The Beautiful Spread of Ningbo Gold & Silver Embroidery | 中国非物质文化遗产——宁波金银彩绣
Written by (作者): Jojo Chen 陈姣姣
Photos by (图片来源): Ningbo Gold and Silver Multicolor Embroidery Museum 宁波金银彩绣艺术馆
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ningbo has been known as a fertile land of fish, rice, silk, and mulberries. Thanks to the last two, Ningbo was also an early home for gold and silver embroidery, with many a wealthy family taking part in the art or purchasing it. The embroidery method in Ningbo consists of wood carvings that are copied and woven into colored velvet with gold and silver thread. The patterns used are mainly auspicious, like dragons, phoenixes and ruyi. It is not realistic in nature, but goes for more of a grand effect and was prized by the royalty during the time.
Long after the opening of China, gold and silver embroidery was regarded as a project that needed to be salvaged and redeveloped. Today, the Ningbo Embroidery Factory is one of the largest exporters of the art in Zhejiang Province, but after China’s opening up, the factory was merged with a larger company and machine embroidery was substituted for work by hand, which led to a severe loss of quality.
The art is making a comeback though, and has been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. To learn more about this amazing art, we met with Qunzhu Qiu, the inheritor and curator of the Ningbo Gold and Silver Multicolor Embroidery Art Museum in Yinzhou.
The three-story museum contains exhibits of religious embroidery, home decorations, and a crafts hall where visitors can view the process of making embroider y first hand and even learn to do it. It total, there are over 300 embroideries from the Ming and Qing dynasties, all of them handmade. The embroideries can be purchased, but naturally they are not cheap. It was explained to us that the majority of the products are specifically designed for those who are fond of embroidery, and as time goes by, their value only gets higher.
The craft hall on the first floor is actually a capacious embroidery room. Sitting near the embroidery frame are several artists immersed in needlework. Visitors can watch the whole process and ask questions and even try it out for free. We were told by a smiling staff member that the works in the museum were not made or touched up here, but instead were made in the nearby village, with over 100 skilled embroiderers taking part at a time. The hall is a means for the museum to spread the art, as many young students come there to learn the skills needed to pick it up.
Among the exhibits, our favorite was “A Beautiful Landscape of Ningbo” which hangs in the crafts hall. At more than three meters long, this beautiful red silk landscape depicts people celebrating the Lantern Festival in ancient times, and includes landmarks well-known to locals, including Chenghuang Miao, T ianfeng Pagoda, Gangyagou, Zhuangyuanlou, and Shengyangtai. The artwork was a collaboration between five embroiderers that took two years to complete and won the Sange Award at the 10th Chinese Folk Art Festival.
Qiu told us the building had been designed as an office and was converted for the museum. Due to limited space, many of the works cannot be displayed. There are also issues with parking and visitor flow, as buses carrying tour groups can only stay at the entrance of Yinzhou Park and not next to the museum. A new museum will be built in Tiangong Zhuangyuan, with construction to begin before the end of 2016. Because the area is one of the busiest tourist attractions in Zhejiang, the new museum will do well in the park. To boost visitors, Qiu plans on having demonstrations of painting, calligraphy, and embroidery.
In recent years, gold and silver embroidery has not only gained attention and support from the government , but around the world as well . Last November, embroidery was included as part of the “Following Ningbo Masters ” Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience hosted by the Ningbo Information Bureau, with over 30 expats from various countries taking part in a special embroidery exhibition and class at 117 Art Center. In December embroidery got another special treat when it was presented during Nobel Week in Stockholm, Sweden in conjunction with the award being presented to Youyou Tu. One piece was presented as a gift to Tu, while the other was given to the panel of Nobel Prize judges.
Qiu notes that foreigners are very interested in traditional handicrafts, and it is because of this interest that various pieces of gold and silver embroidery were recently presented to individuals and groups in Egypt, Korea, Hong Kong and other countries. It seems that foreigners are looking once again to China to trade for their beautiful handcrafted products. Embroidery may someday become more popular than Chinese porcelain.
Gold and silver embroider y is not only beautiful, but versatile as well. It can be added used in making clothes, shoes, scarves, and even accessories like earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. The Ningbo Gold and Silver Embroidery Art Museum has helped this traditional Ningbo art to thrive and flourish, and will continue to do so for years to come.
地处浙江东部沿海的宁波，唐宋以来即以“鱼米之乡”闻名，由于蚕桑业的兴盛，刺绣业得到了很大的发展，从那时起就有了“家家织席、户户刺绣”的传统。而与朱金漆木雕、泥金彩漆和骨木镶嵌合称为宁波“三金一嵌”的金银彩绣，最早也可追溯到唐宋时期。它是将金线、银线与彩色丝绒合在一起，进行刺绣的民间美术工艺，题材上主要以民间喜闻乐见的龙、凤、如意等吉祥图案为主，绣法上追求的不是画面的写实，而是比普通彩线绣更加富丽堂皇的效果，在中国古代是专属皇室宫廷的手工艺。
新中国成立后，金银彩绣一直作为绣品行业抢救、继承和发展的项目，直到改革开放初期，发展形势还是一片良好，当时的宁波绣品厂是浙江省出口量最大的企业之一，在全国都小有名气。九十年代以后，绣品厂在企业改制中被合并，手工绣也逐渐被机绣所替代，造成了金银彩绣在这个时期的断层。
现在，宁波金银彩绣已被列入第三批国家级非物质文化遗产保护名录。我们特意来到位于鄞州创新128园区的“锦绣一生”宁波金银彩绣艺术馆，向传承人和馆长裘群珠女士了解金银彩绣的发展现状。
三层楼的艺术馆内设有宗教绣品展厅、创意家居饰品展厅和工艺收藏品展厅，共收集了300余件自明清以来的优秀金银彩绣绣品，其中也有部分可供出售的商品，工艺精美、栩栩如生，让人惊叹不已。这些作品全都是刺绣师傅一针一线纯手工制作，每一幅画都有自己的灵气，价格自然也不便宜。据介绍，目前出售的大多数产品都是喜爱刺绣的人特别定制的，随着时间的推移，收藏价值也会越来越高。
而一楼的工艺流程展厅其实是一间宽敞的绣房，三五绣娘坐在几排长长的绣架旁飞针走线，参观者可以观看整个刺绣过程，当场请教问题，甚至可以免费学习技艺。“就是这些刺绣师傅完成了建馆以来的所有作品吗？”我觉得很不可思议。“当然不是，附近的村子里还有很多师傅在从事着这个行业，忙的时候甚至达到100多人，他们基本上都是做了几十年刺绣的老人，技艺非常娴熟。”工作人员笑着解释道。她又向我们介绍说，上门来学习这门技艺的人也不少呢，而且其中大多数是年轻学生，可见金银彩绣已经被越来越多的人所熟知和喜爱。看来我们不必担心这门古老的技艺会失传了。
所有展品中，我最喜欢的是工艺流程展厅墙上悬挂着的一幅镇馆之宝——《甬城风情图》，三米多长的大红缎子上绣着明清时期明州城内百姓欢庆元宵节的宏大场面，城隍庙、天封塔、缸鸭狗、状元楼、升阳泰等老宁波地标全都囊括其中，对本地人来说非常亲切。这是五位刺绣师傅花了两年时间合力完成的作品，共运用了20余种技法、数百种金银线和彩色丝线，体现了金银彩绣的全部工艺，曾荣获第十届中国民间文艺山花奖。
裘总告诉我们，这栋楼原本是办公楼设计而不是博物馆设计，由于面积有限，很多精品还没有展示出来。而近年来，停车难的问题也逐渐凸显，大巴车经常只能停在园区门口，参观者再步行进来，时有不便。新的艺术馆已经选址在天宫庄园，争取年内动工，最快两三年时间可以建成。作为国家AAAA级景区，天宫庄园的客流量本来就较大，新馆建成后，游人就又多了一个休闲新选择。对于新的艺术馆，裘总已经作了很好的构想，目前宁波博物馆不少，但基本上都是静态的，她想把新的金银彩绣艺术馆打造成动态的，除了绣品的展示之外，还有走书、绘画、书法等表演，一家人来了以后，孩子能从中找到乐趣，丈夫和妻子也有各自感兴趣的项目，可以静下来心呆一整天，真正达到修身养性的效果。
近年来，金银彩绣不仅受到当地政府的重视和支持，也在逐渐走向世界。去年11月，作为市委外宣办和市文广新闻出版局联合主办的“跟着师傅学技艺——国际友人体验宁波非遗”系列活动中的一部分，30多位来自德国、英国、澳大利亚、印度、乌克兰等国家的在甬外籍人士饶有兴趣地观赏和学习了金银彩绣技艺，我们杂志也曾作过报道。去年12月，随着宁波籍科学家屠呦呦荣获诺贝尔生理学或医学奖，金银彩绣更是首次代表宁波元素亮相了诺贝尔周。除了当场演绎金银彩绣的传统技艺，裘群珠女士还在活动现场展示了两幅金银彩绣作品，一幅是赠送给屠教授的彩绣“福”字，一幅是赠送给诺贝尔奖评委会的彩绣书本图案，这幅作品以屠呦呦教授著的《青蒿抗疟研究》书籍为中心，上面绣有“青蒿素”和分子结构图，下面绣有“中国屠呦呦”五字。
裘总说，外国人对这种传统手工艺非常感兴趣，今年三四月，金银彩绣也要代表本地文化去埃及、韩国、香港等地进行交流和展览。现在，中国人趋之若鹜地去国外购买奢侈品，没准以后，随着中国越来越强大，要换成外国人来中国抢购这种传统手工艺奢侈品了呢。
金银彩绣是宁波“三金一嵌”中最生活化的产品，能够点缀到衣服、鞋子、围巾和包上，结合进耳环、项链、手环等饰品中，融入人们的日常。宁波金银彩绣艺术馆的建立，已经让这种传统手工艺得到了很好的传承和发扬。相信通过我们的共同努力，甬城的传统文化将在历史的长河中焕发出新的光彩，走向更为宽广的世界。