Folk embroidery (Xiqin embroidery)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: folk embroidery (Xiqin embroidery)

Applicant: Baoji City, Shaanxi Province

Project No.: 853

Project No.: Ⅶ - 77

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Shaanxi Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Baoji City, Shaanxi Province

Protection unit: Baoji Mass Art Museum

Introduction to folk embroidery (Xiqin embroidery)

Applicant: Baoji City, Shaanxi Province

Folk embroidery, also known as "needle embroidery", "tie flower" and "embroidery", is also known as "needlework" because it is mostly done by women. It is a kind of traditional folk craft, in which a needle is used to pierce the colored thread on the fabric to form a specific pattern or character. Folk embroidery products are indispensable gifts and decorations in folk activities. It has a long history and is closely related to the daily life of ordinary people. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "whose daughter is skillful depends on the needle and thread". Folk embroidery has a wide range of themes, rich cultural connotation, and spread all over the north and south of the river, inside and outside the Great Wall. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan and Beijing, folk embroidery has developed creatively and formed different regional styles.

Xiqin embroidery is a popular folk embroidery art in Baoji area of Shaanxi Province. Embroidery remains were found in the tomb of Jingji of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Baoji, which shows that embroidery has a very long history in the local area. Embroidery in the Western Qin Dynasty is closely related to the social life and folk customs in Baoji area. It is widely spread in the local villages. Through the social relations of family, relatives and neighbors, it has become a necessary handicraft skill for rural women. Xiqin embroidery is rich in themes, ingenious and romantic in conception, simple and exaggerated in shape, and bright and warm in color. Its technique has its own system, including flat embroidery, hanging embroidery and patchwork embroidery. As a kind of folk art rooted in the countryside, embroidery in the Western Qin Dynasty contains a lot of historical and cultural information. It fully reflects the local farmers' understanding of life, nature and society, and conveys their values and life ideals in an artistic way. It can provide fresh reference materials for the study of Shaanxi folk custom and regional culture.