Source: CCTV.com

04-20-2008 10:18

Chinese medicine is one tradition that endures, but some of China's other old traditions are in need of some help. Xiang embroidery is celebrated for its time-honored history and its excellent craftsmanship. Pieces of elegant embroidery unearthed from the NO.1 Tomb of Mawangdui, in Changsha, attest to the two thousand year tradition of Xiang embroidery. But there's a lack of talented craftsmen needed to meet market demands. So in Hunan, the focal point of Xiang embroidery, a college major has been established to secure the craft's future development.

Chinese medicine is one tradition that endures, but some  of China's other old traditions are in need of some help.

"Xiang Embroidery", centred in Hunan, is one of the four embroideries of China. The other three are Su, Shu and Yue. Hunan Arts and Crafts Vocational College is the country's first institute to create an academic major for the delicate craft of Xiang embroidery.

The institute will cooperate with Hunan Embroidery City. It'll train over a hundred students to qualify for a junior college diploma over the next two to three years.

This moves away from traditional workshop training. Students will learn the skills as well as the overall cultural background of the craft. The curriculum covers poetry, prose readings and all categories of fine arts.

With pure silk, hard satin, soft satin and nylon as its materials, Xiang Embroidery is characterized by tidy pictures and rich colors. The craft boasts seventy embroidering styles and over seven hundred hues of threads.