THE HAIR
EMBROIDERY OF
CHINA
By Pat Dalton
As Told By Tseng C. Liao

 
As originally published in Needle Pointers, August/September '95

Editor's Note: My first trip to China was with the Shay Pendray tour in March of 1986. Until that time I did not have an interest in any-thing Oriental. I didn't even read much about China before that trip. Immediately I fell in love with the country and its people. I've been to China a total of five times now; most recently with Marnie Ritter last April. I was moved when she told me she understood why I love the country so much. I can't explain my feelings - I guess you must experience it for yourself.

I first met Mr. Liao in 1986 after I had returned from my first trip to China. He spent one year in Greeley, Colorado because his son was the first Chinese student to study at the University of Northern Colorado since about 1949. Unfortunately, I met him near the end of his stay. He speaks perfect English and was happy to meet me. He is now seventy six years old and is a retired professor from Beijing University. We have corresponded regularly and I have visited him several times. He and his family entertained my husband and me in his home on Chinese New Year in 1990. So many special foods were cooked, and we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity.

The following information is taken from an article on "Chinese Hair Embroidery" written by Mr. Liao for a tourist publication in Beijing, China.

Embroidery has long been practiced throughout the Far East, The dominant influence has always been that of China, home to the silkworm which produces the finest threads for works of embroidery.

Embroidery using hair is a special art in China. The human hair is used as a thread instead of other materials.

The origin of hair embroidery can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when girls cut their long hair and used it to weave the image of Buddha to show their piety. However, this skill declined during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

The ancient skills and secrets of hair embroidery have been explored and studied in detail since the 1970's. There are three steps in producing hair embroidery. First, the long hair of a young girl is collected, then washed and dyed different colors using chemical treatments. Finally, the colored hair is used to embroider on a woven textile. The cloth my be dyed or undyed linen, cotton, wool, of luxurious silk.

Pictures woven using hair embroidery are of various designs, including all kinds of plant forms, living creatures, landscape paintings and historical figures. Many of them have symbolic attachments. For example, cranes, pines, and peaches stand for longevity; hats for happiness; and five-clawed dragons for imperial rank. The finished embroideries are usually mounted or framed to form a tasteful ornament of classic elegance.

It takes much more time to finish an hair embroidery as the ingenious skills are much more precise than other kinds of embroidery. Since hair is a special material, the finished embroidery has a strong sense of vividness and reality, and the colors will not fade.