Grand Canal on a Suzhou Embroidery Artwork

蘇繡作品上的大運河

As one of the national intangible cultural heritages， Suzhou Embroidery boasts a history of more than 2，000 years， and is known for its elegant pattern， artistic design， fine handwork and varied stitches.

A team led by Yao Huifen， a master of Suzhou Embroidery， completed a 4-meter-long work showcasing the rich cultural heritage along the Grand Canal within two months.

The artwork was commissioned by the China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall， which is located in Cangzhou City of Hebei Province. The facility showcases time-honored crafts collected from the eight regions along the ancient waterway system， namely Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shandong， Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Henan and Anhui.

To reflect the canal’s splendid culture and history through Suzhou Embroidery， Yao and her team worked closely from design to stitching to ensure the best quality.

It’s quite challenging to ensure consistency in style and quality for such a large creation， since each embroiderer has her own methods and habits. But Yao， as the team leader， never compromised in ensuring the beauty and artistry—iconic features of Suzhou Embroidery—even if it meant making difficult adjustments.

蘇繡是國家級非物質文化遺產之一，擁有2000多年的歷史，以其精美的圖案、藝術的設計、精細的手工和多樣的針法而聞名。

由蘇繡大師姚惠芬帶領的團隊在兩個月內完成了一件4米長的作品，展示了大運河沿岸豐富的文化遺產。

這幅作品是由位于河北省滄州市的中國大運河非物質文化遺產展覽館委托制作的。作品展示了來自北京、天津、河北、山東、江蘇、浙江、河南和安徽八個古水道系統地區的歷史悠久的工藝品。

為了通過蘇繡體現運河的燦爛文化和歷史，姚和她的團隊從設計到縫合都密切合作，以確保最好的品質。

對于如此宏大的作品，要確保風格和質量的一致性是相當具有挑戰性的，因為每個刺繡師都有自己的刺繡方法和習慣。但作為領隊，姚在保證蘇繡的標志性特征——美觀和藝術性方面，即使要做出艱難的調整，也從不妥協。

The 2-month creation resembles an exquisite classical Chinese brush painting， bringing to life the captivating scenery of the canal， such as water ripples， lush greenery， sailing boats and buildings on the banks.

The final work creatively displays 41 items recognized as national intangible cultural heritages， including Beijing’s gold lacquer inlay art， kite-making， Peking Opera， crosstalk， Henan Opera， Taishan shadow puppetry and salt drying techniques.

Yao said that the most challenging part of the work was creating characters. “We employed more than ten kinds of stitches to create complex details of people， as well as the houses， bridges， boats and trees. As a result， the folk customs， iconic buildings and prosperous scenes along the Grand Canal can all be found in this artwork.”

As a native of Suzhou， Yao has a deep connection to the Grand Canal. “It’s an honor to present the charm of the waterway and protect the cultural heritage with Suzhou Embroidery，” Yao said.

這幅歷時兩個月而成的作品就像一幅精美的中國古典水墨畫，將大運河的迷人景色栩栩如生地展現出來，比如水波蕩漾、綠樹蔥蔥、帆船和河岸上的建筑。

最終的作品創造性地展示了41項被認定為國家級非物質文化遺產的項目，包括北京的金漆鑲嵌藝術、風箏制作、京劇、相聲、豫劇、泰山皮影戲和鹽烘干技術。

姚說，這項工作中最具挑戰性的部分是塑造角色。“我們使用了十多種針法來制作復雜的人物細節，以及房屋、橋梁、船只和樹木。因此，大運河沿岸的民俗、標志性建筑和繁榮景象都可以在這件藝術品中找到。”

作為蘇州人，姚與大運河有著深厚的淵源。姚說：“我很榮幸能夠用蘇繡來展示水路的魅力，保護文化遺產。”

Word Bank

intangible /?n't?nd??bl/ adj. 無形的（指沒有實體存在的資本性資產）

commission /k?'m??n/ v. 正式委托（譜寫或制作、創作、完成）

compromise /'k?mpr?ma?z/ v. 妥協，折中，讓步

captivating /'k?pt?ve?t??/ adj. 迷人的；有魅力的；有吸引力的