Embroidery, a folk art with a long tradition, has an important position in the history of Chinese arts and crafts. During the course of its long development, embroidery has become inseparable from the raising of silkworms, silk reeling and weaving.
China was the first country in the world where silk was woven. Silkworms were domesticated as early as some 5,000 years ago. The production of silk threads and fabrics gave rise to the art of embroidery. In 1958, a piece of silk embroidered with a dragon and phoenix was discovered in a state of Chu tomb of the Warring Sates Period (475-221 B.C.). More than 2,000 years old, it is the earliest piece of Chinese embroidery ever unearthed. Embroidery became widespread during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.) and many embroidered pieces discovered date back to that period.
Today, silk embroidery is practiced nearly all over China. The Four Famous Embroideries of China refer to the Xiang embroidery in central China's Hunan Province, Shu embroidery in western China's Sichuan Province, Yue embroidery in southern China's Guangdong Province and Su embroidery in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.
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