Needlework embroidery is elegant—China's Four Famous Embroideries

China boasts a rich variety of traditional crafts, among which embroidery stands out as one of the most celebrated, earning high acclaim both at home and abroad. As a widely practiced handicraft across diverse regions, embroidery has evolved uniquely in each country and ethnic group over centuries, showcasing their distinct skills and artistic strengths. In China, the "Four Great Embroideries"—including Hunan's "Xiang Embroidery" from central Hunan Province, Sichuan's "Shu Embroidery" from western Sichuan, Guangdong's "Yue Embroidery" from southern Guangdong, and Jiangsu's "Su Embroidery" from eastern Jiangsu—are particularly renowned. Beyond these, there are also regional masterpieces such as Beijing Embroidery, Shandong Embroidery, Bian Embroidery, Ou Embroidery, Hangzhou Embroidery, Hubei Embroidery, Fujian Embroidery, and more. Additionally, China's ethnic minorities—such as the Uyghur, Yi, Dai, Buyi, Kazakh, Yao, Miao, Tujia, Jingpo, Dong, Bai, Zhuang, Mongolian, Tibetan, and others—each proudly preserve their own distinctive styles of ethnic embroidery, deeply rooted in their cultural heritage.

The Four Great Embroideries emerged in the mid-19th century. Beyond their intrinsic artistic qualities, a key reason for their development was the commercialization of embroidery products. Driven by market demand and the distinct origins of these crafts, embroidery pieces—as commodities—began to develop unique regional characteristics. Among them, the works from Suzhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hunan enjoyed particularly wide popularity, earning them the title "Four Great Embroideries."

Suzhou embroidery is actually quite renowned, earning the title of "Pearl of the Orient." It refers to a broad category of embroidery products originating primarily from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and extending across the broader Jiangsu region. Located in the picturesque Jiangnan area, Suzhou has long been celebrated for its tradition of women excelling in the art of embroidery. Over centuries of development, Suzhou embroidery has evolved into a distinct regional style, characterized by delicate patterns, harmonious color schemes, crisp lines, lively stitching techniques, and meticulous craftsmanship. Key artistic features include: - Capturing the subtle interplay of depth and distance in landscapes, - Rendering architectural structures with remarkable realism and three-dimensionality, - Bringing figures to life through dynamic expressions and lifelike details, - Depicting flowers and birds with graceful, intimate charm. In terms of technique, Suzhou embroidery predominantly employs the "set-stitch" method, where threads are seamlessly layered without visible needle marks. Artisans often combine three to four shades of similar or adjacent colors, creating seamless, blended effects that evoke natural, fluid transitions. When evaluating Suzhou embroidery, experts typically summarize its excellence using eight key qualities: "flat, even, fine, dense, uniform, smooth, harmonious, and lustrous." Beyond its artistic appeal, Suzhou embroidery is also widely used in practical applications—ranging from elegant garments and accessories like handkerchiefs and scarves to charming greeting cards and other decorative items.

Shu Embroidery, also known as "Chuan Embroidery," is a general term for embroidery products originating from Sichuan Province, centered around Chengdu. Recall Li Yuchun's hit song of the same name—its lively rhythm almost lets you visualize and feel the delicate, graceful movements of the skilled embroiderers as they work on their masterpieces. Shu Embroidery has its roots in folk traditions across western Sichuan, evolving into a distinctive style characterized by meticulous precision, brilliant sheen, even texture, open yet balanced compositions, and rich, rounded forms with vibrant, cheerful colors. The materials used in Shu Embroidery are incredibly diverse, ranging from flowers, plants, and trees to birds, beasts, landscapes, aquatic creatures, and even lifelike portraits. The embroidery techniques themselves encompass 12 major categories, totaling 122 different methods. Among these, commonly employed techniques include shading stitches, laying stitches, rolling stitches, cutting stitches, blending stitches, gauze stitches, and covering stitches—all executed with remarkable care to achieve perfectly aligned needlework, brilliantly polished threads, and a seamless, supple finish that embodies both elegance and durability. Shu Embroidery boasts an extensive variety of finished products, including bedspreads, pillowcases, clothing, footwear, and decorative screens. These pieces come in both grand, large-scale formats ideal for display and smaller, portable items perfect for everyday use, making them exquisite works of art that seamlessly blend aesthetic appeal with practical functionality.

Xiang Embroidery is a collective term for embroidery products centered in Changsha, Hunan Province. It is primarily crafted using pure silk, rigid satin, soft satin, sheer gauze, and an array of colorful silk and velvet threads. What sets Xiang Embroidery apart are its meticulously balanced compositions, vibrant color schemes, and the expressive versatility of its various stitching techniques. Through the masterful use of richly varied thread hues and intricate needlework, the embroidered depictions of figures, animals, landscapes, flowers, and birds achieve a uniquely captivating artistic effect. In Xiang Embroidery, whether it’s flat embroidery, woven embroidery, net embroidery, knotting embroidery, seed-bead embroidery, cut-velvet embroidery, three-dimensional embroidery, double-sided embroidery, or even "loose-stitch" techniques—each method emphasizes capturing both the external form and inner essence of the subject. Even the smallest details, like a single scale on a fish or a delicate petal on a flower, are executed with painstaking precision. Notably, the 40 pieces of embroidered garments unearthed from the Mawangdui tomb demonstrate that as early as over 2,100 years ago, during the Western Han Dynasty, embroidery in Hunan had already reached an exceptionally high level of sophistication. Indeed, Xiang Embroidery earned the renowned reputation: "Embroidered flowers emit fragrance; embroidered birds seem to chirp; embroidered tigers appear ready to pounce; and embroidered human figures convey lifelike spirit."

Cantonese embroidery is a collective term for Guangzhou embroidery and Chaozhou embroidery, with Guangzhou City in Guangdong Province and Chaozhou City serving as its primary production centers. It boasts over a thousand years of history. Guangzhou embroidery is renowned for its diverse stitching techniques, evenly spaced stitches, and the ingenious use of thread direction to capture the textures of objects. Its subjects are wide-ranging, featuring rich, vibrant colors while emphasizing the harmonious interplay of light and shadow. Above all, it places great importance on mastering intricate embroidery techniques, yet ultimately prioritizes the artistic quality of the finished piece—balancing "skill" with "artistry." Guangzhou embroidery offers a complete range of varieties; categorized by materials, it primarily includes four main types: silk velvet embroidery, gold-and-silver thread embroidery, thread embroidery, and bead embroidery.

In October 2010, in Shaping Town, Kaifu District—the birthplace of Xiang embroidery—representatives from China’s "Four Great Embroideries"—Xiang, Shu, Yue, and Su—will jointly announce the "Shaping Declaration," officially launching the joint application to UNESCO for the inclusion of these renowned art forms on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.