Ou Embroidery

Ou embroidery is a traditional folk needlework of the Wenzhou area in Zhejiang, of long lineage, first growing from the practice of women in their embroidery chambers; by its stitch patterns it can be traced back to the Tang-dynasty brocade tradition. It entered the second national ICH list in 2008 under traditional arts.

Ou embroidery works coloured silk on satin with a great range of stitches, skilful at using blended needles to render figures, landscapes, flowers and birds; its subjects are often Ou-Yue scenery, auspicious patterns and celebrated paintings, bright in colour and exact in workmanship, ranked with the three Zhejiang carvings as "three carvings and one embroidery."

Ou embroidery preserves the regional cultural and artistic symbols of the ancient Ou-Yue people and forms an important branch of Zhejiang's embroidery art, holding real value for the study of folk art and women's needlework tradition along the southeast coast.