Similarities of Miao Embroidery and Ancient Chinese Embroidery and their Cultural Implications

Abstract

This paper discusses the chain stitch embroidery technique and examines interesting new findings made during my field research of Miao embroidery. The Miao people of Guizhou, China, use two different types of chain stitch. One is a standard chain stitch similar to Western style. The other one, which I termed “ancient” chain stitch, is distinctly different in execution and appearance, and is a technique that only Miao are known to practise currently. Numerous examples of fine chain stitch embroidery have been excavated from archeological sites in China, including the Jiangling Mashan No.1 Chu Tomb, Jingzhou, Hubei, Warring States period (770 - 221 B.C.) and the Mawangdui No.1 Tomb, Changsha, Hunan, Western Han period (206 B.C. - A.D. 8). These extant embroideries clearly illustrate a unique expression of fine, fluid, curvilinear lines which are only possible using “ancient” chain stitch. The relevance of this connection is highly significant in its implications of a shared history between the Miao people and ancient Chinese civilizations.

Citation

Torimaru, T. (2011), "Similarities of Miao Embroidery and Ancient Chinese Embroidery and their Cultural Implications", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 52-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-15-01-2011-B006