Li Shuying
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Li Shuying, Female, Han, from Chaozhou, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Guangdong Embroidery (Ⅶ-20). The tradition is documented in Chaozhou, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Guangdong Embroidery in Chaozhou, Guangdong: Chao embroidery is centered on Chaozhou City in Guangdong Province and is distributed across the Chaoshan counties and cities of Chao'an, Raoping, Jieyang, Shantou and Chenghai; the embroidery shops and stalls within Chaozhou city are linked to the village embroiderers of the surrounding countryside. Chao embroidery is used mostly for opera costumes, temple banners and curtains, wedding jackets and skirts and sacrificial articles, and it coexists with other folk crafts such as Chao opera and Chaozhou woodcarving in the same regional cultural environment. The Tang-dynasty work Du Yang Za Bian by Su E already records the Nanhai maiden Lu Meiniang, "whose skill was beyond compare and who could embroider seven scrolls of the Lotus Sutra on a single foot of plain silk". Yue embroidery has a long history in Guangdong; Chao embroidery appeared in the Chaozhou area of Guangdong as early as the Tang dynasty, and by the Ming dynasty had formed its own style.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Li Shuying is anchored in the documented technical standards of Guangdong Embroidery in Chaozhou, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Guangdong Embroidery in Chaozhou, Guangdong: Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Gold-nailed raised and padded embroidery": Chaozhou gold-thread work has over sixty stitches in seven groups; its distinctive padded gold-nailed method raises motifs into high relief. "Magnolia and Peony and Chaozhou three-dimensional work": Lin Zhicheng combined padding, piecing, appliqué and folding with strong colour and gold-velvet work, and learning from Su embroidery created double-sided three-dimensional pieces such as Magnolia and Peony. "Opera costumes and temple furnishings": Chaozhou embroidery takes dragons and phoenixes, flowers, animals and figures as motifs, its output going mainly to opera costume, temple banners and ritual and everyday articles. "Lin Zhicheng's two hundred and fifty stitches": From decades of practice Lin Zhicheng codified 250 stitches and embroidered stitch samples for later reference, passing his lifelong accumulation to young workers and his children.
Gold-nailed raised and padded embroidery
Chaozhou gold-thread work has over sixty stitches in seven groups; its distinctive padded gold-nailed method raises motifs into high relief.
Magnolia and Peony and Chaozhou three-dimensional work
Lin Zhicheng combined padding, piecing, appliqué and folding with strong colour and gold-velvet work, and learning from Su embroidery created double-sided three-dimensional pieces such as Magnolia and Peony.
Opera costumes and temple furnishings
Chaozhou embroidery takes dragons and phoenixes, flowers, animals and figures as motifs, its output going mainly to opera costume, temple banners and ritual and everyday articles.
Lin Zhicheng's two hundred and fifty stitches
From decades of practice Lin Zhicheng codified 250 stitches and embroidered stitch samples for later reference, passing his lifelong accumulation to young workers and his children.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Li Shuying was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Guangdong Embroidery, with Chaozhou, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Guangdong Embroidery in Chaozhou, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Chaozhou, Guangdong as its declared area, and Chaozhou Arts and Crafts Research Institute as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The Tang-dynasty work Du Yang Za Bian by Su E already records the Nanhai maiden Lu Meiniang, "whose skill was beyond compare and who could embroider seven scrolls of the Lotus Sutra on a single foot of plain silk". Yue embroidery has a long history in Guangdong; Chao embroidery appeared in the Chaozhou area of Guangdong as early as the Tang dynasty, and by the Ming dynasty had formed its own style.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Shaofang | Guangzhou, Guangdong | 01-0081 | Other regional school |
| Lin Zhicheng | Chaozhou, Guangdong | 01-0082 | Same declared area |
| Kang Huifang | Chaozhou, Guangdong | 04-1771 | Same declared area |
| Sun Qingxian | Chaozhou, Guangdong | 04-1772 | Same declared area |
| Xu Chiguang | Guangzhou, Guangdong | 05-2597 | Other regional school |
| Li Shuying | Chaozhou, Guangdong | — | This page |
| Huang Weixiong | Chaozhou, Guangdong | — | Same declared area |
| Wu Jieyi | Guangzhou, Guangdong | — | 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。