Shu Brocade and Embroidery Museum: Brocade and Embroidery in Chengdu
Chengdu is one of the birthplaces of Chinese silk, and Shu brocade and Shu embroidery are representative of Sichuan silk culture. The Shu Brocade and Embroidery Museum was founded by a Shu brocade brand manufacturer called Shujiang Jinyuan, with the aim of sharing Chengdu's Shu brocade culture with visitors and promoting its own products.
The center of the exhibition hall is a hollow hall with a large loom, called a Xiaohualou wooden loom, made during the Daoguang period of the Qing dynasty. It is 6 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 5 meters high, with two levels, and requires two brocade teachers to operate it together. This is the only Xiaohualou wooden loom still in use in the world and is considered the museum's treasure.
Since ancient times, the land of Shu has been famous for its silk weaving. The bronze standing figure unearthed from the Sanxingdui site is wearing a dragon-patterned ceremonial robe, which is believed to have been embroidered using the silk ground braid lock stitch and applique embroidery methods, indicating that Shu had mature silk embroidery 3,000 years ago. The character "Shu" in the name of the Shu Kingdom is a pictogram of a silkworm making a cocoon, and the kingdom is known as the "Ancient Kingdom of Silkworms."
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Shu brocade gradually became an important trade item, leading to the opening of the "Shu Body Poison Road," also known as the famous Southern Silk Road. In the Han dynasty, the Shu Han established the Brocade Office, and Chengdu was thus named the Brocade City, the river where brocade was washed was called the Jinjiang River, and the gathering place of brocade weavers was called Jinli.
The Tang dynasty was the peak period of Shu brocade, representing the highest level of ancient Chinese brocade weaving. Shu brocade, together with Dingzhou's kesi and Su embroidery, was known as one of the three major craft masterpieces in China. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, famous Shu brocade products such as Fangfang, Yusi, and Yuehua had reached a high level of craftsmanship, known in brocade history as the "Three Wonders of the Ming and Qing Dynasties."
Shu embroidery also has a long history and is one of China's four famous embroideries. As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Shu embroidery developed on the basis of the local silk weaving industry. Based on the restored Sanxingdui bronze standing figure's embroidered dragon-patterned ceremonial robe, it is estimated that Shu embroidery has a history of over 2,700 years. In the Jin dynasty, Shu brocade and Shu embroidery were known as the treasures of Shu, and by the Tang and Song dynasties, embroidery techniques had reached a high level. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, embroidery further developed, and in the Qing dynasty, it flourished, with embroidery products becoming commercialized and becoming one of China's four famous embroideries.