Hu’nan (Xiang) Embroidery
Hunan, or Xiang, is very famous for embroidery, together with Su (Suzhou), Yue (Guangdong) and Shu (Sichuan) are the four famous embroideries in China.
The dicovery of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, 1958, proofs the age of this art. The dragon and phoenix design on closely woven silk from that tomb, shows a very high level of craftsmanship.
Xiang embroidery is special in its elegant design, exquisite workmanship, pleasant colour, and lifelike qualities, a piece of it is usually sewn in one hundred colours of thread and with seventy different stitches.
The early Hunan embroidery had the design and pattern only on one side, while the reverse side had irregular stitches and threads, later the technique of double-sided embroidery evolved, that is to say, both sides of a work would display the same design in the same colour. From the 1950s, people developed a new technique, which can make the two sides have same design but in different colours. In 1980, this technique was much improved, double-sided with different designs and colours.
