Yue Embroidery

粵繡

Also called Guang embroidery, Yue embroidery is a general name for embroidery products of the regions of Guangzhou, Shantou, Zhongshan, Fanyu and Shunde in Guangdong Province.

粵繡也稱“廣繡”，它是出產于廣東省廣州、潮州、汕頭、中山、番禺、順德一帶刺繡品的總稱。

According to historical records, in the first year of Yongyuan's reign (805) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a girl named Lu Meiniang embroidered the seventh volume of the Fahua Buddhist Scripture on a piece of thin silk about 30 cm long. And so, Yue embroidery became famous around the country. The prosperous Guangzhou Port of the Song Dynasty promoted the development of Yue embroidery, which began to be exported at that time. During the Ming Dynasty, people used animal hair as the raw material for Yue embroidery, which made the works more vivid. During Qianlong's reign (1736-1796) of the Qing, an industrial organization was established in Guangzhou. At that time, a large number of craftsmen devoted themselves to the craft, inciting further improvements to the weaving technique. Since 1915, the work of Yue embroidery garnered several awards at the Panama Expo.

據史料記載，唐代的永貞元年（公元805年），廣東南海縣一位名叫盧媚娘的少女曾在一塊一尺左右的絹面上繡出七卷《法華經》，粵繡從此名揚天下。宋元時期（公元10～14世紀），廣州港的繁榮促進了粵繡工藝的飛速發(fā)展，粵繡品開始輸出國外。明代（公元1368～1644年），廣州的刺繡藝人已經能夠嫻熟地運用各色絲絨線刺繡，并創(chuàng)造性地使用動物的尾羽纏絨作線，使繡品更加自然生動。到清代的乾隆年間（公元1736～1796年），第一個粵繡行業(yè)組織“粵繡行”在廣州成立，當時從事刺繡的藝人眾多，粵繡在工藝和針法上都得以不斷發(fā)展完善。1915年后，粵繡作品在巴拿馬國際博覽會等國際賽會上多次獲得大獎。

Influenced by national folk art, Yue embroidery formed its own unique characteristics. The embroidered pictures are mainly of dragons and phoenixes, and flowers and birds, with neat designs and strong, contrasting colors. Floss, thread and gold-and-silk thread embroidery are used to produce costumes, decorations for halls and crafts for daily use.

粵繡在長期的發(fā)展過程中，受到各民族民間藝術的影響，在兼收并蓄、融會貫通的基礎上，逐漸形成了自身獨特的藝術風格。繡品主要取材于龍鳳、花鳥等，圖案構圖飽滿、均齊對稱，色彩對比強烈、富麗堂皇。在針法上具有“針步均勻、紋理分明、處處見針、針針整齊”的特點。在種類上粵繡可分為絨繡、線繡、金銀線繡三類，品種包括戲服、廳堂裝飾、聯帳、采眉、掛屏和各種日用繡品等。