Suzhou embroidery originated in Wuxian, Suzhou, near Taihu Lake, with mild climate and rich silk. Local women have a traditional habit of being good at embroidery. Superior geographical environment and rich brocade have created favorable conditions for the development of Suzhou embroidery. In the long historical development process, Suzhou embroidery has formed a local style with beautiful patterns, harmonious colors, bright lines, lively stitches and fine embroidery, and is known as the "Oriental Pearl". Shu embroidery, also known as "Sichuan embroidery", is the general name of Sichuan embroidery products centered on Chengdu. Shu embroidery has a long history. According to the Records of Huayang Guochang Canal in Jin Dynasty, embroidery in Shu was very famous at that time, and Shu embroidery and Shu brocade were regarded as famous products in Shu.
Shu embroidery takes soft satin and colored silk as the main raw materials, with various stitches, giving full play to the specialty of manual embroidery and forming a strong local style. The themes of Shu embroidery are mostly flowers and birds, animals, mountains and rivers, insects and fish, and people. In addition to purely ornamental embroidery screens, there are quilts, pillowcases, clothes, shoes, cushions, tablecloths, headscarves, handkerchiefs, painted screens and so on. There are huge screens and small pockets, which are exquisite works of art with both ornamental and practical functions. Xiang embroidery is the general name of embroidery products centered on Changsha, Hunan.
Xiang embroidery won the best prize and the first prize at 19 12 and 1933 World Expo in Turin and Panama respectively, and was praised as super embroidery abroad. Xiang embroidery is characterized by embroidery with wool (untwisted wool). In fact, the velvet thread is treated with solution to prevent pilling. This kind of embroidery is called "fine wool embroidery" locally. Xiang embroidery is also dominated by traditional Chinese painting, with vivid form and bold style. There used to be a reputation that "embroidered birds can smell, embroidered tigers can run and embroidered people can express their feelings". The color matching characteristics of Hunan embroidery humanistic paintings are mainly dark gray, black and white, as elegant as ink painting; The daily necessities of Xiang embroidery are brightly colored and decorative.
Guangdong embroidery is the general name of Guangdong embroidery art, including "Guangzhou embroidery" centered on Guangzhou and "Chaozhou embroidery" represented by Chaozhou. According to legend, it was originally created by ethnic minorities, and it is in the same strain as the brocade made by the Li nationality. Previously, embroidery workers were mostly men from Guangzhou and Chaozhou, which was rare in the world.
Guangdong embroidery began in the Tang Dynasty and formed its own characteristics in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, it was exported from Guangzhou Port and became famous overseas. Its exquisite skills, strong decorative elements, rich and bright colors, smooth and bright embroidered velvet, distinct arts and sciences, and free and easy velvet strips. Du Yang Zapian in the Tang Dynasty described the exquisite skills of Guangdong embroidery in this way: "During Yongzhenyuan period, seven women in Nanhai Palace were fourteen years old and had superb skills, and they could embroider seven volumes of embroidered cloth on one foot of silk. The size of the word is not more than Xiaomi, but it is clearly divided, as thin as hair, and her titles and sentences are intact. It's better to be a flying fairy, and the cover is divided into three strands with a silk hook and dyed into five colors ... ". Yunjin refers to a jacquard silk handicraft produced in Nanjing, with exquisite materials, exquisite weaving, exquisite patterns and colorful brocade patterns. It combines the achievements of silk weaving technology in past dynasties and valuable experience of other silk weaving technologies, and reaches the peak of silk weaving technology. The main feature of brocade is that flowers are different in color from flowers. From different angles, the colors of flowers on embroidery are different.
The history of Yunjin can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. It is named after its bright color and looks like a cloud in the sky. Popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Yunjin was a tribute of the royal family in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Known by experts as the last milestone in the history of China ancient brocade craft, it is one of the most precious historical and cultural heritages of the Chinese nation and even the whole world. In 2006, Yunjin was included in the first list of intangible cultural heritage in China, and in September 2009, it was successfully selected into the United Nations representative list of intangible cultural heritage of mankind. The inheritance unit is Nanjing Yunjin Research Institute. Shu brocade originally refers to colorful brocade produced in Sichuan, and later became the general name of brocade with similar weave produced in various places.
Shu brocade is an important part of traditional dyeing and weaving technology in China. Woven with dyed mature silk thread, there are warps, colored stripes or colored stripes, combined with geometric pattern organization and ornamentation. The materials of Shu brocade patterns are very extensive and rich, such as myths and legends, historical stories, auspicious image inscriptions, landscape figures, flowers, birds and animals.
Shu brocade has a long history. Chengdu's "Jinguan City" was named after Qin and Han Dynasties, and almost all brocade products from Qin and Han Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties were Shu brocade. It is one of the main commodities of the Silk Road, and it is also the predecessor of traditional Japanese national treasure handicraft Kyoto Xizhan Weaving. In 2006, Shu brocade weaving technology was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. The inheritor is Chengdu Jin Shu Weaving and Embroidery Museum. Song brocade is one of the traditional silk fabrics in China, which probably originated in the late Song Dynasty and mainly produced in Suzhou. In the pattern structure, it is precise and meticulous, and the texture is both rigid and soft; In the pattern, symmetry is rigorous and changeable, rich, smooth and vivid; In the use of color, it is bright but not fire, complex but not chaotic, full of lively and quaint charm; In the production process, the most important feature is that the warp and weft show flowers at the same time. Jin Song is very practical. Soft and firm texture, exquisite pattern, wear resistance, repeated washing and wide application.
Song brocade was developed on the basis of Shu brocade in Tang Dynasty, and its products are divided into big brocade, small brocade and ribbon. Dajin is also called "antique brocade". In 2006, Jin Song was included in the first national intangible cultural heritage list. The inheritor is Suzhou Silk Museum. Modern Jin Song is mainly produced in Hangzhou, Guangzhou and other places. Modern production of Song brocade is also called "imitation Song brocade", and its main varieties are Daikin, Boxin and Xiaojin. China is a country of etiquette and costume. To some extent, the development of China silk is also a microcosm of splendid etiquette. It can be said that ancient Chinese costumes are one of the tools of etiquette system and the materialized expression of feudal patriarchal clan system.
The costumes worn by ancient emperors have special signs, which need a formal costume system and must be strictly implemented. As big as the shape and color of clothes, as small as the length of silk thread and clothing material, it is related to the ritual system. Therefore, the imperial costume is the criterion and cornerstone of the whole clothing system.
The "standard" special imperial costumes appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. At that time, the rulers had strict regulations on the clothes of all kinds of people, and they were included in the category of "Zhou Li". The hierarchy is so obvious that trespassing is not allowed. At that time, the developed textile, printing and dyeing production technology provided a solid material foundation for the Zhou Dynasty to establish a perfect clothing system. In order to consolidate the Western Zhou regime, Zhou Gongdan, who assisted him as the king, formulated a complete hierarchical patriarchal clan system, made it clear that officials had different coats when they went to court, went out to court and stayed at home, and made detailed explicit provisions on the shape, texture, color, pattern and accessories of the crown, which became an important part of the etiquette management in the Zhou Dynasty.
"Zhouyi" contains: "Tian Xuan (azure) Dihuang (earth color)." The clothes that Zhou Tianzi wore when he sacrificed to heaven are mysterious clothes, which refer to black and have the color of red Huang Zhi. The mysterious dress is a coat made of black fabric, and the petticoat is a red and yellow underskirt. There are six chapters on the coat, such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the dragons and the earthworms. Similar to today's hand-painted clothing, the painter paints directly on the cloth with pen and ink pigments. The lower garment is embroidered with six chapters and twelve chapters of patterns, including, algae, fire, pink rice, symbols and symbols.
Before the Zhou Dynasty, emperors' costumes were embroidered with the above twelve chapters. In the Zhou dynasty, because there were patterns of the sun, the moon and the stars on the standard, the costumes were not repeated, and the twelve chapters were changed to nine chapters. The order of decorative patterns is dragon, and dragons, mountains, flowers, insects, fire and Zong Yi are all hand-painted. Seaweed, glutinous rice, flounder and salamander are all rusted. In the subsequent dynasties, the traditional pattern of twelve chapters was basically continued, and the twelve chapters gradually became the special decoration of Emperor China, which was the symbol of the ancient kingship of China. The dragons and phoenixes in Chapter 12 are gradually used exclusively by emperors. The dragon became the symbol of the son of heaven, while the phoenix was the representative of the supreme woman. In the ancient Chinese costume system, the close relationship between silk and feudal hierarchy is best reflected in the supplementary costumes of civil and military officials. Supplementary clothing is a kind of official clothing decorated with a badge, or supplementary robe, which is different from other official clothing. The main difference is that the front and back of the dress have a complement with the same form, content and meaning. So as long as you look at the patchwork patterns, you can know the rank taste of this person, which is somewhat similar to the rank of today's officers.
The source of tonic can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, and it seems to be related to Wu Zetian's grading with robes. "Peaceful Magnolia" (Volume 692) quoted the Book of the Tang Dynasty: "The marquis of Wu presented a crimson robe with Luo Ming collar and back, and each robe had its own characteristics. ..... The prime minister decorated the wind pool, the ministers decorated the geese, the left and right guards decorated the unicorn, and the left and right guards decorated the tiger. "
The Yuan Dynasty stone carvings unearthed in Yangmiao, Inner Mongolia have patches of flower patterns, and many square patches of Yuan Dynasty fabrics have indeed been found in some Yuan Dynasty tombs. However, these costumes did not appear as auxiliary clothes, mostly flower-shaped, and were not used as symbols of official rank at that time.
The auxiliary service, which truly represents the official position, was formed in the Ming Dynasty. According to the Records of Yu Fu Zhi in the History of Ming Dynasty, in the 24th year of Hongwu (139 1), it was stipulated that officials' official uniforms were big round collars with square patches on their chests and backs, civilians embroidered birds to show civilization, and military officers embroidered beasts to show martial arts.
Judging from the official supplement unearthed in the Ming Dynasty and handed down from generation to generation, there are three production methods: brocade, embroidery and reeling. The early official supplements were large in quantity and well-made. People use two birds to fly together, military attache uses an animal, or stands or squats. In the Qing Dynasty, civil servants only used a single bird for tonic, with slightly different grades.