Liu Yamei
01 · Lineage & Regional School
At the age of thirteen she was apprenticed to Xing Shuxian to learn Manchu embroidery, and by sixteen she could already produce fine work. Within the regional tradition and school record of Manchu Embroidery in Kedong, Heilongjiang: Historically, Kedong Manchu Embroidery was widely distributed across north-central Heilongjiang, eastern Inner Mongolia, and the surrounding areas; today it is concentrated in Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province, as well as in Qiqihar City, the Heihe region, Bei'an City, and parts of Jilin Province. Kedong lies in the heart of the Songnen Plain; in the early 20th century the area shifted from fishing and hunting to agriculture, and women embroidered patterns on saddle ornaments and clothing; by the Qing Dynasty, bold innovation in material selection, technique, and style had brought the craft to full maturity. In the early 12th century, women living in Northeast China, in response to the needs of labor and daily life, began to embroider simple patterns on saddle ornaments and clothing.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, of the Han ethnic group, born in July 1964 in Keshan County, Heilongjiang Province. In 1991 she entered the Fine Arts Department of Harbin Normal University. She has collected traditional embroideries and embroidery patterns in large numbers and has carefully organised and recovered traditional Manchu embroidery techniques, playing an active part in their safeguarding and transmission. Her embroidered products are chiefly utilitarian: attractive, durable and highly practical, with a character all their own. She founded a Manchu embroidery transmission workshop with funds she raised herself; besides teaching in person, she recruits elderly artisans so that the old pass their skills to the young in handing on traditional Manchu embroidery. She was the first in her locality to carry out an intangible cultural heritage poverty-alleviation project; since 2017 she has run thirty-six training sessions, trained nine hundred and seventy-two people and secured employment for two hundred and thirty-one, restoring vitality to Manchu embroidery. Within the documented technical tradition of Manchu Embroidery in Kedong, Heilongjiang: Kedong Manchu Embroidery is one of the forms of Manchu embroidery distributed in Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province. Through continuous practice, by the Jin Dynasty it had gradually taken shape as an embroidery art with strong Manchu cultural characteristics, centered on everyday practical items. According to the Rongzhai Suibi (Notes from the Rongzhai Studio): "(The women) usually sat together on the heated brick bed (kang); when guests arrived and a banquet was spread, once the wine was finished and the guests had dispersed, each returned to her place and took up her embroidery again." By the Qing Dynasty, Manchu women in Kedong and the surrounding areas had inherited and further developed the embroidery custom, boldly innovating in material selection, technique, and style, and Kedong Manchu Embroidery matured steadily. Historically, Kedong Manchu Embroidery was widely distributed across north-central Heilongjiang, eastern Inner Mongolia, and the surrounding areas; today it is concentrated in Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province, as well as in Qiqihar City, the Heihe region, Bei'an City, and parts of Jilin Province. Kedong Manchu Embroidery took shape within a specific geographical environment, adapting to the production and lifestyle of Manchu women and answering their spiritual pursuits. Its subject matter is wide-ranging: landscapes, flowers and birds, grasses and insects, birds and beasts, figures and stories, calligraphy, and more. The forms are plain and exaggerated, the colors vivid with strong contrasts between warm and cool tones; the compositions are full and symmetrical, carrying the bold, rustic flavor of the North; the formats are diverse and the stitches varied. Cut work, wrapped appliqué, patchwork embroidery, counted-thread work, and padded work each display their own character, while satin stitch, back stitch, pin stitch, laying stitch, insert stitch, and 'wild horse' stitch offer endless subtlety. Kedong Manchu Embroidery is widely used in clothing, household articles, room decoration, and wedding dowries. Kedong Manchu Embroidery is passed on in living form among local Manchu women. In traditional society, girls learned embroidery from their mothers from an early age, and whenever the long winter came, the women would gather in company to embroider. They exchanged cloth and colored thread among themselves, matching the pattern colors to the base cloth so that the results were both contrasting and harmonious; the embroidered pieces were varied, rich, and beautiful. Patterns were shared among them, and the embroiderers freely chose their own colors and created boldly. Women related as sisters-in-law exchanged embroidered works, honed their skills together, and also gave their work to close relatives and friends. In addition, Kedong Manchu Embroidery has considerable economic value and art-collection value, and has contributed to the development of the local folk craft industry. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Saddle trappings and clothing": From the twelfth century women in northeast China embroidered simple motifs on saddle gear and clothing, and by the Jin dynasty a practical Manchu art had formed. "Embroidering by the kang": The recorded image of women sitting by the kang and returning to their stitching after guests have gone shows how deep the craft sat in daily life. "Liu Yamei and craft-based poverty relief": Liu Yamei funded her own teaching studio, brought in elder artisans to train novices, and has run thirty-six courses for nine hundred and seventy-two trainees.
Saddle trappings and clothing
From the twelfth century women in northeast China embroidered simple motifs on saddle gear and clothing, and by the Jin dynasty a practical Manchu art had formed.
Embroidering by the kang
The recorded image of women sitting by the kang and returning to their stitching after guests have gone shows how deep the craft sat in daily life.
Liu Yamei and craft-based poverty relief
Liu Yamei funded her own teaching studio, brought in elder artisans to train novices, and has run thirty-six courses for nine hundred and seventy-two trainees.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
She is a representative bearer of Manchu embroidery, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
In the early 12th century, women living in Northeast China, in response to the needs of labor and daily life, began to embroider simple patterns on saddle ornaments and clothing.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xia Liyun | Jinzhoushiguta, Liaoning | 05-2693 | Other regional school |
| Sun Yanling | Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang | 05-2694 | Other regional school |
| Liu Yamei | Kedong, Heilongjiang | 05-2695 | This page |
| Zhang Lixin | Tonghua, Jilin | — | Other regional school |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。