Miaoxiu
01 · Historical Records
Miao pile-flower embroidery is called 'ganliang' in the Miao language. A unique ornament of Miao women's dress, it has been passed down without interruption in Kaili City, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, for a long time. Its emergence is directly linked to local traditions of mulberry growing, sericulture, and the weaving of silks and satins. The northeast of Kaili has a subtropical humid climate, and its hills grow abundantly with dye plants such as the chinaberry tree, the dongqing (indigo) tree, and the moyu (konjac) plant, as well as with mulberry trees, providing the material basis for pile-flower embroidery.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Miao pile-flower embroidery, also called 'pile embroidery' (duixiu), is known as 'ganliang' in the Miao language. A unique ornament of Miao women's dress, it has continued unabated in Kaili City, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, for a long time. The northeastern part of Kaili has a subtropical humid climate with a great variety of plant species. Chinaberry trees, dongqing, and moyu plants used for dye production grow there year-round, and mulberry trees also thrive; these natural conditions provide the material basis for the emergence and development of pile-flower embroidery. The making of pile-flower embroidery divides into four steps. The first is growing mulberry and raising silkworms, for which the main tools are bamboo mats, large iron pots, and bamboo baskets. The second is weaving the silk into 'ling' (a thin silk fabric), using tools such as spinning wheels and looms. The third is dyeing the woven silk and sizing it stiff, for which the main tools are the dye-sizing vats and large tubs. The last is to 'pile' pieces of the silk fabric into pile-flower ornaments and sew them onto garments, producing brilliant pile-flower dress; the tools used in this step are mainly wooden boxes for holding the silk pieces and needles. Pile-flower embroidery is well suited to geometric patterns and abstract figural compositions. Its designs are built from multiple triangles, giving neat, regular pictures with a strong sense of three-dimensionality. Pile-flower embroidery is the finest work of Miao embroidery, a crystallization of the wisdom of the Miao people, and at the same time a 'living fossil' of Miao history. Miao pile-flower embroidery is finely made, technically difficult, and time-consuming, with relatively low economic value. Nowadays most young rural women in the Kaili area go out to work and mostly wear casual dress or Han-style clothing in daily life, so pile-flower embroidery has lost the practical soil in which it survived, and the craft now shows a break between generations.
Pile embroidery, 'Ganliang'
Miao pile embroidery, called ganliang in Miao, builds flowers from stacked satin pieces sewn onto clothing to make brilliant pile-embroidered dress.
The four steps: mulberry, satin, dyeing, piling
Four steps—rearing silkworms with bamboo mats, cauldrons and baskets; weaving satin on spindles and looms; dyeing and stiffening it in vats; then piling satin pieces into ornaments with boxes and needles.
Geometric patterns built from triangles
Pile embroidery suits geometric and abstract imagery, building its figures from many triangles in orderly, strongly three-dimensional compositions.
Pile-embroidered dress as a living fossil of Miao history
Pile embroidery is a masterpiece of Miao needlework and a 'living fossil' of Miao history, sewn onto festival dress and worn with silver ornaments.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Pile-flower embroidery is found mainly in Miao villages in the northeastern part of Kaili City. It is carried primarily on the festive dresses and skirts of Miao women, most often on sleeves, collars, waist aprons, and baby-carrier panels. Its process comprises four steps: growing mulberry and raising silkworms; weaving the silk; dyeing and sizing it stiff; and piling the silk pieces into flower forms and sewing them on. Its designs take the triangle as the basic unit, with neat, regular composition; the craft is well suited to geometric patterns and abstract forms and has a strong three-dimensional quality.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Miaoxiu · Miaoxiu · Miaoxiu · Miaoxiu · Miaoxiu · Miaoxiu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It is therefore necessary to strengthen rescue and protection work on Miao pile-flower embroidery as soon as possible, so that this important folk art of the ethnic group can continue to be carried forward and passed down for a long time to come.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wu Tongying 04-1773
- Zhang Guiying 05-2600
- Wang Qiping 05-2601
- Yang Meiyan 05-2602
- Longnvsanjiu 05-2603
- Wu Yingji
- Liu Zhongchang
- Wang Jinhua
- Shi Liping
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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