With a long history, China’s embroidery culture has adorned countless gorgeous clothing for thousands of years. Among them, Manchu embroidery occupies an important position with its unique cultural customs and artistic sentiment, embroidering the traces of intangible cultural heritage from thousands of years ago through every stitch. In this episode, Lebanese girl Sandra, working as an embroiderer, followed the inheritor of Shenyang Manchu embroidery to explore the beauty of Manchu embroidery.
Manchu folk embroidery is an exclusive skill in Liaoning, recording historical changes the Manchu ethnic group has undergone from nomadic life characterized by fishing and hunting to agricultural life, preserving the trajectory of their ancestors’ lives. Manchu embroidery, along with Su embroidery, Xiang embroidery, Shu embroidery, and Yue embroidery, is one of the outstanding traditional crafts of the Chinese nation. In comparison, Manchu embroidery works are more layered and three-dimensional, bold and vigorous, colorful, and each with several different stitching techniques, exhibiting characteristics of the northern region and vividly expressing the living customs, cultural tastes, and aesthetic habits of the people of Northeast China.
Dressed in a Manchu apron, Lebanese girl Sandra was instantly transformed into a Manchu embroiderer who followed Bei Xiaoli, the inheritor of Shenyang Manchu embroidery during the threading experience. There are dozens of embroidery techniques, including appliqué, multi-colored embroidery, gold-plated embroidery, beaded embroidery, and floating stitch embroidery. The stitching techniques are also demanding, including running stitch, back stitch, long stitch, cross stitch, and whip stitch.
Sandra, who has been exposed to sewing and embroidery since childhood, soon mastered some basic stitching techniques. Lotus flowers gradually “bloomed” on the cloth as she led the needle and thread went up and down. “This is an amazing art. Manchu embroidery is like a window that allows me to appreciate the charm of Liaoning,” said Sandra. This experience as an embroiderer enabled Sandra to perceive the customs and culture of the Manchu ethnic group in Liaoning and also sparked her strong interest and enthusiasm for Manchu embroidery.
Beauty, happiness, and hope were gradually revealed through threading. Each stitch and thread unfolds ingenuity and skills. Manchu embroidery has traversed from ancient times to modern society while retaining its own elegance and charm.
