Stitch by stitch, loving fingers keep ancient handicraft alive
May 28, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
XIE Jufang, 48, sits quietly behind an embroidery frame in a shop in Qibao Town, meticulously embroidering a flower stitch by stitch. Surrounding here are dozens of exquisite embroidery works featuring the patterns of teapots, birds, people, animals, flowers and landscapes.
Xie, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, is an artist of the school of Suzhou embroidery, one of the four major regional styles of Chinese needlework. She operates a shop where she teaches the subtle craft of Suzhou embroidery and sells hand-crafted goods.
It is the only Qibao shop dedicated to Suzhou embroidery, an art dating back 2,000 years and passed down from generation to generation in her family.
"I saw my mother doing needlework when I was about three years old, and I started learning to do it when I was six or seven years old," Xie said.
Xie had a natural talent for it, learning more than 10 variations of needlework in the Suzhou style and mastering the art of splitting silk threads, which is deemed the most intricate technique of embroidery.
After graduation from middle school, she continued embroidery because she was a frail girl and couldn't do heavy work.
Xie's mother-in-law is also a noted Suzhou embroidery artisan who once made the wedding dress of Momoe Yamaguchi, a former Japanese singer and actress. Thanks to her mother-in-law's instruction, Xie has been able to develop her talent to the fullest.
Xie has made Japanese kimonos, costumes such as imperial robes, tablecloths, scarves and curtains during her years of needlework. But beyond that, she wanted to teach other people to appreciate the heritage the embroidery seeks to continue.
"The exquisite art of Suzhou embroidery has its special essence, and I want to promote and protect the craftsmanship," she said.
The heyday of Suzhou embroidery blossomed between the 1970s and 1990s when there were about 120,000 people stitching Suzhou embroidery.
That number dropped off dramatically in ensuing years as fewer and fewer young people showed interest, Xie said. Machines have replaced delicate fingers in the business of turning out embroidered goods.
The majority of people who still do Suzhou embroidery are older, and many, like her 80-year-old mother, are at an age when they have to abandon needlework because of poor eyesight, she lamented.
Fortunately, Xie enjoys excellent eyesight. Her short hair frames a face younger than her years - a face that mirrors the joy of pleasure and purpose. She said she could do needlework for eight hours before her eyes registered any fatigue. In fact, needlework buoys her mood.
Still, it's hard work. A piece of Suzhou embroidery can take months to finish, according to Xie. That means time and dedication are required.
"Nowadays, young people have no time and patience, and they are busy pursuing higher education and careers," she said. "But in my childhood, stitching was the only pastime."
She pointed to her favorite piece in the shop. It was done by another embroiderer and took three months to complete. It depicts three cats with bright eyes and is priced at 30,000 yuan (US$4,611). Xie lamented that she doesn't have the time anymore for intricate pieces that take so much time.
Xie moved to Shanghai with her husband in 2002. He works as a gardener responsible for maintaining the greenery of the Qibao area.
The government authority in charge of the development of Qibao Old Street contacted Xie and offered her a nominal rent if she would open an embroidery shop there as part of the street's theme of culture and heritage.
It was only 9 square meters, but it was an important first step. Even before the shop officially opened, a military man came in to see the decoration work going on and bought a piece of embroidery featuring red plum blossoms. Xie said she knew at that moment that the shop would be a success.
She later expanded her business and moved to Fuqiang Street in the old town area. The new shop, which opened in 2004, occupies two floors and 100 square meters.
To promote the old craftsmanship, Xie displays the techniques of Suzhou embroidery and started teaching embroidery classes in the shop.
She even moved an embroidery frame that dates back more than 100 years from her hometown to the shop.
Several expatriates from Britain, the United States and India are among her students.
"I am willing to teach anyone who is interested in the Suzhou embroidery and patient enough to learn it," Xie said.
Sometimes people ask for customized embroidery, bringing in old photos they would like transposed into stitch work. Her shop does not attract a lot of foreign tourists, she said, because most tour groups visit the nearby watertown of Zhujiajiao rather than Qibao.
But she does have loyal customers, like a Taiwan man who works at a local information technology company and often asks for customized embroidery. Even after he was transferred to Beijing, she said, he still came back to visit the shop during holidays because he appreciated the intricacy of Suzhou embroidery.
Though the shop brings her great pleasure, it doesn't bring big profits. The rent has increased ninefold to 90,000 yuan since she opened it, and she employs other embroiderers to work in the shop, paying them up to 12 yuan an hour.
Drawing designs is largely done by computers nowadays, Xie said, but she sticks to the old tradition of hand sketches.
"The sketches drawn by computers are blurry compared with hand-drawn designs, which usually take several days to complete," Xie said.
Xie, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, is an artist of the school of Suzhou embroidery, one of the four major regional styles of Chinese needlework. She operates a shop where she teaches the subtle craft of Suzhou embroidery and sells hand-crafted goods.
It is the only Qibao shop dedicated to Suzhou embroidery, an art dating back 2,000 years and passed down from generation to generation in her family.
"I saw my mother doing needlework when I was about three years old, and I started learning to do it when I was six or seven years old," Xie said.
Xie had a natural talent for it, learning more than 10 variations of needlework in the Suzhou style and mastering the art of splitting silk threads, which is deemed the most intricate technique of embroidery.
After graduation from middle school, she continued embroidery because she was a frail girl and couldn't do heavy work.
Xie's mother-in-law is also a noted Suzhou embroidery artisan who once made the wedding dress of Momoe Yamaguchi, a former Japanese singer and actress. Thanks to her mother-in-law's instruction, Xie has been able to develop her talent to the fullest.
Xie has made Japanese kimonos, costumes such as imperial robes, tablecloths, scarves and curtains during her years of needlework. But beyond that, she wanted to teach other people to appreciate the heritage the embroidery seeks to continue.
"The exquisite art of Suzhou embroidery has its special essence, and I want to promote and protect the craftsmanship," she said.
The heyday of Suzhou embroidery blossomed between the 1970s and 1990s when there were about 120,000 people stitching Suzhou embroidery.
That number dropped off dramatically in ensuing years as fewer and fewer young people showed interest, Xie said. Machines have replaced delicate fingers in the business of turning out embroidered goods.
The majority of people who still do Suzhou embroidery are older, and many, like her 80-year-old mother, are at an age when they have to abandon needlework because of poor eyesight, she lamented.
Fortunately, Xie enjoys excellent eyesight. Her short hair frames a face younger than her years - a face that mirrors the joy of pleasure and purpose. She said she could do needlework for eight hours before her eyes registered any fatigue. In fact, needlework buoys her mood.
Still, it's hard work. A piece of Suzhou embroidery can take months to finish, according to Xie. That means time and dedication are required.
"Nowadays, young people have no time and patience, and they are busy pursuing higher education and careers," she said. "But in my childhood, stitching was the only pastime."
She pointed to her favorite piece in the shop. It was done by another embroiderer and took three months to complete. It depicts three cats with bright eyes and is priced at 30,000 yuan (US$4,611). Xie lamented that she doesn't have the time anymore for intricate pieces that take so much time.
Xie moved to Shanghai with her husband in 2002. He works as a gardener responsible for maintaining the greenery of the Qibao area.
The government authority in charge of the development of Qibao Old Street contacted Xie and offered her a nominal rent if she would open an embroidery shop there as part of the street's theme of culture and heritage.
It was only 9 square meters, but it was an important first step. Even before the shop officially opened, a military man came in to see the decoration work going on and bought a piece of embroidery featuring red plum blossoms. Xie said she knew at that moment that the shop would be a success.
She later expanded her business and moved to Fuqiang Street in the old town area. The new shop, which opened in 2004, occupies two floors and 100 square meters.
To promote the old craftsmanship, Xie displays the techniques of Suzhou embroidery and started teaching embroidery classes in the shop.
She even moved an embroidery frame that dates back more than 100 years from her hometown to the shop.
Several expatriates from Britain, the United States and India are among her students.
"I am willing to teach anyone who is interested in the Suzhou embroidery and patient enough to learn it," Xie said.
Sometimes people ask for customized embroidery, bringing in old photos they would like transposed into stitch work. Her shop does not attract a lot of foreign tourists, she said, because most tour groups visit the nearby watertown of Zhujiajiao rather than Qibao.
But she does have loyal customers, like a Taiwan man who works at a local information technology company and often asks for customized embroidery. Even after he was transferred to Beijing, she said, he still came back to visit the shop during holidays because he appreciated the intricacy of Suzhou embroidery.
Though the shop brings her great pleasure, it doesn't bring big profits. The rent has increased ninefold to 90,000 yuan since she opened it, and she employs other embroiderers to work in the shop, paying them up to 12 yuan an hour.
Drawing designs is largely done by computers nowadays, Xie said, but she sticks to the old tradition of hand sketches.
"The sketches drawn by computers are blurry compared with hand-drawn designs, which usually take several days to complete," Xie said.
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