Styles and Themes of Embroidery
1 min readStyles and Themes of Embroidery
Embroidery is a kind of traditional Chinese handicraft art，which is divided into the Suzhou，Sichuan，Guangdong and Hunan schools.Suzhou embroidery is celebrated for its sophisticated stitching，vivid pictures，beautiful patterns and elegant colors.
Human Embroidery emphasizes vivid patterns.Guangdong and Sichuan embroideries feature popular motifs，such as a peacock spreading its tail，a magpie on the branchof a plum tree，pines and cranes as symbols of long life，two dragons playing with a ball，and a phoenix and peony.The embroidery items have varied themes:Some are romantic and exaggerative，others reflect the reality，or are vivid and true to life. Both are of practical and ornamental uses.
Embroidery in Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty saw a peak of development of embroidery in both quantity and quality.Embroidery developed into an art by combining calligraphy and painting.
Newtools and skills were invented.The Wenxiu Department was in charge of embroideryin the Song court.During the reign of Emperor Hui Zong，they divided embroidery into four categories:mountains and waters，pavilions，people，and flower and birds.During this period，the art of embroidery came to its zenith and reputed workers popped up.Even intellects joined this activity，and embroidery was divided into two functions：art for daily use and art for art’s sake.
