II. Unstable Development of Cantonese Embroidery in 1912-1976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

The time after the founding of the Republic of China was a vigorous period for the development of Cantonese embroidery. Since male craftsmen were more skilled than female craftsmen, their income was double that of females at that time (Gong 2010). In a family of embroiders, the husband usually embroidered the most important and refined parts or details, while the wife mainly worked on set offs. This remained common practice until the early 1950s. The development of Cantonese embroidery was prosperous, the techniques of embroidery improved, for both male and female craftsmen. One example for such an improvement is the Ding Jin Xiu (釘金繡). Moreover, numerous artworks received awards in civil and international competitions. For example, “The Meet of Peacock and Peony” (孔雀牡丹會景) by Yu De (余德) and “Flower Blanket” (四角大花被) were awarded with the first prize in the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. Another piece of embroidery, “Lion” 壽獅, was also awarded the second prize in the BRIDGE Opening Game in London in 1923. “Daisy, Cat and Butterfly” (菊花貓蝶圖) and “Fish In Water” (半沉浮金魚) by Wang Mei (黃妹) were awarded the first prize in the Guangdong Province Domestics Exhibition. More importantly, Cantonese embroidery was highly praised. For example, “The Meet of Peacock and Peony” and “Lion” were evaluated as two of the four famous embroideries in China in the Embroidery Expo in 1929 (Gong 2010). Besides, a labour union was established, as Yu and Wang gathered nearly 900 craftsmen to create an embroidery union at the Qi Lan Hall (綺蘭堂會館) in 1926. However, it was forced to disband in 1927 because of the April 12 tragedy. Most of the artworks were destroyed or lost. Nevertheless, the incident did not affect the embroidery business, due to the popularization of Cantonese Opera. Embroidery was used as decoration for costumes for Cantonese Opera and products for ritual ceremonies, so that the products would be embroidered in Cantonese style. Some embroidery products were even sold to Europe.

 

From 1937 to 1949, China went through the Second Sino-Japanese War and Civil War. The Cantonese embroidery business was depressed, and the production had to be stopped. It was devastating that only about a dozen of male craftsmen stayed in the business, and the number of embroidery shops was one third of what it had been before the wars.
 

 

Starting in August 1945, various organizations, such as the Guangdong Province Administration of Handicraft, Guangdong Art Institute and Guangdong Arts and Crafts Industry Company, were set up to gather and manage the business and techniques of handicrafts, which led to the recovery of the embroidery business and created opportunities in foreign markets. In 1960, the social status of embroidery was enhanced, since one of the masters had some influence in official institutions and named it as “artistic”. The production of embroidery increased after the education of workers in the Pearl River Delta region. Meanwhile, the technology in the embroidery sector improved, due to the introduction of machine embroidering. As a result, the output increased, but the quality declined.

 

The Cultural Revolution began in 1966; embroidery paintings with the subject matter of flowers and birds were considered as “four olds”. The Guangdong Art Institute was forced to disband until 1972, and most factories were closed and had to stop production. The field of Cantonese embroidery was devastated again. In 1971, artists of arts and crafts officially gathered to recover the production of embroidery products. Five years later, the majority of the production consisted of costumes with Cantonese embroidery and was dominated by machine embroidering.