Bian Embroidery

Bian embroidery, also called Song embroidery, takes its name from Bianjing (Kaifeng), capital of the Northern Song. In 1105 the court founded an Embroidery Academy in the city, and the craft flourished, earning the praise in the 'Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital' of brocades 'shining gold and azure.'

Bian embroidery is renowned for rendering paintings and calligraphy, especially copying masterworks like 'Along the River During Qingming.' After 1949, artisans codified more than thirty stitches, yielding works that are precise, finely layered and true to both form and spirit.

Inscribed in 2008 on the second national ICH list (no. VII-74), it ranks alongside the Su, Xiang, Shu and Yue embroideries and represents the continuation of Song court embroidery in the central plains.

Study and display of Bian embroidery center on urban Kaifeng, where the city museum and embroidery institutes regularly exhibit works and demonstrate live stitching.