Chinese embroidery History

Chinese embroidery has a long history since Neolithic age. Because of the quality of silk fiber, most Chinese fine embroideries are made in silk. Some ancient vestiges of silk production have been found in various Neolithic sites dating back 5000~6000 years in China. A piece of silk fabric was found on a 3000 years old mummy in Egypt, which has been testified as old Sichuan embroidery. From the archaeological discovery at Sanxingdui, we can be sure ancient Shu people had already mastered the silkworm domestication and silk production. Currently the earliest real sample of silk embroidery discovered in China is from a tomb in Mashan in Hubei province identified with the Zhanguo period (5th-3rd centuries BC). After the opening of Silk Route in Han Dynasty, the silk production and trade became flourishing. In 14th century, the Chinese silk embroidery production reached its high peak. Several major silk embroidery styles had been developed, like Song Jin (宋锦 Song embroidery) in Suzhou, Yun Jin (云锦 Cloud embroidery) in Nanjing and Shu Jin (蜀锦 Shu embroidery) in Sichuan. Today most handwork had been replaced by machinery, but some very sophisticated production are still hand-made. The modern Chinese silk embroidery still prevails in southern China.