Top 10 embroidery celebrities in ancient times
1. Nvhong (in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the dates of birth and death were ominous, the embroidery time was about the tenth century BC)
Zhou Taiwang Gu Gongdan's father had three sons, Taibo, Zhongyong, and Ji Li. Ji Li's son was named Jichang. Gu Gong's father believed that Chang had the talent to build a business and intended to pass the throne to Ji Li. However, according to the eldest son inheritance system, the throne could not be passed to Ji Chang. Taibo and Zhongyong knew what they meant, so they ran away to Juwu (now the Suzhou area in Jiangnan, around the tenth century BC at this time). According to local customs, they cut off their hair and got tattoos to express that they would not return to the north. Later, Zhong Yong couldn't bear that his descendants would still carve patterns on his body, so he summoned everyone one by one to discuss the matter. This was heard by the little granddaughter who was sewing in the room, and she began to think about it carefully. She accidentally pricked her hand with a needle and stained her clothes with blood. This inspired her to come up with a wonderful idea, and she stitched on the clothes according to the tattoo pattern. Try it. In order to express and distinguish the look of the pattern, she dyed silk with five colors and worked on it according to the structure of her own braids for seven days and seven nights. A colorful patterned dress was ready. The little girl held the dress in both hands to show it to her grandfather. Zhong Yong unfolded the dress and saw that it was colorful and dazzling. When it was draped on her body, the pattern was indeed much more beautiful than if it were tattooed on her body. Zhong Yong then chose an auspicious day to wear this dress and summoned everyone. From now on, they will make clothes according to this method, but there is no need for any more tattoos. After Zhongyong's initiative, this kind of clothing replaced tattoos. Because the little girl's name was Nvhong, in order to commemorate her, later generations called this beautiful needlepoint technique "Nvhong". The five colors are called embroidery, and the clothes are called embroidered clothes. This kind of female red needlework is also called embroidery. According to the legend, Nühong is the inventor of embroidery.
2. Mrs. Zhao (During the Three Kingdoms period, the dates of birth and death were ominous, and the embroidery time was about 220-252 AD)
Mrs. Zhao of King Wu (Sun Quan) during the Three Kingdoms period had the "Three Kingdoms" "Jue" - Ji Jue, Needle Jue, Silk Jue. According to Zhang Yanyuan's "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties": Mrs. Zhao, King of Wu, was the sister of Prime Minister Zhao Da. He is good at calligraphy and painting, and has unparalleled ingenuity. He can weave colorful silks into brocades of dragons and phoenixes between his fingers. His palace nickname is "Ji Jue". Sun Quan sighed, before the Shu and Wei dynasties were at peace, he thought that a good painter could draw mountains and rivers, and his wife went to write about the rivers, lakes, and mountains in nine states. The lady also embroidered the topography of the five mountains and countries on the square silk, which was known as "Zhen Jue" at the time. It also uses glue and silk to create a light curtain, which is called "Si Jue". Therefore, Mrs. Zhao is also called the "Mrs. Three Jue". According to "Records of Supplementary Materials": Mrs. Zhao's "paintings are easy to fade and cannot last long. I can embroider and make them on the official silks of various countries. I can form the shapes of five emperors, rivers, seas, cities and towns, and formations." Map. After the embroidery was completed, he presented it to Sun Quan. Lord Wu was overjoyed when he saw it. At that time, people called it the unique skill of needlepoint. Therefore, it has been passed down from history that the embroidery painting was created by Mrs. Zhao during the Three Kingdoms period (about 220-252 AD). It is a pity that this embroidery has not been preserved and can only be speculated by future generations.
3. Yu Meiniang (during the period of Emperor Shunzong Li Song of the Tang Dynasty, her birth and death dates were ominous, and her embroidery was done during the Yongzhen period of the Tang Dynasty, that is, 805 AD).
Su E of the Tang Dynasty recorded it in "Du Yang Zabian" : "In the first year of Yongzhen (AD 805), Yu Meiniang, a tribute girl from the South China Sea, was fourteen years old. She was young and enlightened. She was extremely skillful and could embroider seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra on a foot of silk. The size of the characters was no larger than a grain of millet. And the stippling is clear and finer than hair...". It's a pity that Yu Meiniang's original embroidery work can't be seen now.
4. Guan Zhongji (Song and Yuan Dynasties, 1262-1319 AD)
Guan Zhongji, named Daosheng, courtesy name Zhongji, was born in Wuxing, Zhejiang, and was a calligrapher and painter of the Yuan Dynasty Zhao Meng (Megapage)'s wife. In the fourth year of Yanyou's reign, she was granted the title "Mrs. Wei". Mrs. Wei's calligraphy, calligraphy and poetry were both capable without learning. The history of calligraphy commented: "Zhongji's regular script is almost indistinguishable from Meng's (Zhaoye). There is no concubine after Mrs. Wei." Mrs. Wei was Wang Xizhi's teacher. Her calligraphy was of ancient quality, full of richness, and the first of its kind. Using it as a metaphor for Zhongji, it can be seen that later generations praised Guan Zhongji's calligraphy.
Wang Qian, a famous plum painter during the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, once said: "Zhao Wei Guo Jing wrote Buddhist statues, and his brushwork rivaled that of Wei Gong (Zhao Meng (Zhao page))." In addition, he is especially good at embroidery, and his works such as "Mountain Tower Embroidered Buddha Picture" and "Changming Temple Picture" are recorded in historical records.
In the second year of Emperor Chengzong's reign (1299), Guan Zhongji converted to Zen Master Zhongfeng, lived in the temple, wrote scriptures, and embroidered "Pictures of Eighteen Venerables", a total of 16 pieces, for use in the temple. Zen Master Zhongfeng wrote at the end of the album of embroidered portraits: "Mrs. Zhao faced the Tathagata with emptiness in her heart, which was the good fruit of the Brahma Palace and showed him in the world. Twenty images of the Venerable were embroidered with gold needles, as well as attendants, monks, King Kong, and Wei Carrying the robe and bowl of the Dharma statue, it serves as the master of the dragon and tiger. It is decorated with clouds and colorful patterns. It is a permanent offering in the mountain temple. It is a good weapon to support its aspiration. "This work was included in the collection of auction items by Beijing Hanhai Auction Company in 2003. Appear.
5. Han Ximeng (Ming Dynasty, with ominous dates of birth and death, approximately lived between 1573 and 1644 during the Wanli and Chongzhen years of the Ming Dynasty)
Gu Mingshi, a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, lived here Shanghai Luxiang Garden, it is said that he opened up wasteland to build a garden here and got a mountain stone, on which Zhao Ziang's hand seal was engraved with the three characters "Luxiangchi", so he took this as the name of the garden. As the name suggests, the grandson's daughter-in-law is named Han Ximeng, a native of Hunan. She is good at painting flowers, good at embroidery, and has vivid charm. It was called "Han Yuan Embroidery" at that time. Her husband, Gu Shouqian, studied painting under Dong Qichang and was nicknamed the Master of Embroidered Buddha. Han Ximeng himself also worked on flowers. He tried to imitate the famous traces of the Song and Yuan Dynasties into embroidery. He used the needle like a pen to integrate the painting theory and embroidery into an embroidery book "Famous Traces of the Song and Yuan Dynasties". Dong Qichang happily wrote an inscription on the embroidery book after seeing it. Gu Shouqian also wrote an inscription and postscript describing the creative process. Han Ximengfu embroidered Dong Qichang's praises, seals and Gu Shouqian's postscripts one by one, reaching the state of poetry, calligraphy, painting, sealing and embroidery. It became a good story in the art world. The embroidered version of "Famous Relics of Song and Yuan Dynasties" is now available. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.
The embroidery made by the women of the Gu family is known as Gu embroidery in the world. When Cao Xueqin's ancestor Cao Yin was appointed as a weaver in Jiangning, he ordered Nuhong to rely on Gu Xiu.
6. Ni Renji (Ming and Qing Dynasties, 1607-1685)
Ni Renji, whose courtesy name was Xinhui and whose name was Ningxiangzi. His father Ni Shangzhong, named Shiqing, was a Jinshi in Wanli of the Ming Dynasty. During the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1602), Ni Shangzhong was transferred from Guangdong to Jiangxi and served as Tongzhi of Ji'an. Ni Renji was born in Ji'an in 1607, so he was named "Renji" after his father. Ni Renji was famous at that time for being proficient in literature and history, good at calligraphy and painting, good at embroidery, and knowledgeable about music. She was the female embroidery artist second only to Han Ximeng in the Ming Dynasty.
The book "Jinhua Zhengxianlu" praised Ni Renji's embroidery skills: "The dyeing is both skillful and the needle movement is traceless." His posthumous works include "Five Blessings", "Tree Planting", etc. . Ni Renji was especially good at embroidering Buddha statues, and he was famous for his time. Embroidering Buddha statues can eliminate traces of needlework and make them look like pictures. She once embroidered a volume of the "Heart Sutra" using plain damask and using dark blue silk threads, which were like strands of gold and cut into jade, which was exquisite and subtle. Her embroidery skills were also regarded as exquisite, and her embroidery skills were praised by many people at the time. The most admirable thing is Ni Renji's hair embroidery. Her handed down work "Portrait of a Master with Hair Embroidery" has a dignified and tranquil appearance, conveying the highest spiritual realm and divine temperament. This is a statue of a great master that Ni Renji meticulously embroidered with great piety and respect. It is the most rigorous, delicate and stable among her embroidered Buddhist statues handed down from generation to generation. It was discovered in Yiwu in December 1957 and is now treasured in Yiwu Jimei Garden. Ni Renji lived alone in a solitary room, drilled needles, arranged threads, and engaged in embroidery, reaching a very high artistic level. In order to summarize her embroidery experience, she compiled a book on embroidery, "Ningxiang Embroidery Manual".
7. Ding Pei (active during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, with ominous dates of birth and death)
Ding Pei, a native of Songjiang, Jiangsu, was named Bushan. She has been engaged in embroidery creation and research for a long time, and used her "free time from embroidery" to constantly sum up her experience. Occasionally, she would write down some insights, which "accumulated over time and often became a chapter." Later, she organized these embroidery art theories into a monograph on embroidery. ——"Xiupu" was published in the first year of Daoguang (1821). In this work of more than 9,000 words, Ding Pei proposed for the first time the seven-character formula of "Qi, Guang, Straight, Even, Thin, Smooth, and Dense", summarizing the basic characteristics and creative rules of Chinese embroidery, which became the basis for future generations' research. Theoretical basis of embroidery. "Embroidery Manual" compares painting, calligraphy, poetry, architecture and other arts with embroidery to explain the rules of embroidery technology in simple and easy-to-understand terms. The whole book is divided into 6 parts. ①The land selection part. The environment for embroidery must be leisurely, quiet, bright and clean. ②Select part. When selecting embroidery manuscripts, attention should be paid to the requirements of review, assessment of potential, tailoring, embellishment, elegance, and expressiveness, and avoid being ingenious and overly complicated. ③The material collection part.
Describe the importance of materials and tools such as silk thread, damask, leno, embroidery needles, scissors, and stretch frames. ④Color identification part. Describes the characteristics and usage of 18 colors. ⑤Engineering part. Describes embroidery techniques and standards such as neatness, lightness, straightness, evenness, thinness, smoothness, and density. ⑥Product review part. It tells about the five levels of embroidery such as ability, skill, ingenuity, spirit and ease, as well as the four qualities of precision, magnificence, elegance and superbness. "Embroidery Manual" has detailed discussions and detailed analysis, summarizing the techniques and aesthetic characteristics of embroidery technology. It still has guiding significance and reference value for today's embroidery.
8. Shen Shou (late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, 1874-1921 AD)
Shen Shou's first name was Yunzhi, her courtesy name was Xuejun, later her name was Shou, and she was later appointed Xuehuan. . A native of Wu County. Born in an antique dealer's family in Suzhou. At the age of 7, he learned embroidery from his sister Shen Li. At the age of sixteen or seventeen, he was already famous in the local area. In the 16th year of Guangxu (1890), Tongli Embroidery School was founded in Suzhou. Married to Yu Jue in 19 years. Yu is good at poetry and painting, and the couple complement each other in painting and embroidery. Shen Shou began to study embroidery stitches and created nearly 10 new stitches. In the 29th year, Shen Shou absorbed the principles of light and shade in painting, focused on the verisimilitude of objects, expressed the three-dimensional sense of objects, and created the simulated embroidery method, which became the most basic and important form of expression of appreciative embroidery. . She is a master who spread Chinese embroidery abroad. She is an embroidery artist and an embroidery educator. In 1914, she was appointed as the director of the Nantong Women's Normal College's training center for female workers. After eight years of exhaustion, she died of illness in May 1921 at the age of 48. ”
The "Xuehuan Embroidery Manual" written by Shen Shou is an important theoretical work on embroidery in my country. It was written by Zhang Jian in 1918 after she recovered from her second serious illness. The book is divided into 8 parts. Chapter, describes various techniques, and is accompanied by a "thread color table". For example, green has 94 colors such as Lao Cai Qing and Tian Qing; yellow has 104 colors such as apricot yellow, bright yellow, and goose yellow; red has bright red, vermilion, and blood tooth red. There are 88 colors, including green, purple, ocher, gray and other 353 colors, which is a record of more than 30 years of practical experience.
With such colorful colors, there is inheritance and innovation. Her acupuncture techniques can imitate human figures or physical objects, and she is truly a "splendid valley of thousands of flowers, wonderfully created in hundreds of pictures". She was called the "God of Acupuncture" by Yu Yue, a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty.
9. Hua Xu (late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, 1869-1939 AD)
Hua Xu, also known as Tushan, was born in Dangkou Town, Wuxi, and his father was a prominent figure at that time. A well-known landscape painter, his uncle Hua Hengfang was a famous mathematician in modern my country. He grew up in a scholarly family and was influenced by traditional Chinese culture. In 1915, Hua Xu embroidered the "Rooster Picture" in " She won the gold medal at the "Panama Pacific International Exposition". She died of illness in 1939. A year before her death, she co-authored "Embroidery Art" with Xu Pinyun. After "Xuehuan Embroidery Book", another technical monograph in the history of Chinese embroidery
10. Yang Shouyu (modern, 1885-1981 AD)
Yang Shouyu was born in Wujin, Jiangsu. She is the founder of random stitch embroidery. After graduating from Changzhou Women's Normal School at the age of 20, she was hired by Lu Fengzi, who was the head teacher of the drawing class at the time, to work as a drawing and embroidery teacher at Zhengze Women's Vocational High School. She was experimenting with new techniques while painting graphics and colors. The embroidery expression method uses a new line organization form to reflect the artistic effect of Western paintings. The seemingly messy long and short intersecting lines give people a refreshing feeling by layering and adding colors. This embroidery method changes the traditional close connection. The traditional method of arranging needles and threads created a new and unique style, which caused a sensation. Lu Fengzi was very excited to see that Yang Shouyu lived up to his expectations, and named the embroidery "Yang embroidery" based on its characteristics. , named "Zhengze Embroidery" because she teaches at Zhengze Women's Vocational Middle School, and some people call it "Zhengze Embroidery".