The Ruined City of Jiaohe

I can often find great beauty and inspiration in old, abandoned objects. This blog is about an entire abandoned city, which strikes me as being both very beautiful and rather eerie. The photographs were taken by my husband Alex and daughter Isla during their trip along the silk road in 2010. Alex has provided the information on the city’s history.

Jiaohe ruins

Our daughter Isla feeling the 38C heat

The city of Jiaohe was built on an islet in a river, with the high cliffs around its plateau forming a natural fortress. No one knows when it was first settled but it first became the capital city for the Turpan region in around 180 BC and remained an important centre on the silk road until it was abandoned after being sacked by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. At its peak the city is thought to have housed around 7,000 people during the Tang dynasty.

Buildings were a mix of carved loess soil and mud brick

The city is protected by steep cliffs all around

The Turpan area is a bleak desert that bursts into life where there is water

Jaiohe city walls

Centuries of weathering carves mud bricks into fantastic shapes

A buddhist temple can still be recognized

In the early twentieth century, the archaeologist Aurel Stein complained that local people were carrying away material from the site to make new buildings but today the ruins are protected by the Chinese government. New paths have been laid for tourist access and a lot of conservation work, plus some restoration has taken place.

‘Empress Dowager’ Textile Sculpture

In my last post, I gave a sneak preview of a piece I made for an exhibition at the Bristol Guild Gallery. The exhibition was put together by the South West Textile Group, and was entitled, ‘Suspension.’ 

I was interested in the challenge of creating a three dimensional form, and the end result was ‘Empress Dowager’ – a 3D hanging textile sculpture. I used many of my original textile techniques to create it, but had the added challenge of making sure that the sculpture was interesting from every angle.

‘Empress Dowager.’ Detail.

The design was originally inspired by Buddhist parasols and by the ceremonial parasols that I saw in The Forbidden City, Beijing, many of which were embroidered with colourful, racing dragons. The parasols are traditionally a symbol of luck, royalty and protection, whilst dragons symbolise royalty and Imperial power.

Buddhist parasol

A ceremonial parasol in the Forbidden City

Although the Bristol exhibition is now closed, the South West Textile Group will be showing the ‘Suspension’ exhibition at The Town Mill Gallery, in Lyme Regis, from the 3rd – 30th October 2013.

You can find more of my large-scale textile work here:
Textile Sculpture: 4D Sphere
Textile Relief: Dragon

‘Empress Dowager’

Megadunes of Dunhuang

My husband Alex and daughter Isla visited the city of Dunhuang, in China, a couple of years ago and brought back some great photographs. This post is mainly Alex’ thoughts on one aspect of that visit.

Apart from the world-famous Buddhist cave art at Mogao, tourists visit Dunhuang to see the fantastic landscape, particularly the great “megadunes” situated at Mingsha Shan just outside the city. Mingsha Shan means Singing-sand Mountain (or Echoing-sand Mountain) and is probably a reference to the whispering sound of the wind blowing the sand over the dunes.

Situated at the south-west corner of the Gobi desert in Gansu Province, Dunhuang was an oasis at an important point on the ancient Silk Road, just before the route split in two to pass north or south of the Taklimakan desert. Today Dunhuang is visited by tens of thousands of (mainly Chinese) tourists each year.

Giant Megadunes at Mingsha Shan, outside Dunhuang, China

Megadunes are found in a number of places around the world but those at Dunhuang are among the most accessible. These huge mounds (near Dunhuang they are said to rise to around 1500 metres), are made where there is very fine sand in combination with predictable winds from a number of different directions. It seems unimaginable that such a fine, free-flowing material could naturally pile up so high but the dunes are very persistent, only creeping slowly one way or another with fluctuations in wind patterns.

The fine sand of the megadunes is sculpted daily by the winds

Climbing the big dunes is very hard work because legs sink deep into the fine sand at every step and every climber quickly learns to follow the ridge-lines as they offer the best footing and gentlest slopes. Each step in the fine material sets off an avalanche, or perhaps something more like a waterfall of flowing sand that often continues for several seconds until each grain finds a new stable position.

Each step sets off cascades of almost liquid sand

A key attraction at Mingsha Shan is the Crescent Moon Lake and its accompanying Leiyin Temple. Despite being surrounded by towering dunes, the spring-fed lake has remained uncovered for at least two thousand years. The temple was once one of around forty Buddhist structures around the lake but these did not survive the Cultural Revolution. The current temple was rebuilt in the 1990s. Sadly, the spring that has fed the little lake for thousands of years has been threatened by ground-water extraction for the modern city and the level has fallen drastically in recent years, so much so that the government has now stepped in to replenish the lake’s water level.

Crescent Moon Lake surrounded on all sides by massive dunes, with Dunhuang in the background

The depth of Crescent Moon Lake has shrunk by several metres in recent decades

Although the lake may be threatened, the great dunes at least seem immune to man’s actions. However many tourists trample over these structures, sending sand tumbling downwards, the wind just away works quietly at its job of piling it all back up again.

Constantly rebuilt – megadune at Dunhuang

The great dunes are only about six km from the centre of Dunhuang

Fantastic Fungi

As a child I was always fascinated by mysterious old Chinese medicine shops with all their weird and wonderful bits of dried and shrivelled Nature. Most interesting of all were the different dried mushrooms that, depending on type, could be used for correcting health problems, or added to an unusual and healthy-giving dish in the kitchen. I still love the look of fungi today in both their living and dried forms. (Or more accurately, as my husband tells me, the fruiting bodies of fungi.)

Lingzhi – The mushroom of immortality!

The last time I visited Hong Kong I photographed some fungi in a health shop which stirred up even more childhood associations. These were the mushroom known as “Lingzhi” which featured in many of the books I read in my youth. This rare fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) has been used in Chinese medicine for 2,000 years and many accounts attributed it with life extending powers. In more recent times it has found a regular place in literature as a fabled elixir of life, and featured in many of the Martial Arts novels I read in my teens. Seeing them lying in a shop, piled in an old cardboard box, rather spoiled the myth!

Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum)

Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) Legend of my youth

Another type of dried fungus

I also love fungi growing in nature, where they can suddenly appear like exotic aliens overnight. I have now tried to start photographing any new types I see, though our voracious Cornish slugs seem to attack and disfigure many before I get there.

More Museum Favourites

Here are a few more of my favourite objects in the wonderful British Museum.

There is no story here, just images that excite me, selected more or less at random. – Or if there is a kind of general story, it is just about what various creative people have done using stone, metal, wood or clay.

The great treasure-house that is the British Museum

Weighty majesty – from Greece

Flowing movement in stone – also from Greece

Chinese jade ritual blade – just a polished bit of stone?

Fish-shaped ritual headdress, with beautiful shadows – Africa galleries

Shiny piece of abstract metalwork – (European) bronze age gold brooch

More bronze-age metal – corroded Chinese bronze vessel

Metal blade in the form of a bird – Africa galleries

Practical metalworking – Chinese finger-nail protectors

Exquisite modelling on a Chinese phoenix-headed ewer – White porcelain (9th to 11th centuries)

Shang dynasty (1600 BC to 1046 BC) – bronze ritual vessel

As always, photographs are a poor substitute for seeing the real thing – Visit a museum again soon!

Tang Horses

The pottery horses of the Tang dynasty are among the most iconic objects in all Chinese art. Fired to fairly low earthenware temperatures and decorated using simple lead glazes, often in three colours (san-cai); these beautiful objects were essential grave goods for anyone with pretensions to status and produced in very large numbers.

Tang dynasty horse in the British Museum

Head of the British Museum horse above

Examples vary greatly in quality and size and smaller, cruder examples can still be bought for modest sums by collectors today. The large examples from high status tombs are, of course, much less common and stand among the highest examples of the sculptor’s art anywhere. Two examples in the British Museum in London are astounding for the way the  “essence of horse” has been abstracted from the maker’s knowledge of real animals, especially in the modelling of the heads.

Another Tang horse in the British Museum

Even in the best examples, the bodies of these horses are generally very simply modelled with all the careful observation and formal invention devoted to the heads; so much so that the heads can sometimes  seem a mismatch for the bodies they are attached to.

Tang horse in the Shanghai Museum

Head of the Shanghai Museum horse

Modelling horses in clay was already an ancient tradition by the Tang dynasty (618 – 906AD). It is interesting to compare them to the horses found with the Terracotta Warriors dating from 800 to 1000 years earlier.

Horses of the Terracotta Army (circa 206 BCE)

I am not in any sense a horse lover but I never fail to appreciate just how sensitive the artist’s reaction to these animals was.

A fine example in the V&A Museum in London

A powerful beast from the Imperial Collection in Beijing

Sadly, the Tang horse has become a bit of a cliché, with endless modern copies, often of poor quality. Perhaps that is why Chinese today do not value them as highly as they do more modern Ming and Qing artefacts; or perhaps it is because refined surface decoration counts much more than form for Chinese connoisseurs. This is a subject that Alex and I plan to expand on in a later post.

A modern “replica” of a Tang horse in an interior design store

Embroidered Dragons

I love Chinese dragons! Unlike the fearsome dragons in the West, which must be battled and slain, the Chinese versions are, if not friendly, at least not threatening.  Here a few representations of Chinese dragons in embroidery.

Imperial court robe (V&A museum)

Most of the dragons here are imperial dragons, symbols of the Emperor himself. During the final Chinese dynasty, the Qing period from 1644 to 1911, the dragon could be found on almost every piece of Imperial clothing and regalia. This may have been due to the foreign Manchu rulers feeling that they had to constantly assert their legitimacy by using this very Chinese symbol of rule.

Dragons on an Imperial Parasol (Forbidden City, Beijing)

Many of these textile pieces are Imperial clothing and accoutrements from the V&A museum and the Forbidden City in Beijing. While these dragons vary in colour there is a sameness running through them as if the makers were very careful that the forms and expressions of their creatures matched the required type.

Imperial court robe (V&A museum)

Other dragons that are not from the Imperial household are much more varied, often with wonderful, mad expressions as they manically chase their flaming pearls.

Dragons chasing a flaming pearl (Taoist priest’s robe, V&A museum)

Dragons on a tubular banner (Forbidden City, Beijing)

Dragon chasing a flaming pearl (Taoist priest’s robe, V&A museum)

Dragon chasing a flaming pearl (Taoist priest’s robe, V&A museum)

Dragon on a court robe (V&A museum)

Dragon (Taoist priest’s robe, V&A museum)

Dragons on an Imperial Parasol (Forbidden City, Beijing)

A strange little dragon on a wall-hanging (V&A museum)

Dragons chasing a flaming pearl (Taoist priest’s robe, V&A museum)

Dragon on an Imperial wall-hanging (V&A museum)

Imperial court robe (V&A museum)

Imperial court robe (V&A museum)

Imperial court robe (V&A museum)

Gateway to China

Six hundred years ago the Chinese built a great fortress to mark the edge of their Empire and to prevent attacks by foreign invaders. This was Jiayuguan, the  “First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven” (天下第一雄关).

The inner fortress at Jiayuguan seen from the east

In 1368 the Han Chinese drove out their Mongol overlords and founded the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). They immediately set about arranging the defences of the empire so that they would not be threatened by foreign invaders again*. In 1372 the first Ming Emperor, Hongwu, ordered the building of a new fortress and rebuilding of a section of the Great Wall in order to block the main way into China from the North West.

The Great Wall here was built 600 hundred years ago and is showing its age

The Hexi Corridor runs through the Gobi desert in Western Gansu Province and is the only easily travelable route between high mountain ranges. All the traffic along the Silk Roads and all invading armies passed along this way. The new fortress was built at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, at its Western-most end. The fortress became known as Jiayu Pass or Jiayuguan. (To Chinese the word pass in this context refers both to the pass between the mountains and to the gateway that people had to “pass” through.)

The Western entrance from the desert. Literally the “Gateway into China”

After the fort was built, all traffic along the Silk Route for hundreds of years had to pass through Jiayuguan and it marked the absolute edge of China. Even when the later Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912) extended its control into what is now Xinjiang to the West, Jiayuguan still marked the edge of China proper, being the limit of civil administration, with everything beyond being controlled by a military governor.

The fort’s interior buildings have largely been rebuilt

The fortress today is the most complete existing example of a large-scale Ming fortification, though it has been subject to considerable restoration.

View of the fort in 1875 by the Russian photographer Adolf Erazmovich Boiarskii

*In 1644, another group of foreigners would invade, this time from the North-East and would set up the Manchu Qing dynasty.

The Western entrance from the desert. Literally the “Gateway into China”!

The beautiful towers dominate the fortress

The small but beautiful temple attached to the fortress

Detail showing the interesting roof tiles

The inscription over the West gate says “Jiayuguan”

The Great Wall here was built 600 hundred years ago and is showing its age

The inner fortress at Jiayuguan seen from the east

View of the fort in 1875 by the Russian photographer Adolf Erazmovich Boiarskii

Battered old doors inside the fort

The fort’s interior buildings have largely been rebuilt

The Great Wall of China stretching South from the fortress

 

Boiarskii image courtesy of the World Digital Library

Objects in the Forbidden City

Apart from being the greatest example of late Chinese dynastic architecture, the Forbidden City is also a very fine museum. Or rather; there are a whole series of museums devoted to different types of objects, scattered over the vast site; some being permanent displays and others being for temporary exhibitions.

Large vase with fish decoration – Qing dynasty

One of the best displays is the Palace Ceramics Collection, which is situated in a building well off to the side of the main tourist route and therefore very quiet. The building is very dark with only the ceramic objects themselves being strongly lit. While this should produce ideal viewing conditions it fails because the objects are displayed behind glass which catches lots of distracting reflections and rather spoils the experience.

Tang dynasty horse sculpture – note the reflections from the display opposite

The ceramics display features work from all periods of Chinese history but the bulk of the pottery is from the Qing dynasty (not surprising in a Qing dynasty palace.) Although the Manchu dynasty is not the greatest period in Chinese ceramic history, the display has many fine examples.

Qing dynasty pot in the form of a gourd

Much bigger crowds are encountered at the Imperial Jewellery Collection where a degree of pushing and elbowing can be required to get a good view. Most of the visitors are Chinese, however, and they are mostly preoccupied with “oohing” and “aaahing” at the biggest precious stones and the biggest lumps of gold, leaving lots of pieces of interesting design relatively ignored. In fact much of the jewellery is fairly uninspiring, design-wise, consisting of many (large) precious stones formed into naturalistic arrangements of flower or fruit shapes. Some of the most unusual and interesting items are not the grand jewellery pieces but the accessories such as decorated belts.

Silk belt decorated with pearls and precious stones

Torque necklace in silver with gilding and coral inlay

The Forbidden City has many other displays, such as one with European clocks and scientific instruments from the Imperial collections and another with objects connected to the day to day life and rituals of the Qing Imperial household. These included some nice textile objects, though it is impossible to say whether these were originals or reproductions.

Phoenix embroidery on a large long-handled fan

Ceremonial parasol

Apart from the buildings converted into modern exhibition spaces, beautiful objects can be seen in many other parts of the Palace. My favourite is a “connoisseur’s wall” which displays many beautiful ceramic treasures.

Wall display of ceramics (photographed against the sun!)

Finally, there is beautiful design to be found in many out of the way corners. While the main facades dazzle with their clashing gold and polychromatic extravaganza, other parts of the buildings have much more subtle decoration, including some fine window grill designs.

Window grill design

Related post: The Forbidden City, Beijing

The Forbidden City, Beijing

A vast Imperial Palace, the Forbidden City in Beijing can be described as one of those “places to see before you die” destinations.

Tiananmen, or Gate of Heavenly Peace is the main entrance to the Forbidden City

It is a vast place with a distinctive and coherent architectural style, and while it has been subject to a fair bit of restoration, this seems to have been done fairly accurately, if perhaps a little too enthusiastically. At least it has not been subjected to the “theme park” treatment visited on so many of China’s major sights (though a McDonalds franchise has found its way inside the hallowed walls.) The Forbidden City certainly draws the crowds, in fact the masses of people and long queues for tickets are major downsides of the experience.

The Forbidden City has many ranges of golden-roofed palaces

While the word “City” may exaggerate the scale slightly, it is too big to get to know in one visit and many of the more interesting parts are off the main visitor trail. While the guided tours do march you through the grandest and most historically significant buildings, these are also (obviously) the most crowded parts. The central trail can also feel a bit repetitive, with one enormous open courtyard leading to a range of golden-roofed pavilions, which in turn leads on to yet another courtyard and another range of similar buildings.

The vast paved courtyards are broken up by very attractive canals

Giant steel planters are the only decoration in some of the courtyards

Away from the central route through the complex it is much quieter, with peaceful gardens and minor palaces that have been transformed into exhibition galleries.

Away from the main tourist trail can be found beautiful gardens

Many of the main buildings have been immaculately repainted, which leaves them looking very garish and without any feeling of age. Those palaces which have not had the “like brand new” treatment will probably look much more attractive to western eyes.

The newly renovated paintwork looks very garish

Areas with faded decoration are much more subtle and pleasant

Only in a few places can you see old walls marked by history. These are the areas where you can feel that people lived here over hundreds of years.

An old wall, marked by time

Some courtyard areas feature potted pomegranate trees, which are heavy with fruit in late summer.

Pomegranate tree in the Forbidden City

A bridge over one of the canals

In a future post I will feature some of the beautiful objects on show in the Forbidden City.

The Famen Temple near Xian

The Famen Temple, or Famen Si, is one of the most revered Buddhist sites in China. Situated about 120 kilometres West of Xian, the temple has a very long history and is believed to have been founded in the 2^nd century AD. It reached its peak of fame during the Tang dynasty (7^th century AD), when it effectively became a Royal Temple, with the ruling Emperor visiting each year and bestowing gifts and treasures. This tradition ended when Buddhism fell out of favour for being a foreign religion and the Temple went into decline.

The Famen Temple near Xian

Today, the Famen Temple is marketed to tourists as a Tang dynasty site, though none of the current buildings are very old. The very beautiful pagoda is a modern reconstruction, copying the grey brick Ming dynasty original. This in turn had been built to replace a (wooden) Tang dynasty version. The Ming tower had finally collapsed in the 1930’s after many decades of neglect.

The Ming pagoda collapsed in the 1930’s and was rebuilt in the 1980’s

Even if the buildings are modern copies, they are well done and the small compound that is all that remains of the old temple has an authentic feel. There is a genuine Tang heart to the place, however, for in 1987 while preparing for the reconstruction, workmen discovered a hidden underground palace which had been lost for over 1,000 years. The underground chambers were filled with relics and royal treasures, including the temple’s great claim to fame, what is said to be a finger bone of Buddha himself. These underground treasure rooms, with many of their precious objects on view, are now open to visitors.

There is a Tang dynasty treasure-house beneath the pagoda

Overall, this is an interesting and pleasant place to visit. The biggest fault would be that it feels a little too well manicured and the landscaping is a bit like a municipal park, but at least it seeks to pay homage to past that gives it meaning.

The grounds look like the work of municipal gardeners

Tourism is big business in China now and the bulk of the overseas visitors come from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and other East Asian countries, which all have strong Buddhist traditions. While the Famen Temple was already a draw for these visitors, the Shaanxi Provincial Government wanted to create an even bigger attraction and began building a whole new shrine and visitor complex which was completed in 2009.

The new visitor complex is on a gargantuan scale

The new buildings are clearly intended to impart a feeling of awe, being built on a gigantic, dehumanizing scale. It takes some time to realise that the building complex at the entrance to the site does not serve any religious function but instead houses a supermarket, restaurants, rows of souvenir shops and a 200 room five-star hotel, all there to part the tourist from his money.

The entrance complex is dehumanizing in the best traditions of Stalinist architecture

The awe-inducing scale continues inside the entrance with a 1200 metre avenue leading to the enormous new shrine in the distance.

Beyond the souvenir shops a straight avenue leads to the new shrine in the distance

The new shrine itself is 148 metres high and though it is an interesting piece of architecture it looks as if it belongs in a city, not out in the remote countryside.

The massive new shrine is interesting but looks out of place

The new temple complex is clearly intended to be grand yet ends up seeming merely grandiose. Rather than seeming impressive, the acres of gold paint only serve to give the air of pretence, making the experience seem more like a theme-park than a religious establishment. The theme-park feeling is then amplified by the rather humorous theme-park type trains used to transport visitors along the avenue (needed because the distances are so great.)

The biggest complaint about the new shrine is the way it now dominates and redefines the older temple. Though it is some distance away it is so big that it looms over the traditional pagoda as if the intent is to make it seem insignificant.

The huge new shrine is dominates its surroundings

The Chinese people have a very mixed up relationship with their past.  On the one hand they are very proud that they are heirs to some four thousand years of culture and civilisation and on the other it is less than 50 years since they were heading out daily to smash up any vestige of the old culture. Most Chinese are still unable to face up to the horrors of the Cultural Revolution but a slightly schizophrenic attitude to the past is still with them today. Many Chinese get angry and upset about the destruction of the old Imperial Summer Palace by Western troops or about the looted Chinese treasures on display in London or Paris, yet they often seem insensitive to the damage done to parts of their cultural heritage found on their own doorstep. Damage does not have to be physical however and I cannot help wondering if the new complex at Famen Si will be regarded in the future as a new cultural treasure or as a form of cultural vandalism.

Wai-Yuk and Alex Kennedy
(All photographs by Alex Kennedy)

London Museum Favourites

Last weekend, we delivered our daughter Isla (and all her belongings!) to London ready to start a new job and we took the chance to visit some of our favourite museums. I love visiting museums, especially ones that I’m very familiar with, as I always get to revisit objects that are old favourites and always discover some new ones. In a familiar museum you don’t have the pressure to visit every inch on display, but instead can take the time to take in the objects that really catch your eye.

Here are some photographs of favourite things to be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum. Alex and I snapped things that took our eye as we were walking round and spent a lot of time in the Chinese collections, so the mix is a bit idiosyncratic but you’ll hopefully find it interesting!

The V&A building itself, with its eccentric mix of Victorian red brick and classical design, always delights me.

The South-Asian section of the V&A has some marvellous carved sandstone window screens.

Regulars will know that I love old doors. Here is an English one in the V&A

Alex loves the clean iconic forms and translucent surfaces of ancient Chinese jade ritual blades (V&A)

We both love the patina on ancient Chinese bronzes (British Museum)

Alex thinks that some of my work reminds him of the shapes found decorating ancient Chinese bronze vessels? (British Museum)

I love this little chap! Chinese bronze (British Museum)

Abstract art from 2,000 years ago? Chinese jade object (British Museum)

The experience of visiting the major London museums is changing, as quite a few now offer free wi-fi, allowing you to use your phone or iPod to search for instant information on the objects you are looking at. This advance made our visit much more interesting and accessible, as we looked up everything from indigo to Equus. Visit a museum again soon!

More Bugs!

Yesterday I went for a walk around the lanes near my home and headed for a spot where the road crosses a stream, a place where I often see dragonflies.
Although this time I had remembered to bring my camera along with me, there were no dragonflies anywhere in sight. I eventually spotted one perched high above in a tree and, putting my camera on maximum zoom, I tried to frame the tiny creature.
I didn’t have much hope that the pictures would be very good, but I was delighted to find the one below – mainly because of the creature’s shadow showing through the leaf.

Dragonfly on leaf with shadow

To go with the dragonfly, here are some of my favourite photographs of various six-legged creatures:

Butterfly on my apple-blossom this spring

Another shot of the same butterfly showing the amazing eyes

I love the bees buzzing around my chives in spring

This cricket (?) was standing on the Great Wall of China

Butterfly near Nikko, Japan

 

For more bug photos, have a look at this post:
Moths In the Night

 

The Suzhou Silk Embroidery Institute

My daughter spent last summer working in China. Of course, I could not resist the chance to go out and visit her there before she came home. Alongside seeing many wonderful historic sites, I had the chance to fulfil a long-time dream in visiting the Suzhou Silk Embroidery Research Institute.

Sadly, I had the misfortune to have my camera stolen right at the end of my trip so I lost all the wonderful pictures I had taken, but by chance, I also snapped a few pictures with my iPod while at the Embroidery Institute. Though these are not much good as photographs, they at least give some idea of what I saw on my visit.

Embroidered flower detail

Situated in a classic Chinese garden, the Institute was founded in the 1950’s as a
centre of excellence for Chinese embroidery. The skills maintained and taught
there include traditional approaches but also the innovations brought to
Chinese embroidery by 20^th century pioneers such as Shen Shou (1874–1921) and Yang Shouyu (1896-1982).

Legendary Suzhou embroidery master Shen Shou

Shen Shou was a famous embroiderer and educator who transformed her subject by bringing in aspects learned from painting (including western painting),
Japanese embroidery and photography. When she was sent on a study tour to Japan organised by the government, she became the first Chinese woman ever to
undertake such a role. The influence of Shen Shou is still strong today and can be seen in the way the embroiderers treat light. This is very impressionistic and clearly relates to photography in a way that takes it far from traditional approaches.

Craftswoman embroidering cranes

Today, all tourists with an interest in embroidery are given a warm welcome at the
Institute but its products are only available to the very rich. In the early
twentieth century Shen Shou produced renowned embroideries for the Dowager
Empress of China and for European royalty. One hundred years later the Suzhou
Institute still supplies clients of a similar profile (a commission for the Dutch
royal family was in progress when I visited.)

Embroiderer surrounded by carefully shaded silks

As well as the actual embroidery, all the silks are dyed on the premises to the precise shades required.

The quality of the work is astounding and the embroideries of traditional subjects, particularly those drawn from nature are awe-inspiring. At the same time I am left with a feeling that so much concentrated talent could achieve more. A little too much of the subject matter is very safe and often blatantly sentimental and I find it troubling that immensely talented young women should be spending many hours copying photographs of rich people’s pets. Even so, I will always treasure my visit and the chance to see such exquisite craftsmanship.
I am still sad about my lost photographs though!

Related Posts:
Bonsai Tree Hand Embroidery
Crafts of India – Hand Embroidery

Working on double-sided embroidery (more like weaving!)

Working on double-sided embroidery (see the shuttles)

Embroiderer surrounded by carefully shaded silks

Craftswoman embroidering cranes

Amazing embroidery of peacock feathers

Sketched-out stage of embroidery

Stretching work on a frame prior to embroidery

Racks of beautiful coloured silks were everywhere

Early stage of embroidery

Embroidered flower detail

Legendary Suzhou embroidery master Shen Shou

Inspiring market stalls

I love shopping at outdoor markets and places where shops have street displays. Even the most mundane fruit and vegetables can look much more colourful and inviting there than they ever do in a pristine supermarket display. When I travel abroad I particularly enjoy wandering around local markets and taking in all the colour. Here are a few photographs from my trips to India, plus an old favourite from China.

Outdoor market in Jaipur

Local street market in Rajasthan

Umbrellas for sale lying beside a market stall

Stall selling Festival flowers – South India

Stall selling Festival dyes – South India

Beautiful dried fruit display – Dunhuang, China