Shaci Random Stitch Embroidery: Portraying Camellias by Needles and Threads沙磁亂針繡 指尖上的山茶花

劉丁睿

By using needles as the pens， threads as the pigments and silks as the papers， pieces of artistic embroidery come into being.

In the store called Qiaoyu Sichuan Embroidery sitting at the back street of Ciqikou ancient town， Yan Yongxia， a master of arts and crafts in Chongqing and the third-generation successor of Shaci random stitch embroidery， is running needles and threads. On the embroidery rack， chubby tigers are embroidered on silk cloths. Surrounding Yan Yongxia are large embroidery works such as Farmhouse Nestling in Golden Fields and Silvery Pear Blossoms， Green Landscape， Persimmon in the Snow， as well as creative cultural products like Bluetooth desk lamps， tissue boxes and lucky bags with the embroidery of camellias， stilted houses and kittens. The embroideries are so vivid that they bring surprises to all visitors.

“Different from Sichuan， Suzhou， Hunan or Guangdong embroidery， the random stitch embroidery does not belong to the four famous embroidery genres but establishes its own features instead. ”Yan Yongxia was telling reporters her experiences of embroidery while perform proficient needle work.

Life of Embroidery

Founded in the 1920s， random stitch embroidery was invented by Mr. Lv Fengzi， a famous educator and President of Danyang Zhengze Vocational School， and Yang Shouyu， a craftswoman of modern embroidery. During the War of Resistance Against Japan Aggression， Yang Shouyu moved to Chongqing where the vocational school was relocated. She taught random stitch embroidery which then prospered in Chongqing. The school was later renamed as Zhengze Shu School and upgraded to Zhengze College of Arts in 1941.

Yan Yongxia grew up in a family where her grandmother and her mother embroider household goods for daily use such as baby shoes with tiger patterns， and embroideries of Chinese characters symbolizing fortune， happiness， longevity， prosperity and abundance. The diversified? embroideries present people’s aspiration for a better life. She fell in love with embroidery and apprenticed with masters nationwide and improved her embroidery skills and theoretical knowledge by learning Suzhou embroidery techniques and random stitch embroidery techniques.

Opportunities favor those who are well-prepared. With an unexpected chance， Yan Yongxia had the honor to be the last apprentice of Yang Shihua， a master of Chongqing Municipal Arts and Crafts， whose teacher was Yang Shouyu from Chongqing Zhengze College of Arts.

Embroidery Gifts

Doing embroidery works range from Chongqing People’s Auditorium to Liziba light Rail Crossing the Building， Yan Yongxia often ponders how to integrate the embroidery culture with the modern aesthetics. Yan said that “the value of embroideries is to pass down the embroidery culture， and I also wish to promote the culture of mountain city by using embroidery as a carrier.” That is why she came up with the idea of making camellia embroidery souvenirs.

Yan said that“as the city flower of Chongqing， camellia symbolizes passionate， courageous and kind-hearted Chongqing people. It also embodies the spirit of bravery， straightforwardness， and diligence of people in Chongqing.” Affections and thoughts are fully expressed through the embroideries. From drafting， drawing to embroidery， vivid and bright camellia flowers finally bloom at Yan’s fingertips.

Camellia embroidery was selected as Gifts for Foreign Affairs Events in Chongqing in 2021.

What makes Yan Yongxia even more proud of is that her embroidery work， a red camellia with a blue flax （National flower of Belarus ） was selected as the gift for the opening of Belarus Consulate-General in Chongqing， witnessing the friendly relations between Chongqing and Belarus developing into a new height.

Embroidery Innovation

During the interview， Yan Yongxia showed reporters silk embroidery threads of various colors and embroidery needles of different sizes. “Random needle embroidery is an innovative embroidery art that integrates theories of painting and embroidery. Random refers to an innovative， free-style but well-regulated embroidery technique instead of disorder. This technique brings out the vigor， vitality and vividness of embroidery.”

Similar to the texture of oil painting， random stitch embroidery boasts well-organized patterns and rich colors. This feature offered Yan new idea of creating embroideries of famous paintings. “I embroidered the Painting of Ba People Drawing Water by art master Xu Beihong. Additionally， the Towel Gourd by Dong Zexiong， a Chongqing local painter， has been embroidered and named as the Summer Charm series. The embroideries based on the Canola and Pear Flowers by oil painter Peng Xianghua were named as the Idyllic Dream series. It is challenging yet interesting to engage in embroidery with these famous paintings.” Yan Yongxia said that some embroideries took three years to complete， and some were even re-embroidered as they fail to reproduce the texture of the original painting. Finally， she presented traditional Chinese paintings， oil paintings and customized drawings through embroidery with overlapping and multi-layer threads in different directions.

Farmhouse Nestling in Golden Fields and Silvery Pear Blossoms was listed in the Special Recommended Exhibition of Century Old Traditional Crafts in Shanghai in 2021 and the third China Outstanding Crafts Exhibition held in China Arts and Crafts Museum in February 2022.

Recently， Yan Yongxia also figured out a new embroidery technique which she named “Maomao embroidery”， that is embroidering soft snow on red persimmons， making people cannot help touching it. Auspicious snow promises a good year， and a success of all endeavors. The Persimmon in the Snow combines traditional implications with modern perspectives， carries traditional skills of innovative embroidery， adding new elements and bringing surprise to life.

Inheritance of the Embroidery

Fast-running needles create inspiring scenery. In 2019， Shaci random Stitch embroidery was selected as a intangible cultural heritage of Chongqing.

“Yan， you must pass down the random Stitch embroidery.” This is what the teacher Yang Shihua told Yan Yongxia at her last moments. Bearing those words in mind， Yan believed that her first objective was to teach apprentices to pass down the random stitch embroidery.

Ciqikou Ancient Town was the first place where Yan starts her class to teach this art. Yan said that “my students are retired workers， white-collar workers， government officers and college students， tourists and international students from Japan， Turkey， Thailand and other countries.”

Additionally， Yan Yongxia also brought her class to schools and campus. Since 2014， Yan Yongxia has been a teacher in Binjiang primary school in Shapingba District， Wenfeng primary school in Bishan district and the Fashion Institute of Chongqing Normal University. Yan said that “l(fā)et intangible cultural heritage techniques enter the campus， and my greatest hope is to attract more people to participate， understand， and fall in love with embroidery， especially random stitch embroidery.”

Moreover， her son Luo Zelin， who has been be influenced by Yan Yongxia since childhood， is studying visual communication in Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute， and has put forward his own perspectives on random needle stitch embroidery. By combining the techniques of random needlework and his own understanding， he is creating a series of Chongqing Old City Gates in black， white and gray tones.

With great satisfaction， Yan Yongxia said that “as the spark of the collision of traditional skills and modern perspectives， random needle embroidery is bound to go farther with its unique charisma” .

一針一線，一刀一剪，以針作筆、以線作色、絲綢當紙，繡出針尖上的風景。

在磁器口后街“巧渝蜀繡”店內，重慶市工藝美術大師、沙磁亂針繡第三代傳承人閆永霞正在繡架上飛針走線，半透的絹布上幾只金色的小老虎乖萌可愛。店內擺有《金銀滿農家》《青綠山水》《雪柿》等大幅裝飾觀賞繡品，也有《山茶花》《吊腳樓》《小貓》等藍牙臺燈、紙巾盒、福袋這樣小巧的文創(chuàng)產品，栩栩如生的繡圖無不讓人眼前一亮。

“這既不是蜀繡，也不是蘇繡、湘繡、粵繡，而是獨立于四大名繡之外的亂針繡?！遍Z永霞向記者講述了她的刺繡人生。

“繡”人生

亂針繡創(chuàng)始于20世紀20年代，源于著名教育家、丹陽正則職校校長呂鳳子先生和現(xiàn)代女刺繡工藝家楊守玉共同發(fā)明的繡種?？箲?zhàn)時期，楊守玉跟隨執(zhí)教的“正則職?！边w至重慶，亂針繡技藝便在巴渝地區(qū)生根發(fā)芽。該校后更名為“正則蜀?！?，并于1941年升級為“正則藝?！?。

閆永霞從小看著奶奶、母親繡傳統(tǒng)家居生活用品，福祿壽喜、花開富貴、年年有余和嬰兒穿的老虎鞋，這些彩色繡品無不是對美好生活的憧憬。愛上刺繡的她四處拜師學藝，還通過鉆研《蘇繡技法》和《亂針繡技法》，提升刺繡技藝水平和理論知識。

機遇是給有準備的人。一次偶然的機會，閆永霞有幸成為重慶市市級工藝美術大師楊世華的關門弟子，而楊世華的老師便是重慶正則藝專的楊守玉先生。

“繡”禮品

雙面繡《重慶市人民大禮堂》、亂針繡《李子壩列車穿樓》……閆永霞時常思考如何讓刺繡文化與現(xiàn)代接軌，“繡品的價值是傳承和弘揚刺繡文化，我也想通過這種方式承載和傳播山城文化?！庇谑?，閆永霞便產生了做山茶花系列繡品伴手禮的想法。

“山茶花是重慶的市花，寓意重慶人熱情奔放而又俠骨柔腸，代表了重慶人勇敢、豪爽、拼搏的精神?！奔那橛卺樉€，以繡品表意。閆永霞從構思、畫圖到刺繡，一朵朵花形靈動、色澤明艷的山茶花在她的指尖不斷綻放。

“山茶花刺繡”入選2021“重慶好禮·外事禮品”。

更讓閆永霞自豪的是，2021年，她繡的一幅紅色山茶花與藍色亞麻花（白俄羅斯國花），被選為白俄羅斯駐重慶總領事館開館禮品，見證了重慶與白俄羅斯友好關系更上一層樓。

“繡”創(chuàng)新

交談間，閆永霞向記者展示了不同色彩的蠶絲繡線，大小不一的繡針?！皝y針繡是把畫理與繡理相結合的一種創(chuàng)新刺繡藝術。其‘亂’，不是雜亂、混亂，而是有情理、有規(guī)則的融合，從而迸發(fā)出活力，彰顯立體感?！?/p>

亂針繡繡品層次分明、色彩豐富，頗有油畫質感。根據(jù)這個特性，閆永霞有了名畫創(chuàng)繡的思路，“原尺寸繡過美術大師徐悲鴻的國畫《巴人汲水圖》，重慶本土工筆畫家董澤雄的‘絲瓜’繡成《夏韻》系列、油畫家彭享華的‘油菜花和梨花’繡成《田園入夢》系列……與這些名畫‘聯(lián)名’改繡很有意思，也極具挑戰(zhàn)?！遍Z永霞說，有些繡了3年才完成，有些繡不出原畫的質感，剪掉后重繡。最終，通過交叉重疊多層的大亂針、小亂針等技法，閆永霞將國畫、油畫，甚至個人定制圖，都活靈活現(xiàn)地呈現(xiàn)在一張張繡面上。

最近，閆永霞還摸索出了一種新的繡法，她取名為“毛毛繡”—白色絲線繡出的綿軟白雪壓在一個個紅紅的柿子上，讓人不忍觸摸?！叭鹧┱棕S年，萬事皆如意”，一幅《雪柿》將傳統(tǒng)寓意與現(xiàn)代視角、傳承技藝與創(chuàng)新繡法完美結合，為生活增添新意，也帶來了驚喜。

“繡”傳承

繡針飛梭，風景常在。2019年，沙磁亂針繡列入重慶市級非物質文化遺產名錄。

“小閆，你一定要將亂針繡發(fā)展傳承下去！”這是老師楊世華去世前特地囑咐閆永霞的話。她把這句話記在心頭，首先想到的就是招收徒弟，培養(yǎng)亂針繡傳承人。

閆永霞選定在磁器口古鎮(zhèn)開課，教授前來拜師學藝的學員?！拔业膶W員中既有退休職工、公司白領，也有公務員、大學生，還有日本、土耳其、泰國等國家的游客、留學生?！?/p>

此外，閆永霞還將課堂開進了校園。2014年至今，她先后在沙坪壩區(qū)濱江小學、璧山區(qū)文風小學、重慶師范大學服裝學院授課?！白尫沁z技藝走進校園，我最大的希望就是讓更多人接觸、了解甚至喜歡上刺繡，喜歡上亂針繡?！?/p>

不僅如此，從小在閆永霞身邊耳濡目染，現(xiàn)在蘇州工藝美院視覺傳達專業(yè)學習的兒子羅澤霖，已對母親的亂針繡技藝提出了自己的見解。同時，他結合亂針繡技藝，正在創(chuàng)作黑白灰色調的“重慶老城門”系列。

“這就是傳統(tǒng)技藝與現(xiàn)代思維碰撞出的火花，亂針繡會繡得更美，走得更遠。”閆永霞很是欣慰。

“As the city flower of Chongqing， camellia symbolizes passionate， courageous and kind-hearted Chongqing people. It also embodies the spirit of bravery， straightforwardness， and diligence of people in Chongqing.”

“山茶花是重慶的市花，寓意重慶人熱情奔放而又俠骨柔腸，代表了重慶人勇敢、豪爽、拼搏的精神?！?/p>

Farmhouse Nestling in Golden Fields and Silvery Pear Blossoms was listed in the Special Recommended Exhibition of Century Old Traditional Crafts in Shanghai in 2021 and the third China Outstanding Crafts Exhibition held in China Arts and Crafts Museum in February 2022.

《金銀滿農家》入選2021年上海百年傳統(tǒng)工藝特別推薦展覽，入選2022年2月在中國工藝美術館舉辦的第三屆中國好手藝展覽。

Fast-running needles create inspiring scenery. In 2019， Shaci random Stitch embroidery was selected as a intangible cultural heritage of Chongqing.

繡針飛梭，風景常在。2019年，沙磁亂針繡列入重慶市級非物質文化遺產名錄。