Nine-meter-long Pengshui Miao Embroidery to Shine on the Two Sessions

Chongqing - On the long table lay a special nine-meter-long calligraphy work. Li Shaoyu, deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC),  inheritor of Pengshui Miao embroidery, an intangible cultural heritage from SW China Chongqing, said to reporters that she would take it to the annual sessions of China's top legislature and top political advisory body, or the Two Sessions, on March 2.

Li Shaoyu displays her nine-meter-long Pengshui Miao embroidery work on March 2, in SW China Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

An embroidery facsimile of a calligraphy masterpiece

The Miao embroidery work featuring the Chinese calligraphy masterpiece "Dizhuming" by calligrapher Huang Tingjian from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) is 9.3 meters long, half a meter wide.

"Huang Tingjian is one of the Four Masters of the Song Dynasty. Huang's running script copy of Wei Zheng's famous work "Dizhuming" is one of the treasures of Chinese calligraphy, and it sold at auction for a price of 436.8 million yuan ($69.1 million)," said Li Shaoyu.

One portrait on the nine-meter-long Pengshui Miao embroidery work by Li Shaoyu. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

There are over 600 characters, over 120 seals, and one portrait in this piece. Li, and her embroidery technician, Zhang Xiaorong, spent more than two years embroidering millions of stitches to duplicate this masterpiece.

Curbs on intangible cultural heritage inheritance

In the wake of the Two Sessions, Li intends to share her ideas about protecting intangible cultural heritage by bringing this work to Beijing.

Li thinks there have three problems in protecting intangible cultural heritage. The inheritors are too old to innovate, policies are not concrete to act, and the heritages are short of development platforms.

Li said she would suggest that local governments launch concrete actions to protect intangible cultural heritage. Governments and markets should lead the protection work, with companies' investment involved and residents participating in it.

In addition, Li thinks the inheritors need to find and activate the practical function of intangible cultural heritage and designs products with modern elements, making its cultural products become a new fashion.

Chinese fashion designer Laurence Xu has once made a "Peace Elite" themed wall painting in Chongqing city and used Pengshui Miao embroidery as the main element. Li and her team completed the embroidery part, and Li considered this a great example of how Miao embroidery can integrate with culture and tourism.

"Three years ago, I just hoped every family has a workshop and engages in embroidery. The younger generation could like Miao embroidery and willing to pass it on," said Li.

"Today, I have brought thousands of jobs to local people and trained many young embroider technicians, but this is still far from my goal. I will move forward with my mission - to let more people see, love, and inherit Miao embroidery. "

Li Shaoyu trains her embroidery technicians. (Photo provided to iChongqing)