Craftswoman carries forward Bian embroidery after passing on traditional craft to rural women in Henan

Photo shows Zhang Liufeng’s students busying themselves by making Bian embroidery products. (Photo/Deng Xiaoqiang)

Bian embroidery, originating from Kaifeng city in central China's Henan Province, which served as the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), is considered a national intangible cultural heritage of China.

Zhang Liufeng, a woman from Kaifeng, started to learn Bian embroidery skills when she was only six years old. In 2011, Zhang began engaging herself in training others so as to pass on the craft to future generations. Over the past several years, she has taught the embroidering techniques to a large number of women living in the locality.

Zhang had once felt that the traditional craft was gradually starting to lose its luster. "If the craft becomes extinct, we are the ones that should be blamed," Zhang expressed. Nowadays, the woman is striving to integrate Bian embroidery into modern life in an attempt to renew its vitality.

A student of Zhang Liufeng works on a Bian embroidery product. (Photo/Deng Xiaoqiang)

In order to teach the skills to more rural women so that they might join her efforts to carry forward the craft and master the skills as a means to escape poverty, Zhang opened embroidery training bases in rural areas throughout the province and introduced targeted poverty alleviation projects through the continued development of the embroidery culture. Thanks to her efforts, an increasing number of rural women have gotten engaged in the trade, which has allowed them to make embroidery works that could then be sold to support their families, all while not having to leave their hometowns.

As one of Zhang's students, Wan Xiaojuan has become an inheritor of the Bian embroidery sewing craft, which is listed as an intangible cultural heritage in the Dongxin district of Zhengzhou city, the provincial capital. Wan introduced that a piece of high-quality Bian embroidery work is smooth, neat, soft, and colorful, with lifelike patterns embroidered onto it.

A student of Zhang Liufeng works on a Bian embroidery product. (Photo/Deng Xiaoqiang)

"It's not easy to carry forward Bian embroidery. As the number of highly skilled embroiders is getting smaller, some embroidering skills are on the verge of becoming extinct," said Wan, adding that she has been doing her best to carry forward the craft.

Zhang believes that the craft can be kept alive only when the products become a part of people's life. She said that cultural and creative products, including speaker boxes, masks and handbags, which contain elements of Bian embroidery, are very popular products in the market.

"As the customers recognize our products, they also recognize the value of the Bian embroidery culture. Although Bian embroidery is a traditional craft, the practitioners in the industry should be open-minded. If we pursue innovations in the craft while carrying it forward, we'll ensure that the craft can enjoy a higher level of recognition among the general public," said Zhang.

Enthusiasts of Bian embroidery admire some embroidery products. (Photo/Deng Xiaoqiang)