MASTER EMBROIDERER GIVES TRADITIONAL CRAFT A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Kang Huifang, a national-level inheritor of Chaozhou embroidery

At the top of a three-story studio on Paifang Street－a popular tourist spot that has a host of well-preserved ancient structures in Chaozhou, Guangdong province－10 women focus on their embroidery work, their fingers deftly moving in silence. While at work they resemble demure portraits.

"Embroidery is a slow art," said Kang Huifang, founder of the studio, who is a national-level inheritor of Chaozhou embroidery, a national intangible cultural heritage item.

A slower pace and burying oneself in such traditional craftsmanship can be a challenge for many amid the hustle and bustle of urban lives. But Kang has devoted herself to Chaozhou embroidery for more than half a century.

Born in 1948, Kang began to learn embroidery at home at the age of 15 to help support her family. She was quick to learn and showed talent.

"Since I had decided to earn a living from embroidery, I was determined to learn from the best in the trade," she said.

Chaozhou has a long tradition of the craft. It was bustling with embroidery businesses during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, according to historical records. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, almost every household in the city had family members involved in embroidery. Yet the expert knowledge of Chaozhou embroidery is not common, regardless of the period.

An important feature of Chaozhou embroidery is its padding techniques, which make the patterns look more vivid.

Kang's talent and persistence opened a door for her to approach experts. When she was 18, she won the opportunity to work at a local embroidery business and receive training from experienced embroiders. There she picked up the craft and stood out from her peers.

When she was 33, she was admitted to a Chaozhou embroidery research institute where she gained further expertise from an inheritor of the craft. She recalled she was also taught painting, sketching and the fundamental principles of fine arts at that time.

Riding the wave of the country's reform and opening-up, Kang quit her job and founded her own studio in the 1990s. She soon shot to fame in the industry for her prowess and innovation. Some of her embroidery works have been given to foreign leaders as national gifts.

She has since developed new methods to create double-sided embroideries, giving the traditional craftsmanship a new lease on life.

The integration of the cultural heritage into the local fashion industry is a crucial reason why the city's wedding dresses and evening gowns industry has come to prominence nationwide or even worldwide, analysts noted. This has helped Chaozhou become a trendy manufacturing hub across the two segments, they said.

Chaozhou embroidery

Originating in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chaozhou embroidery is a major school of Guangdong embroidery, one of the top four traditional styles of embroidery in China. The earliest Chaozhou embroidery artworks discovered in Chaozhou were decorations and buddha statues in Kaiyuan Temple built in 738. Since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, Chaozhou embroidery works have featured in ordinary people's daily lives. They vary in themes including animals, figures and flowers and feature exquisite craftsmanship. Chaozhou embroidery has won many national awards and had a huge effect on the arts and crafts sector nationwide. It has also been widely acclaimed at home and abroad. The craft was selected as one of the first of China's national intangible cultural heritage items in 2006.