The orchid in plain hands represents youth
Shen Shou, Gu Wenxia and Yao Jianping are known as the "Three Generations of Queens" of Chinese Su Embroidery.
Shen Shou, the master of Suzhou embroidery in the late Qing Dynasty, was born in the family of an antique merchant in Suzhou. His original name was Shen Xuezhi. He learned embroidery from his sister Shen Li at the age of seven. At the age of twelve or thirteen, some people were willing to buy his embroidery works at high prices. In the 16th year of Guangxu's reign, Shen founded Tongli Embroidery School in Suzhou. His husband Yu Jue was good at poetry and painting. The couple sang together and complemented each other with painting and embroidery.
In October of the 30th year of Guangxu's reign, Cixi's 70th birthday, the Yus and his wife collaborated on eight paintings of "Eight Immortals Sending Their Longevity" and three other paintings of "Infinite Life Buddha" as a birthday gift. After Cixi saw it, she praised it greatly and called it a peerless gift. In addition to awarding Shen Xuezhi a fourth-class business assistant, she also wrote the words "Fu" and "Shou" in her own handwriting and gave them to Yu Jue and his wife. From then on, Shen Xuezhi changed her name to "Shen Shou".
Shen Shou was not only a master of Suzhou embroidery, he also studied embroidery stitches and created nearly ten new stitches. Before his death, he wrote the book "Snow Palace Embroidery Manual". The imitation embroidery method she pioneered, with its full play of light and shadow, has become the most basic and important form of expression for appreciation of embroidery. Her works are highly collectible and can be found in many famous museums at home and abroad, including the Forbidden City.
Gu Wenxia, ??born in 1931, is currently the director of the China Suzhou Embroidery Art Museum. For the development of Su embroidery, Gu is a better communicator. She was the first person to use words to show Su embroidery to the world. She has gone to the UK, Switzerland and other countries to perform embroidery performances and teach skills, and was awarded the title of national-level expert with outstanding contributions. Her second greatest contribution is to participate in the reproduction of more than 200 embroidery cultural relics from the Warring States, Han, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, collect many pieces of folk embroidery, and rescue and organize many valuable materials. Among them, the reproduction process of Wanli Emperor's costume won the 1984 National Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Gold Cup Award. Her third greatest contribution is the innovation of more than 40 stitches and many Suzhou embroidery treasures.
In 2007, Gu Wenxia was awarded the honor of the representative inheritor of the Suzhou embroidery cultural heritage project by the country.
If the first generation of "Queen of Su Embroidery" Shen Shou has embarked on a path of self-reliance and innovation for Suzhou embroidery girls; the second generation of "Queen of Su Embroidery" Gu Wenxia has gone abroad to win success for Su embroidery under the opportunities given by the times. more reputation; then Yao Jianping, the third generation "Queen of Su Embroidery" born in 1967, has also blazed her own path.
Compared with her predecessors, the hustle and bustle era of the media has brought her more exposure opportunities, and her good looks have also earned her more praise. In 1997, Yao Jianping was awarded the title of "Folk Arts and Crafts Artist" by UNESCO for his outstanding performance in Suzhou embroidery, and was invited to exhibit in Australia, the Netherlands and other places.
On March 28, 2004, it was of great significance to the embroiderer Yao Jianping. The embroidery art museum and personal website named after her were officially opened to the public. This is the first time among countless Suzhou embroiderers. The "Peace" embroidery work mentioned above was created by Barres when he went to Suzhou to participate in the needle sealing ceremony.
From Shen Shou to Gu Wenxia, ??and then to Yao Jianping, generations of embroiderers used their blue-hearted hands to create masterpieces of Su embroidery, gradually promoting Su embroidery. Like other traditional skills in China, most of these embroiderers came to know Suzhou embroidery because they were born in Wu, and their exposure to it since childhood had a profound impact on their artistic careers. To this day, in the Suzhou area, embroidery workshops are still mostly organized in the form of families, and the skills of embroiderers are often passed down from mother to daughter. The legend of "Queen of Su Embroidery" continues.