Su Embroiderer

*All conversations published have gained the consent of speakers.

Ping’s work

        Ping, a woman in her mid-thirties, is one of my closest friends in the intangible cultural heritage world. She answers my random questions relentlessly with sixty-second (the limit) voice messages. Forever good-tempered, her favorite emoji is the smiling and blushing face. Yet, as someone usually dressed in athletic clothes and rides her bike everywhere, she often jokes with me that she’s vastly different from the traditional image of a female embroider. I don’t think she’s far-off, though, with her gentleness and delicate facial features, which resemble my favorite comedienne, Xiaofei Zhang.

Ping

 

What others expect her to be vs. Who she is, comparative images she sent me

        “First of all, what is Su Embroidery?” I asked.

        “Su Embroidery is, perhaps, the most well-known of the intangible cultural heritages of China. We’re a style of embroidery that originated in Suzhou city. What differentiates us from other types of embroidery is the fluid, silky texture, elegant color choices, and picturesquely arranged patterns. This style is representative of not only Su Embroidery but also the entire spirit of Suzhou. Our famed gardens share the same features, and the food and architecture also do.”

        She shows me a few works around the studio. The color combinations and patterns are, indeed, very aesthetically pleasing.

Ping’s work

        I asked Ping to tell me the trick to creating a Su Embroidery. “How do you decide what colors to use on what fabric? Which subjects to depict?”

        “Su Embroidery usually combines a species of animals or more with flowers or plants. As you can see in the red fabric, I chose some red and black fish to go with orange morning glories. We have a more zoomed-in view, and the twining of vines and leaves forms a perfect circle. Many colors are repeated; the flowers’ orange reappears on the upper-left fish’s tail, while the subtle green in the black fish’s tail echoes the plants. While the colors are vivid, it would be hard to match the fabric because a blank space takes away the feeling of liveliness. In this case, I chose a red color that’s more eye-catching than the embroidery itself. Now the work holds its own ground,” she grinned. Moving over to the panda, she continued, “This piece, on the other hand, is colder-hued. The focus is on the intricacy of the scene itself, so I chose a jade-colored background. This choice also works in concert with the gentleness of the scene: believe it or not, although the adorable pandas are fooling around, I think there’s a serenity to it with the colors and mood. Jade is just the right combination of light-heartedness and tenderness.”

        I was captured by the beauty of the pieces and didn’t respond until a long time had passed. Ping laughed and teased me, joking that she couldn’t be “that good.”

        “Sure you are. What about this one? I pointed to another table with an astounding number of silk threads hanging below.”

        “Oh! That one’s a recreation of that Song Dynasty landscape painting, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. Aren’t the colors gorgeous? So vivid, especially when contrasted with the background. This is a harder piece of work; I’m making it to enhance my skills. Despite being very challenging, it’s a fun project—look at all these different threads I have to shift through and blend together! This is so much harder than painting. Definitely all worth it, though.”

        “That is so pretty. For someone like me who can barely sketch, it’s impressive that you can ‘paint’ with silk threads.”

        “Yes, but remember that learning this took years of trial and error: I became an embroiderer around your age. It’s been over twenty years now.”

If that’s the case, maybe even I can learn to embroider one day. I wondered what customers these days wanted. 

        “Not many people are asking for traditional pieces, which, in my opinion, are the most beautiful. My main source of income comes from embroidering pictures of others’ pets,” she smiles sadly. “These days, cats receive more attention than traditional culture.”

Ping embroidering someone’s cat

        Eager to distract her, I questioned Ping about what she liked doing outside her work.

        She scrambled to fetch her phone and show me pictures, “I love food, and I’m also the mother of two boys. Check this out—I had meat mooncakes the other day, which was absolutely wonderful. Also, those lamb chops! What more could you want in life?”

Ping posting lamb chops on WeChat

        I circled back to the future of Suxiu, asking Ping how many apprentices she had. Ping was evidently a little disappointed. “Even though we’re more well-known than some other cultural heritages,” she sighed, “there’s still a limited amount of apprentices willing to buckle down to the craft. Right now, I have an online student and an in-person student. They’re both very hardworking and incredibly bright, though. Especially the online one! She gets what I’m saying without much explanation—she’ll pass me one day.” She paused, then laughed heartily. “And my elder son, too! He tried embroidering the other day, and he’s not bad at all!”

Ping’s elder son trying his hands at Su Embroidery