京城风尚｜京绣：精绝天下的针尖宫廷艺术

京绣又称“宫绣”或“宫廷绣”

是以北方民间刺绣为基础

以北京为中心的刺绣产品的总称

京绣是一门中国古老的刺绣工艺

曾和“苏、湘、顾”并称为

“四大绣”

Beijing embroidery, also called“palace embroidery” or“court embroidery”,

refers to embroidery products based on folk embroidery of northern China,with Beijing as the center.

An ancient stitching art,

Beijing embroidery is known as one of the“Four Great Embroideries”

alongside Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Gu embroidery. 

图片来源：微博北京文旅

Photo from Weibo Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism

京绣，是一门中国古老的刺绣工艺，它将皇家宫廷艺术和传统手工技艺完美地结合在一起。其历史可追溯到唐代，据《契丹国志》记载，当时的燕京“锦绣组绮、精绝天下”。辽代还专门在燕京设立了绣院，经过元代的继承和发展，在明清时期京绣制作体系已趋于成熟。

随着封建体制的瓦解，宫绣不再为宫廷服务，绣工也散落民间。这些艺人在传承宫绣的基础上，广泛吸纳中国各地刺绣的精华，形成了以北京地区为中心的刺绣技艺——京绣。

An ancient stitching handicraft in China, Beijing embroidery perfectly fuses imperial art with traditional handicraft. Its origins can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). According to National Records of Qidan, Yanjing (today’s Beijing) boasted“superb silk embroidery” at that time. An imperial embroidery workshop was established in Yanjing during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125). After further development in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Beijing embroidery gradually matured during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.  

With the collapse of the feudal system, palace embroidery no longer only served the royal family, and royal embroiders began to spread across the country. While inheriting the techniques of palace embroidery, they extensively absorbed essence of embroidery techniques in different parts of China, forming Beijing embroidery, a genre of stitching handicraft with Beijing as the center. 

京绣品类

Beijing embroidery's categories

京绣根据不同需求可以划分为两大类

Beijing embroidery can be divided into two categories according to different functions

第一类

Category 1

供皇家宫廷御用的“宫廷绣”

Court embroidery for the royal family

宫廷绣礼服类的纹样题材等级分明，多采用龙、凤、蟒、麟、狮等图案来凸显着装者的身份地位。除此之外，宫廷绣的选材、用料颇为考究，一般会选取最好的丝缎作为面料，绣线为真丝、金银线。其针法精湛，费工费时，综合使用多达10种针法。

Ceremonial garments with court embroidery feature patterns that indicate wearers’ different identities and social statuses, such as dragons, phoenixes, pythons, kylins, and lions. Besides, court embroidery boasts exquisite materials and techniques. It uses fabrics like top-quality satins and silk, gold and silver threads, and features exquisite needlework that costs considerable manpower and time. A work may involve as many as 10 kinds of stitching techniques. 

明黄缎绣云龙纹吉服袍

图片来源：故宫博物馆

A yellow satin ceremonial robe embroidered with cloud and dragon patterns from the Ming Dynasty

Photo from the Palace Museum 

皇帝御用撒袋

图片来源：故宫博物馆

An archery bag used by the emperor

Photo from the Palace Museum 

第二类

Category 2

供平民百姓使用的“民间绣”

Folk embroidery for ordinary people

民间绣的图案自由活泼、质朴可爱，带有吉祥寓意，擅于运用象征、形意结合等来表达美好愿望。民间绣一般选用缎或者棉作为绣地，绣线为棉或真丝，金银线用量远小于宫廷绣，针法也比较粗糙。

Folk embroidery features simple but dynamic and adorable patterns with auspicious symbolism, and excels at expressing good wishes with symbolic designs that combine form and spirit. Folk embroidery usually uses satin or cotton as the ground fabric, and cotton or silk threads. The use of gold and silver threads is much rarer than court embroidery, and its needlework is relatively rough. 

元代刺绣枕顶

图片来源：中国丝绸博物馆

An embroidered pillow cover from the Yuan Dynasty

Photo from China National Silk Museum

刺绣牡丹花纹缎鞋

图片来源：中国丝绸博物馆

A satin show embroidered with peony patterns

Photo from China National Silk Museum

技艺特色

Technical Features of Beijing Embroidery 

要做好一件上乘的京绣作品，需要众多道工序，每一道都是通过匠人高超的手工技艺完成，以针为笔，一针一线勾勒出京绣独有的魅力。在注重针法的同时，还特别讲究图案纹饰与颜色的选择。

A fine Beijing embroidery work requires a multitude of steps, all of which need skilled craftsmen to complete manually. With the needle as the pen, they depict the unique charm of Beijing embroidery. In addition to stitching techniques, it also emphasizes the choice of decorative patterns and colors. 

图案

Decorative Patterns

京绣纹样以明清时代宫廷纹样著称，题材丰富多彩，遵循“图必有意、纹必吉祥”的宗旨，具有浓厚的宫廷艺术气息。京绣图案的体裁十分广泛，所有图案都有自己所代表的意思，比如山水花鸟、龙凤图案以及吉祥八宝等，这些图案不仅寓意美好，而且极具趣味性。另外，在服装的重要部位常常会使用玛瑙、翡翠作为点缀，宫廷艺术风格非常浓郁。

Beijing embroidery is noted for a variety of decorative patterns and subjects from the Ming and Qing courts. Following the principle of“only using symbolic images and auspicious patterns”, it emits a strong flavor of royal art. Beijing embroidery involves a broad range of patterns and subjects, and all decorative designs have their own symbolic meanings, such as landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, and the Eight Auspicious Treasures. Those patterns not only convey good wishes but also have aesthetic touch. Moreover, agates and emeralds are used to decorate important parts of garments, demonstrating a strong aesthetic style of royal art. 

石青色缎绣八团云龙纹绵褂—龙纹

图片来源：故宫博物馆

Dragon pattern embroidered on a stone-blue satin robe with eight heap of auspicious clouds

Photo from the Palace Museum 

在不同的年代，图形设计也有所不同，但是其总体典制章法是不变的，每一件刺绣作品都是京绣艺人高超技艺以及艺术修养的体现。

Pattern designs vary in different historical periods, but the overall principle remains unchanged. Each Beijing embroidery work is an embodiment of craftsmen’s superb skills and artistic literacy. 

针法

Stitching Techniques

京绣的针法繁多，有齐针绣、平金绣、打籽绣、穿珠绣、盘金绣、拉锁绣等，不同纹饰采用不同绣法，图案不同其针法也不同，善用针法组合。其中，较为特殊的是平金打籽绣，平金即以真金捻线盘成图案，使得绣品光亮、平匀齐整，打籽则指用丝线结成细小的线疙瘩，铺展在绣面上，使得绣品产生丰富的线条变化。另外，盘金（围绕图案轮廓进行钉金线刺绣）和平金（将金线铺满钉缝于图案之上）也是京绣常用绣法之一。

Beijing embroidery involves diverse stitching techniques, including Qizhen, Pingjin, Dazi, Chuanzhu, Panjin, and Lasuo. Different techniques correspond with different patterns. A single work usually adopts a variety of techniques. Pingjin and Dazi techniques are particularly special. Pingjin refers to using gold thread to form patterns, so that the embroidery work looks illuminous and neat; Dazi refers to using silk thread to form tiny knots on the surface, which adds diverse, changing lines to the embroidery work. Besides, Panjin (using gold thread to embroider the outlines) and Pingjin (using gold thread to embroider the entire patterns) are commonly used techniques in Beijing embroidery. 

清末京绣枕顶-打籽绣

图片来源：首都博物馆

A pillow cover using the Dazi technique of Beijing embroidery from the late Qing Dynasty

Photo from the Capital Museum

京绣的针法非常考究，根据不同的图案采用不同的针法，一针一线都是绣工精湛技艺的显现。

Beijing embroidery features exquisite stitching techniques. Different patterns involve different techniques, but each stitch manifests the craftsman’s superb skills. 

色彩

Colors

儒家思想中按照等级制度把赤、黄、青、白、黑五色定为“正色”，从而使色彩具有了社会属性，构成了复杂的观念色彩体系。绣线配色上常遵照“黑为玄，黄为权，红为喜，蓝为贵”的原则，配色鲜艳，华而不俗、端庄典雅。

According to the Confucian hierarchical system, red, yellow, blue, white, and black were considered“the five fundamental colors” in ancient China, which bestowed on colors social attributes and formed a complicated conceptual coloring system. In embroidery,“black is a color symbolizing profundity, yellow for power, red for good luck, and blue for dignity.” Beijing embroidery features bright and elegant colors. 

洒线绣绿地彩整枝菊花经书面

图片来源：故宫博物馆

A green-ground sutra cover embroidered with an entire chrysanthemum

Photo from the Palace Museum

京绣中用来区分等级的标准有很多，其中包括色彩、纹样、形制、工艺、材质五个方面，而色彩是当中最重要的标准。

Beijing embroidery has many hierarchical indicators including colors, patterns, designs, techniques, and materials, of which colors are the most important indicator. 

京绣于2014年11月经国务院批准列入了第四批国家级非物质文化遗产名录，作为一种面临失传的传统宫廷手工艺，"京绣"面临着保护和发展的必要性和紧迫性。在缕缕丝线交错中，这种传统手工技艺承载着民族的文化遗产，凝聚着华夏儿女的智慧，需要更多人关注、发扬、传承！

In November 2014, Beijing embroidery was inscribed on the list of the fourth batch of China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage items. It is imperative to protect and develop Beijing embroidery, a traditional royal handicraft on the verge of extinction. An art woven with threads, this traditional handicraft conveys the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and the wisdom of Chinese people, so it is worth more attention and greater efforts in terms of inheritance and promotion. 

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