A Brief History of Chinese Embroidery ince its birth in China, embroidery as an ancient craftsmanship known to all, has always been beautifying and serving life over the past several thousand years, leaving brilliant and untold excellence for people generation after generation. Based on the rich accumulation of traditional embroidery, contemporary embroidery is also successfully developing in China.
�mbroidery in the imitation of the phoenix patterns of the �re-�in period.
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Origin In Remote Antiquity
t is very difficult for us to ascertain the time and place for the birth of embroidery in Chinese antiquity. However, there is no doubt that it originated from the era when human textile and sewing were born. The earliest embroidery started from tattooing, which was later turned into handcraftsmanship applied to garment decoration in close combination with practical and attractive decoration in daily life. It was the beginning of the change from backward facial tattooing to civilization and progress of human beings. A bone needle unearthed from the Upper Cave Man Site in Zhoukoudian in Beijing dates back 8,000 years. It is 8.2 centimeters long, with the widest part being 0.33 centimeters in diameter. So far, it is the earliest sewing tool known in the world (FIG. 9). One can imagine that when the processing of needles, threads, and fabrics was available, it was natural for the emergence of products for sewing and embroidery.
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