During Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), some Portuguese businessmen visited China and returned home with samples of Chinese embroidery they were highly awarded by their king. Since then, Chinese embroidery became well-known throughout the world. Silk, in textile and embroidery form, were the main products transported along the ancient Chinese Silk Road. In the Qing Dynasty(1644-1912), embroidery workshops were formed and the industry was developed. Chinese embroidery became more elegant and covered a wider aesthetic range.

Embroidery is a traditional Chinese craft which consists of pulling colored thread through a background with needle to stitch patterns that have been previously designed.

The adoption of different stitching methods developed into different embroidery styles. There are four famous top Chinese embroidery Styles: Su embroidery from Jiangsu, Xiang embroidery from Hunan, Yue embroidery from Guangdong, Shu embroidery from Sichuan. Also another style Bian embroidery from Henan.