Beijing Royal Embroidery
Beijing embroidery, also known as “royal embroidery”, is a general term for Beijing-centered embroidery products. The old handicraftsman Liang Zhi learned this skill from an embroidery master in the city and then passed on the skill to young generations 100 years ago in the late Qing Dynasty (1840-1912). Liu Jingqi, a fifth-generation inheritor, learns from the embroidery master Liang Shuping about embroidery skills, including the whole process of design, drawing, plate-making, Zhengbu (embroider cloth handling), needlework and finishing, which are all ancestral manual techniques. Her works reveal graceful patterns, delicate needlework and exquisite stitching skills with high appreciation and collection values.
Chinese Ribbon Buttons
With thousands years of history and distinctive national style, Pankou (Chinese ribbon button embroidery) is a traditional embroidery technique in Chinese fashion. Manually embroidered Chinese ribbon buttons are artistic, solid and durable in use. Works of Lady Bai Lianfang stand out in appealing design, bright colors, exquisite skills and various patterns. Three-dimensional plum-flower-pattern buttons and three-dimensional butterfly-pattern buttons made of him are very popular. However, with the progress of mechanization for clothing, these skills are endangered and in urgent need for protection.
Embroidered Shoes Technique (Wang Guanqin)
Embroidered shoes (Xiuhuaxie, Xiuxie or Zhahuaxie in Chinese) means shoes with embroidery on surface in bright colors, various embroidery methods and patterns reflecting people’s expectation for happy life. The inheritor, Jiang Lijuan, started learning embroidery when she was ten years old, and devoted her 40 years in studying and manufacturing handcrafted cloth shoes, especially in children's shoes which she excelled in: shoes of boys are mainly tiger-head shoes with cute tiger-head-shape at shoes heads, tiger-prawn patterns at laterals and cocked tiger-tail shape at rare; shoes of girls with flower and bird patterns at head symbolizing good luck and happiness. The shoes are popular at home and abroad with many awards.
