Suzhouembroidery,atraditionalChinesecraft,emergedinareasaroundSuzhouCityinJiangsuProvince.Aftermorethan2,000yearsofevolution,ithasdevelopedauniquestylefeaturingelegantpatterns,ingeniousdesigns,exquisiteneedlework,cleverstitchesandgracefulcolors.OneofthefourmostfamousChineseembroideries,Suzhouembroideryhasbeenpresentedtoforeigndignitariesasnationalgiftsmanytimes.ManypieceshavebeenacquiredbymuseumsinChinaandaroundtheworld,andsomehaveevenbeencollectedbyroyalfamilies.
ZhenhuTownisthecradleofSuzhouembroidery.Withalongstandinglocalcultureandatmosphererelatedtothecraft,thesmalltownhascultivatedmanyinternationallyrecognizedembroiderymasters.YaoJianping,arenownedembroideryartistandamongthepractitionersofthenationalintangibleculturalheritageofSuzhouembroidery,hailsfromZhenhu.Afterinheritingskillsfromherpredecessors,Yaocreatedauniqueartisticstyleandusedherworktoshowcasetheera.ShehasnotonlyproducedaseriesofworksrepresentingthehighestlevelofcontemporarySuzhouembroidery,butalsomentoredanumberofyoungSuzhouembroideryartists.“IWanttoReachHigherLevels”
YaohasbecomebetterknowntothepublicinthepastfewyearssinceherworksbeganbeingusedasChina’snationalgifts.OnOctober20,2015,BritishQueenElizabethIIreceivedafinepieceofSuzhouembroideryasagiftfromvisitingChinesePresidentXiJinpingandhiswifePengLiyuan,whichvividlyportrayedtheQueenandherhusbandPrincePhilip,DukeofEdinburgh.Thispiece,SongofLife,boastedatotallengthof1.18metersandtookYaoandherassistantsmorethanthreemonthstocomplete.Yao’sembroideryworkshavebeenpresentedtoforeignpoliticalfiguresasnationalgiftsonmanyoccasions.HerfirstworktobecomeanationalgiftwasMahathirMohamad,aneponymouspiececreatedin1996forthethen-Malaysianprimeminister.
BorninZhenhu,Yaobeganlearningembroideryfromhermotherattheageofseven.Byherteens,thegirl’spieceswerealreadyhighlyacclaimedandbeganexhibitinggreatpotential.Duetoherpassionforembroidery,YaoskippedthecollegeentranceexaminationandchosetoattendtheSuzhouArt&DesignTechnologyInstitute,avocationalschoolwhereshecouldstudyembroideryandworkatthesametime.
YaoJianping,arenownedembroideryartistandtherepresentativeinheritorofthenationalintangibleculturalheritageofSuzhouembroidery,usedneedlesandthreadstoshowcaseherera.HerworkisconsideredthetopechelonofcontemporarySuzhouembroidery.Intheearly1980s,femaleembroiderersfromZhenhubegantoselltheirworksindowntownSuzhou.Gradually,family-runembroiderystoresemerged,withwivesdoingtheembroideryworkandhusbandshandlingsales.Buckingthistrend,Yaopassedonopeningherownstore,andcontinuedtolearnskillsfromseniormasters.“Actually,Iwasalreadyanoutstandingembroidererbythattimeandcouldearnthreetimesmorethanmostofmypeers,”recallsYao.“ButIstillfeltmyabilitieswereinsufficientandwantedtoreachhigherlevels.SoIfocusedoncontinuingtolearnfromthemasters.”
TheSuzhouEmbroideryResearchInstitute,whichwasestablishedinthe1950s,attractedmanySuzhouembroiderymasters.In1990,YaobeganstudyingunderXuZhihui,aretiredembroiderymasterfromtheinstitutewhowaslivingaloneatanadvancedage.Yaoproposedmovinginwiththemastertoactashercaretakerwhilestudying,whichresultedinherbecomingXu’sfinalprotégé.Atthetime,Yao’seldestdaughterwasonlyeightmonthsold.In1994,Yaofinallycompletedherstudies.ThanksinlargeparttoXu’sguidance,Yaoattainedprofessionalperfectionandbecameproficientinembroideringtraditionalsubjectsincludingflowers,grass,fishandinsects.
However,Yaowasn’tcontentwithherartisticachievements.Eventually,shebegantoexpandhercreativethemes.Today,inthecentralpositionoftheexhibitionareaonthesecondfloorofYaoJianpingEmbroideryArtGallery,asmallSuzhouembroiderypieceisdisplayedinanindependentcabinet.ThispieceisbasedontherenownedphotoofformerChinesePremierZhouEnlaicapturedbyItalianphotographerGiorgioLottiin1973andnowknowninChinaasZhouEnlaiinDeepThought.In1995,transferringtheimagetoanembroiderypiecetookYaoeightmonths,duringwhichshelostnearly20pounds.Threeyearslater,theworkwonthegoldmedalattheFirstChinaInternationalFolkArtExpoforitsfinetexture,tastefulcolormatching,naturalcontrastbetweenlightandshade,andvividdepiction.Yaowasconferredthetitleof“folkcraftartist”byUNESCO.Moreimportantly,thehonorgaveYaogreatconfidenceinherskillsatfigureembroidery.Later,shecreatedAGreatMan,apiecedepictingDengXiaoping,the“architectofChina’sreformandopeningup.”
Yao’sgracefulmotionswhenperformingembroiderypresentavisualfeast.byWangLei“IWanttoCreateWorksforThisEra”
Theyear1998wasimportantforembroiderydevelopmentinZhenhu.Thatyear,thelocalgovernmentdesignatedastreetespeciallyforembroiderymanufacturingandsalesandstarteddevelopingembroideredcommodities.Soon,Zhenhubecameawell-knownhubofembroidery.Thetownhaswitnessedasteadygrowthinannualembroiderysalesrevenueeversince.In2002,itssalesrevenueexceededthreemillionyuan.However,insteadofenjoyingthesuccess,YaoregisteredZhenhuEmbroideryResearchInstitute,whichwaslaunchedinherownthree-storyhouse.
“Ihopetobecomeanartistofthecaliberofmymasterandmymanytalentedpredecessors,”declaresYao.Afteryearsofhardwork,Yaofinallydecidedit’stimetogivefullplaytoherexpertise.“Iwanttocreateworksthatdefinethisera.”Worriedaboutsimilarembroideredcommoditiesonthemarket,Yaodecidedtodevelopsomethingtotallyunique.“Idon’twanttosimplycopypaintingsandphotos.Iwantrealcreation.”
Tothisend,forthenext20years,Yaodevelopedherownteambyrecruitingstudentsandprofessionals.Sheledtheteamincompletingonebreathtakingprojectafteranother,fromlarge-scaleSuzhouembroideryworksincludingWhataGreatLand,Harmony:China’sCentenaryOlympicDreamRealizedandTheSilkRoadseriestoadozenofworkspresentedasnationalgifts.Amongtheseworks,TheSilkRoad–ReturningHomewithGreatHonorfromTheSilkRoadseriestookYaoandherteamthreeyearstofinallycompletein2017.Afterbeingusedinanumberofactivitiesrelatedtoforeignaffairs,thepieceisnowcollectedintheNationalArtMuseumofChina.
Yao’sembroideryportrayinglateChinesePremierZhouEnlai,completedin1996,meansalottoher.TheworkwonthegoldmedalattheFirstChinaInternationalFolkArtExpo.Yaowasbestowedthetitleof“folkcraftartist”byUNESCO.“Igrewupalongsidethecountry’sreformandopeningupandhavegreatlybenefitedfromthisprocess,”Yaoadmits.“Ifitweren’tforthisera,Iwouldneverhavehadachance.Thegovernmenthelpeddevelopthetraditionalartthatwaspreviouslyscatteredinthehandsofvillagers.ThesupportandencouragementofthegovernmentpushedSuzhouembroiderytoanunprecedentedheight.”Todaywhensheisnotworkingonembroidery,Yaoputsallherenergyintopromotingthetraditionalcraft.Sheteachesembroiderersandhostsexhibitionsaroundtheworld.“Theartisticroadcallsforcontinuousinputandpainstakingefforts.”
Yao’slarge-scaleSuzhouembroiderypieceTheSilkRoad–ReturningHomewithGreatHonorisnowheldbytheNationalArtMuseumofChina.
Yao’sworkSongofLifewaspresentedtoBritishQueenElizabethIIin2015asanationalgift.