BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- As one of the Eight Famous Embroideries of China, Lu embroidery has a history of more than 2,000 years, and Wendeng Lu embroidery is a unique Chinese intangible cultural heritage with tangible charm.
Wendeng Lu embroidery is different from the four famous embroideries of Su, Yue, Shu and Xiang, and is a unique school of its own. It is widely spread among the people, and is an important part of the long-standing embroidery culture of the Chinese nation.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, women used a variety of techniques to embroider various patterns on cotton, linen or silk fabrics. It is learned that the lace weaving techniques were brought from overseas to Jiaodong region of Shandong in 1888.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a process called drawnwork was introduced to Wendeng. Drawnwork, that is, according to the needs of the pattern, craftsmen extract a certain warp and weft yarn on the cloth to form a grid-shaped design.
Based on the lace weaving and drawnwork techniques, then through years of development of Lu embroidery folk artists, a variety of decorative patterns of embroidery art were created.
From the middle and late 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century, Wendeng, as a famous city of Chinese craft home textiles, has seen establishment of nearly 200 craft home textile enterprises, combining the traditional shape of Lu embroidery with contemporary innovative technology, and the products of which are sold domestically throughout the country and exported to more than 60 countries and regions such as the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, among others.
Currently, most enterprises are expanding category of embroidery products on the basis of foreign trade demands, suiting the market of tourist souvenirs, art collections and private high-end customized products.
(Edited by Bao Nuomin with Xinhua Silk Road, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
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