Chongqing Yudong crewel embroidery: passing on the traditional craftsmanship with Banan's characteristics

|ChinaNews|Published:2019-05-14 15:29:43

Chongqing Yudong crewel embroidery: passing on the traditional craftsmanship with Banan's characteristics

A piece of Yudong crewel embroidery [Photo by Liu Ruiping]

The history of crewel embroidery can be dated back to 1920s and 1930s, when Chinese artist Lv Fengzi borrowed the technique and perspective of oil painting into Chinese embroidery, and created crewel embroidery with his student Yang Shouyu.

Chongqing Yudong crewel embroidery: passing on the traditional craftsmanship with Banan's characteristics

Yang Shihua, a 90 years' old craftswoman was creating an art work of Yudong crewel embroidery [Photo provided by the Publicity Department of the CPC Banan District Committee]

Compared with other types of traditional Chinese embroidery, each piece of crewel embroidery is embroidered by two-ply twisted yarns of different length, and different layers of the fabric are coloured differently. This way of sewing stitches can create raised patterns on the fabric. Due to its unique technique, crewel embroidery has become the fifth type of embroidery apart from the four traditional types of embroidery (Suzhou embroidery, Sichuan embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Guangdong embroidery) in China.

Chongqing Yudong crewel embroidery: passing on the traditional craftsmanship with Banan's characteristics

Embroidery lover was learning the technique of Yudong crewel embroidery [Photo provided by the Publicity Department of the CPC Banan District Committee]

In the late 1930s, Yang Shihua, from Yudong Block, Banan District, Chongqing City, became the student of Yang Shouyu. After mastering the technique of crewel embroidery, he chose to pass on this technique to future generations. At Yang Shihua's insistence, crewel embroidery has gradually become a featured type embroidery in Banan Yudong, and has gained attentions from an increasing number of people. In 2011, Yudong crewel embroidery has been inscribed on the Chongqing Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

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