Expert: Guangzhou embroidery should embrace modern aesthetics and take the road of cross-border innovation

The fifth lecture of the Southern Intangible Cultural Heritage School, “Splendid Chapters – Cantonese Embroidery Export Artworks during the Ming and Qing Dynasties” was held on November 7 at Wenyi Building of Guangzhou University. Director and Researcher of the Exhibition and Exhibition Center of the Guangdong Provincial Museum Librarian Bai Fang shared the glorious history and modern inheritance of traditional Guangxi embroidery on the spot.

Guangxiu is the collective name for folk embroidery in Guangzhou and its ancient territories of Nanhai, Panyu, Shunde and other places. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. Guangzhou embroidery and Chaozhou embroidery are both called “Guangdong embroidery”, and Guangdong embroidery is one of the “four famous embroideries” in China. In 2006, Cantonese embroidery was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

“As early as in the “Du Yang Zabian” written by Su Jia of the Tang Dynasty, it was mentioned that the 14-year-old girl Lu Meiniang from Nanhai was ‘extremely skilled in craftsmanship and could embroider seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra on ruler silk’.” Bai Fang said in the lecture The earliest records about Guangzhou embroidery were shared. According to reports, Guangzhou embroidery craftsmanship is unique in its own way. It not only pays attention to the stitching techniques of embroidery, but also pays attention to the artistic effect of embroidery, and emphasizes the use of “work” for “art”. Guangxiu embroidery has detailed and dense compositions, lively and compact compositions, beautiful colors, and is full of folk interest. Figure embroidery, flower and bird embroidery are both Guangzhou embroidery specialty products.

Guangzhou embroidery is still a popular export art overseas. As early as the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Guangxiu embroidery began to be exported overseas through the MaritimeSilkRoad. Since the 17th century, a “Chinese style” has spread in Europe for two centuries, and Guangzhou embroidery has been the longest-lasting and most competitive category in exports.

Bai Fang said that the craftsmanship of the “Manila Shawl”, also known as the “Chinese Shawl”, which is famous in the history of global trade, came from Guangzhou embroidery. Its style has been left in the works of famous Impressionist painters such as Monet.

In the Qing Dynasty, most of the varieties of Guangzhou embroidery exported were decorations, household items and clothing items. In the 18th century, British ladies were keen on using double-sided scarves embroidered by Chinese embroidery artists. Some fashionable ladies and ladies even sent designed and tailored clothes and business cards to China through the East India Company to hire embroidery artists. Make. Guangzhou embroidery for export has extremely high technical value and cultural aesthetic value. While inheriting the characteristics of traditional embroidery craftsmanship, it also closely follows the aesthetic fashion of the global market, and even creatively uses peacock feathers and horsetail hair to continuously innovate in design. .

“As an important material carrier for the export of Chinese culture in the past dynasties, to this day, Cantonese embroidered shawls produced in Shunde, Guangdong are still main exports to European countries such as Spain.” Baifang believes that exporting Guangzhou embroidery is not only a “hot item” in foreign trade, but also a medium for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. On the basis of the original style, Guangxiu also absorbs the artistic characteristics of Western oil painting and the principles of light and dark perspective and light refraction, which are reflected in the selection of themes, artwork drawing, and stitch performance. “Guangzhou embroidery has achieved the combination and re-creation of Chinese and Western painting arts, which was rarely seen in other embroidery types during the Ming and Qing Dynasties,” she added.

Bai Fang introduced that the characteristics of Guangzhou embroidery in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are different: Guangzhou’s wool thread embroidery, gold and silver thread embroidery, bead embroidery, various embroidery paintings, costumes, practical embroidery, and export embroidery are all developed; while Macao is characterized by It specializes in religious themes and mainly targets the Portuguese market; the Hong Kong customer base is mainly British, and the embroidery style and style are consistent with the British-dominated Western style.

In recent years, Guangxiu has made many achievements in both inheritance and innovation. Bai Fang believes that Guangzhou embroidery once led Western “Chinese style” fashion. The traditional Chinese elements contained in Guangzhou embroidery are still recognized and used by the Western fashion industry. The research and innovation of Guangzhou embroidery have a great impact on “ “One Belt, One Road” and the construction of the “Humanities Bay Area” have a positive role. “Through the research and innovation of traditional Cantonese embroidery, we not only strengthen the blood ties of the Greater Bay Area, but also enhance the common cultural soft power.”

How can contemporary Guangzhou embroidery regain its former glory? Baifang said that the production efficiency of Guangzhou embroidery techniques cannot be compared with mechanized production. Guangzhou embroidery should embrace modern aesthetics and create a “cross-border innovation” through “Guangzhou embroidery + fashion”, “Guangzhou embroidery + art” and “Guangzhou embroidery + digitalization” “Road”, develop products that integrate into modern life and meet market demand, and create a Guangzhou embroidery brand in the new era.

AAA

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