Sichuan Embroidery 蜀绣

时间：2006年
Time: 2006
类别：民间美术
Category: Folk Art
地区：四川
Region: Sichuan Province
编号：Ⅶ-21
Ref. No.: VII-21
申报地区或单位：四川省成都市
Nominating unit[s]: Chengdu city, Sichuan Province
蜀绣又称川绣，起源于川西民间，因地缘关系而得名。古代川西平原盛产蚕，故称"蜀国"。《史记》载，春秋时蜀地把丝织品、麻织品运往泰国都城雍进行贸易，至两晋时，刺绣品已成为蜀地特产。 蜀绣随着蜀地丝织业的发达而发展起来，汉末三国时期蜀绣产品为官府所控制。隋唐后，随着丝绸之路的贸易往来，织绣品需求剧增，蜀绣在此情势下得以迅速发展，达到历史上的高峰。明清两代，除闺阁女红外，四川又出现了许多专业刺绣人员和小型刺绣作坊。到1925年前后，仅成都就有刺绣从业人员一千多人，店铺六十余家。20世纪50年代，蜀绣遍布四川民间。70年代末，川西农村几乎是"家家女红，户户针工"，刺绣从业人员达四五千人之多。
Shu embroidery, also known as Sichuan embroidery, was originally developed by folks in western Sichuan, and was named after its production area. The ancient Western Sichuan Plain teemed with silkworms. According to the Records of the Grand Historian (or Shi Ji), during the Spring and Autumn Period, silk fabrics and linen fabrics produced in Sichuan were shipped to the Thai capital Yong for trading, and in the Jin Dynasties, embroidery had already become a Sichuan specialty. With the flourishing of the silk industry in this area, Sichuan embroidery began to thrive, and its production has been subject to control by government from the late Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdom Period. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the trading through the Silk Road brought about a soaring demand for embroidery and knitting products. As such, Sichuan embroidery experienced a peak in popularity. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, apart from maids engaged in embroidery in their boudoirs, many professional embroiderers and small-scale embroidery workshops emerged in Sichuan Province. By 1925, in Chengdu City alone, there were over 60 embroidery shops, employing more than 1000 persons. In 1950s, Sichuan embroidery became commonly popular among the people of Sichuan. In late 1970s, needlework and weaving work was practiced by every household in the rural areas of western Sichuan, wher there were 4000 to 5000 persons engaged in the trade.
蜀绣技艺以针法见长，共有12大类、122种。蜀绣以本地织造的红、绿等色缎和散线为原料，各种针法交错使用，施针严谨，用线工整稳重，设色典雅，既长于刺绣花、鸟、虫、鱼等细腻而生动的图像，又善于表现山水磅礴的气势。受地理环境、风俗习惯、地方文化艺术等因素的影响，蜀绣在长期不断的发展过程中逐渐形成了严谨细腻、光亮平整、构图疏朗、浑厚圆润、色彩明快的独特风格。
Sichuan embroidery is famous for its needlework techniques, with 122 varieties in 12 categories. With locally woven red, green and other colored satins and loose threads as raw materials, exquisite and vivid images such as flowers, birds, insects and fish as well as profound and magnificent landscapes like mountains and rivers can be found in Sichuan embroidery products, using various needlework techniques, precise stitches, smooth and steady threads, and classic and elegant colors. Over its continuous developing process, due to the influence of the geographic environment, manners and customs, local culture and arts and other factors, Sichuan embroidery has gradually formed its own unique style as being precise, delicate, shining, smooth, mellow, vigorous, well-patterned, and brightly-colored.
蜀绣具有较高文化艺术价值。但由于受到社会变迁和市场需求的影响，近年来蜀绣在生产规模和商业收益上明显衰减，导致大量熟练的手工艺人改行流散，许多古老的刺绣工艺迅速失传。
Sichuan embroidery has a high cultural and artistic value. Under the impact of social changes and changes in market demand in recent years, however, it has suffered a substantial recession in terms of production scale and business margin. Consequently, a mass of skilled craftsmen diverted their profession and were scattered, leading to the loss of many ancient embroidery techniques in a short period of time.