The Influence of Confucianism on Chaozhou Embroidery in the Tang Dynasty

Guangdong Lingnan Culture and Art Promotion Foundation （hereinafter referred to as “the Foundation”

It is a non-public foundation established on December 16， 2012.

Huang Yanfan

Huang Yanfan is the editor-in-chief of Cultural Tour of the Ancient City of Chaozhou and Chaozhou Tourism， and has published more than 10 papers.

This book details the history of Chaozhou Embroidery over a thousand years， covering five major varieties and five derivatives of Chaozhou Embroidery， its one hundred different needlework techniques， and the development of twenty-two representative figures in the art of Chaozhou Embroidery and related industry organizations. The book is illustrated with more than 400 beautiful and high-resolution pictures of Chaozhou Embroidery.

History of Chaozhou Embroidery

Written by Guangdong Lingnan Culture and Art Promotion Foundation， Huang Yanfan

Guangdong Lingnan Fine Arts Publishing House

February 2023

268.00 （CNY）

There is no evidence of when Chaozhou Embroidery originated. However， a study of the cultural causes of Chaozhou and its development indicates that Confucianism and Buddhism had a profound influence on Chaozhou Embroidery during the Tang Dynasty and that one of the major modern varieties of Chaozhou Embroidery， Gold Pinning Embroidery， can be traced back to Gold Threading Embroidery and Gold Coiling Embroidery that were prevalent during the Tang Dynasty.

In the early Tang Dynasty， there was an outbreak of rebellion around Quanzhou and Chaozhou by the local nationalities， including Li and Liao， against the ruling of the Han， which was called the “Quan and Chao Barbarians Rebellion.” In the second year of Wu Zetian’s governorship as Empress Dowager （686 CE）， the Tang regime approved Chen Yuanbiao’s petition to create a new county between Quan and Chao; thus， Zhangzhou was established， with Chen Yuanbiao serving simultaneously as the governor of Zhangzhou. Under his rule， Zhangzhou and Chaozhou settled down and began to develop in production， population， and culture. During this period， in addition to Chen Yuanbiao and his family members， more people moved there from the Central Plain， accelerating the development around the Chaozhou area and the “conquest” and “Sinicization” of the native culture of Chaozhou.

In the Tang Dynasty， many officials from the capital were demoted and deported to Chaozhou. Many were well-educated and brought advanced culture and production technology from the Central Plains. After their arrival， they actively advocated the establishment of schools， the cultivation of talents， and the improvement of social morals. These measures played an important role in improving the overall cultural quality of the Chaozhou community and shaping the regional cultural style.

In the 18th year of the Zhenguan Period （644 CE）， Zhang Xuansu was demoted to be the governor of Chaozhou， becoming the first official to be relegated to Chaozhou from the capital， which started the prelude to the demotion of capital officials to Chaozhou. In the 14th year of the Dali Period （779 CE）， Chancellor Chang Gun was demoted to be the governor of Chaozhou， becoming the first Chancellor to be relegated to Chaozhou. While in Chaozhou， Chang Gun established many schools to raise talents， and it is said that “people in Chaozhou knew how to learn from Gun.” Since then， 10 chancellors and some high-ranking officials came to Chaozhou during the Tang and Song dynasties. Their descendants in Chaozhou built a memorial archway and the ancestral temple of the ten chancellors to commemorate the ancestors.

Among the officials relegated to Chaozhou， Han Yu was the most influential and contributed to the culture of Chaozhou. Han Yu was relegated to Chaozhou in the 14th year of the Yuanhe Period （819 CE） after advising Emperor Xian to accept the bones of Buddha. After he arrived in Chaozhou， he vigorously spread the advanced culture of the Central Plains， promoted education， rewarded talents， emphasized agricultural production， eliminated crocodiles， and freed slave girls. Although Han Yu was in Chaozhou for only seven months， his achievements greatly boosted the development of Chaozhou culture. After Han Yu left Chaozhou， Chaozhou people changed the name of the mountain to Han Mountain and the river to Han River and built the Han Wengong Temple to memorialize him. The praise for his virtues and demeanor has lasted over a thousand years until today.

Han Yu’s governance is the most important event in the history of Chaozhou. It is widely believed that it is because of Han Yu and the culture of Central Plains， which centered on Confucianism he brought to Chaozhou， that Chaozhou could form a regional culture with individual characteristics over the centuries and became a famous city of rituals and culture and that Han Yu’s governance was the beginning of the brilliant development of Chaozhou’s regional culture.

During the Tang Dynasty， Chaozhou’s economic development gradually accelerated， and handicraft production reached a certain scale. The ceramics industry rose， and porcelain production technology reached a high level， forming a certain production scale. The colorful and elegant daily porcelain and art porcelain were exported to Samboja Kingdom （India）， Persia （Iran）， Egypt and other countries. Agricultural production was developed， “rice can be harvested twice a year， silkworm can also be harvested five times.” The local textile products such as “Jiao cloth” woven with plantain fiber and the integrated produced Ning cloth， Chao yarn and Chao carpet were sold to Yangzhou， Suzhou， Qiongzhou， Guangzhou and other places. Jiao cloth also became a tribute product. In addition， Chaozhou also attached importance to education and promoted Confucianism， and Chao music began to appear at this time. Embroidery， wood carving， stone carving and other folk arts and crafts were used in temples， ancestral halls， mansions， dwellings and pagoda buildings. After the Middle Tang Dynasty， Chaozhou’s economy and culture came to the foreground and became a major county in Lingnan. Religious embroideries such as embroidered sutra scrolls and embroidered Buddha paintings were widely developed throughout the country， and embroidery with gold silk thread instead of silk thread was very popular. Guangdong embroidery became famous for its superior skills.

During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Tang Dynasty， Lingnan embroidery was so exquisite that it was loved by the royal family. As many as 700 embroiderers in Lingnan were dedicated to making embroidery for Concubine Yang. The embroidery offered by Zhang Jiugao， the provincial governor of Lingnan， was recognized as more exquisite than in other places， helping him get a promotion.

Chaozhou， with a developed temple culture， was located in Guangdong and was a major county in Lingnan. Guochan Temple of Chaozhou Kaiyuan Town， a famous temple at that time， was said to have treasured embroidered mantles， banners， and other embroidered items from the Tang Dynasty until the Qing Dynasty.

In 1987， five pieces of vivid red Luo Di knitted gold embroidery pieces were unearthed from the underground palace of Famen Temple in Fufeng， Shaanxi Province， including a surplice， worship mat，" an ancient garment connected with upper and lower garments， half-sleeve dress， and tablecloth， which are miniature clothes specially made for Bodhisattva. These embroideries were made with complicated gold threads. The middle of each thread is a silk thread， wrapped around the outside with 3，000 turns of gold foil per meter of silk. The gold threads are finer than hair. The embroidery stitching was delicate and exquisite， and the production techniques were the same as those used in Chao Embroidery， where many gold and silver threads were used. In the embroidered clothes， robes and bags of the Chinese Tang Dynasty in the collections of the British Museum and the Shosoin of Japan， patterns of mandarin ducks and birds embroidered with gold and silver threads are found， and the images are more vivid， sophisticated， elegant， and eye-catching.

These techniques of Gold Threading Embroidery and Gold Coiling Embroidery， which were very popular in the Tang Dynasty， have long been a rarity in most parts of the country but have been preserved intact in Chaozhou. The techniques of Gold Pinning Embroidery， which uses a lot of gold and silver threads， have been widely used and popular among the people of Chaozhou for thousands of years. The modern Chao Embroidery has become one of the most representative embroideries， adhering to the embroidery legacy of the Tang Dynasty.