Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery

Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery

Ningbo gold and silver embroidery is one of the Han folk handicraft products embroidered on silk fabrics with various color threads, gold threads and silver threads. With its strong local characteristics, unique folk style and rich image, Ningbo gold and silver embroidery is listed as the national intangible cultural heritage. Gold and silver embroidery, as its name implies, is a work embroidered on silk texture using gold and silver thread as the base material, supplemented by various color lines. The theme of its performance is mainly the auspicious patterns of dragon, phoenix, Kirin and fulushou, which are popular among the people. It also absorbs the patterns of algae wells and dramatic complements in Dunhuang frescoes. Combining with the traditional needle method of Ningbo embroidery plate of gold and silver, it creates a unique local style, and the dramatic costumes made have won praise from people at home and abroad.

On June 7, 2011, Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery was approved by the State Council and listed in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Embroidery features

The main embroidery features of gold and silver embroidery are to make full use of such embroidery methods as "panjin", "filling in gold", "wrapping gold" and "hidden flower" and "fat embroidery". In April 2010, after the evaluation of Zhejiang embroidery experts, it was considered that gold and silver embroidery was "very distinctive". This embroidery method does not pursue the realistic and lifelike picture, but the overall pursuit of gorgeous, heavy and decorative sense, local and detailed emphasis on line arrangement, line block combination of needling. Embroidery themes are mainly composed of Beijing class, Buddhist and Taoist gods, auspicious myths and legends, and auspicious patterns of rare birds and animals. The background color of embroidery is mainly dark red, dark blue, black and so on, which shows the luster of gold and silver colorful lines. Therefore, it has strong decoration. This embroidery method is widely used in costumes, hats, indoor furnishings, ancient artifacts, opera costumes, religious ceremonies, folk performances and celebrations.

The main fabrics of gold and silver embroidery are satin. Light and thin silk fabrics can also be used. Its main accessories, such as cloth, cotton and gauze, are used as padding for fat embroidery and hidden in silk thread. In embroidery, both color silk thread and gold and silver embroidery are thick and thin, but gold and silver thread is closely "nailed" and "wrapped" on the surface of the embroidery, which is not directly used for embroidery.

Embroidery tools are mostly embroidered. Small and medium-sized flower bandages are round bamboo rings. Use dry, two-ring clamping, one-man operation. Large-scale works are made of quadrangular wooden shed, which can accommodate more than two people to operate. After the embroidery is finished, the back of the embroidery must be "paddled" before it is difficult to deform.

Compared with making iron and building houses, gold and silver embroidery is a delicate work, all depending on eye, hand and heart. Therefore, its inheritance in China has always been between mother and daughter and sisters. Of course, in the court, official or folk arena, there are teachers and apprentices to inherit .

In the history of Ningbo arts and crafts, the most famous Crafts are gold and silver embroidery, Zhujin wood carving, clay and gold paint and bone wood inlay, commonly known as "three gold inlay". Among them, Zhao Puchu wrote four eulogisms for the gold and silver embroidery: "Considering the past and the present, cutting clouds and moons, fantastic flowers and plants, and magical pen and needle". The representative work "Baihe Chaoyang" was awarded the Eighth Chinese Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Prize Cup (Treasure) in 1989.

historical origin

Gold and silver embroidery, as an independent work, can be seen from the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty presented his bureaucrats with gold and silver embroidered robes; in 743, Jianzhen monk traveled east to Japan, bringing the gold and silver embroidered thousand-handed Buddha from Ayuwang Temple in Ningbo, which is still regarded as a national treasure by Japan; in the Qing Dynasty, embroidery workshops in Ningbo became more and more prosperous, the most famous of which was Xu Delai's flower shop, the sixth emperor engaged in embroidery and drawing industry; after the Opium War, foreign missionaries entered Ningbo. Bo introduced the embroidery needle method from abroad, which is called "foreign stretch" by local people.

Ningbo embroidery workers skillfully combine the traditional techniques of folk embroidery with the "foreign stretch" embroidery method, forming a unique Ningbo gold and silver embroidery. By the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ningbo's Haishen Temple and Xiantang Street (now Tianyi Square) had become industrial streets, with 30 to 40 embroidery shops alone.

The inheritance of the Millennium finally ushered in prosperity. In 1956, in response to the call of the state, Ningbo set off a high tide of handicraft industry reform. Individual handicraft shops were merged into handicraft cooperatives, including embroidery cooperatives. Reform measures gave birth to a strong embroidery team. In the 1960s, Ningbo gold and silver embroidery entered its heyday.

But in the 1980s, Ningbo gold and silver embroidery, like other handicraft techniques, suffered a historic decline. Around 2000, the traditional embroidery industry was seriously affected by the rapid development of science and technology, the change of lifestyle and concept, especially the rise of computer embroidery. Ningbo's large and small embroidery factories were shut down and transformed. After the disintegration of enterprises, most embroidery workers changed their professions. Ningbo traditional handicraft gold and silver embroidery declined to the lowest point in history, gradually fading out of people's sight, and even faced the danger of loss .

The so-called gold and silver embroidery is a kind of handicraft made of gold thread (silver thread) embroidered on silk texture and combined with various color threads. It has a very long history. The earliest example came from the Tang Dynasty palace of Famen Temple in Shaanxi Province. It was also called "jinjin embroidery" or "panjin embroidery" at that time. Poetry Saint Du Fu once said: "embroidered clothes shine in the late spring, like golden peacocks and silver unicorns". Wen Tingyun once chanted, "The Phoenix is relative to the Hamamelis, and the peony is drizzled overnight."

When did Ningbo gold and silver embroidery begin? But Ningbo has a tradition of "household weaving mats, household embroidery". In the Qing Dynasty, there were many embroidery shops in Ningbo, the most famous of which was Xu Delai's Flower Shop, the sixth emperor engaged in embroidery and drawing. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ningbo's Haishen Temple and Xiantang Street (Tianyi Square) had become industrial streets, with about 30 to 40 embroidery shops. According to the record of Tongzhi Food Record of Yinxian County, "The Catholics who taught women to embroider in the benevolent Church of Pharmaceutical Street before embroidery gradually increased to more than 1000 people". Although this passage only refers to "embroidery" in a general way, the old artists of gold and silver embroidery in Ningbo have mentioned many times: "After the Opium War, foreign missionaries entered Ningbo and introduced foreign embroidery needle method, which the local people call"foreign stretch". Ningbo embroidery workers skillfully combined the traditional techniques of folk embroidery with the "foreign stretch" embroidery method, creating a unique Ningbo gold and silver embroidery. It can be seen that the addition of "foreign stretching" techniques has added many features to Ningbo's gold and silver embroidery.

main features

Embroidery, as a handicraft art of the Han nationality, is rooted in the folk. Its characteristics are bound to be closely related to the local culture of water and soil, and ethical education. Ningbo's gold and silver embroidery has a lot of shining points different from those of other places in the use of raw materials, techniques and forms of expression.

The first is the use of materials. Gold and silver embroidery materials mainly include gold and silver thread, silk thread, silk base material, cotton, gauze and so on. The gold and silver threads used in gold and silver embroidery are all pure gold and silver threads at first. These gold (silver) threads are made of pure gold (silver) foil and cut into pieces of gold threads of 0.2 to 0.5 mm, which can be directly used as embroidery threads. Or gold (silver) filaments are made of sheet gold thread, with cotton (or silk) as the core thread, and the sheet gold thread is wound around the outer layer of the core wire. After the opening of the port, foreign imported gold thread (imitation gold thread) began to be used in gold and silver embroidery. The gold and silver thread used for embroidering the waistband of Japanese kimono is pure gold and silver thread imported directly from Japan.

Cotton is the characteristic material of Ningbo gold and silver embroidery. Mainly used for pad high embroidery figures in the face, especially the face of the old longevity star forehead as a typical, as well as dragon pattern eyes, petals and so on. Although the Chao embroidery in Guangdong embroidery also has the use of cotton, compared with the large-scale relief cushion of Chao embroidery, the use of cotton in Ningbo gold and silver embroidery is only partial and the finishing touch. This treatment method makes the pattern fluctuate and changes in color luster from different angles, greatly enriching the expressive force and decorative meaning of Ningbo gold and silver embroidery.

representative figure

In 2005, Ningbo launched the investigation and rescue of intangible cultural heritage. Xu Jinglun (born in February 1948), the sixth generation successor of Xu Delai Embroidery in the original city, became the successor of gold and silver embroidery. According to the survey, Xu Jing-lun, Gaozu Xu Delai, opened the embroidery village at the beginning of Daliang Street and passed on to Xu Jiashou, Xu Bingsheng (grandfather), Xu Renquan and Xu Jinglun .

Technology

In addition to the impact of science and technology, the crux of the decline of gold and silver embroidery lies in its complex technology and great difficulty in inheritance.

Ningbo gold and silver embroidery materials mainly include gold and silver thread, silk thread, silk base material, cotton, gauze and so on. Line: Ningbo gold and silver embroidery not only uses gold and silver thread developed by ourselves, but also uses various kinds of silk thread. Early gold and silver threads were made of pure gold (silver) foil, and then cut into pieces of gold threads of 0.2 to 0.5 mm, which were directly used as embroidery threads. Or take cotton thread (or silk thread) as the core wire, and turn the piece of gold wire around the outer layer of the core wire. According to relevant historical records, after the opening of the port, foreign imported gold thread (imitation gold thread) began to be used in it; (2) silk base material (or cloth): used as the background of embroidery patterns; (3) cotton: cotton is the characteristic material of Ningbo gold and silver embroidery, mainly used to pad the faces of people in embroidery, such as the face and forehead of the old longevity star, the eyes of the Dragon pattern, flower petals, etc. This treatment method makes the pattern fluctuate and changes in color luster from different angles, greatly enriching the expressive force and decorative meaning of Ningbo gold and silver embroidery; (4) gauze: used as a negative substrate according to needs, and through simple embroidery, tightened with the front, so that the work produces tension, not out of shape.

Ningbo gold and silver embroidery embroidery process is roughly divided into four parts: First, design drawings. Define the content and form of embroidery. Second, hand-stamping. The designed drawings are made into oil-paper printing boards and printed on silk fabrics. Third, embroidery. The embroidery piece should be put on the shed first, and after the shed, the fabric should be checked for leaks and flatness. Then align the embroidery base material, sew it, and match the color according to the specified color sample. When embroidering, first embroider the part of color silk thread, then embroider gold and silver thread according to the design requirements. Fourth, the production of finished products. After embroidery is completed, most of them are semi-finished products. According to the designer's intention, it is necessary to carry out post-process production of finished products, such as mounting, decoration, etc. to make various decorative articles, or mounting frames, or making household ornaments, or making clothing, etc.

The main techniques of Ningbo gold and silver embroidery are "pan gold (silver)" and "fill gold (silver)". "Panjin (Silver)" means to embroider gold (Silver) threads in accordance with the direction of white lines and form hollow patterns; "Fill in gold (Silver)" means to fill in the blanks with gold (Silver) threads in accordance with the direction of white lines until they are filled up, thus forming a solid pattern .

Inheritance Significance

Faced with the imminent loss of intangible cultural heritage with considerable technological content and cultural added value, protection and inheritance work is imminent. In 2008, Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Co., Ltd. was established in Ningbo, specializing in the research and development of Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery. In 2009, Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Inheritance Base officially settled in Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Co., Ltd. During this period, Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Co., Ltd. independently developed and produced the gold and silver embroidery works and won many provincial, municipal and national awards. These honors and certificates have made Ningbo's gold and silver embroidery more famous and influential in the society. In 2010, Ningbo established the first gold and silver embroidery art museum, aiming at inheriting and developing the gold and silver embroidery technology in Ningbo. Since its opening, the museum has more than 5000 pieces of gold and silver embroidery collection, the earliest dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In May 2010, Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Art Museum was listed on the national intangible cultural heritage list. Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Art Museum became the national intangible cultural heritage base. In 2013, Ningbo gold and silver embroidery technology was included in Ningbo non-heritage "Trinity" protection demonstration project system.

Recently, Yinzhou District of Ningbo City is actively planning to create a Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Museum in order to create a good inheritance environment for gold and silver embroidery. The Museum covers an area of about 10 mu, and will become the most representative exhibition venue for gold and silver embroidery works and techniques in the whole city, province and even the whole country. We believe that this excellent intangible cultural heritage will never fade with the passage of time .