How many kinds of embroidery were there in ancient times?

Hand embroidery is also called "needle embroidery", commonly known as "embroidery". Drawing colored lines (silk, velvet and thread) with embroidery needles, and embroidering needles on fabrics (silk, cloth and silk) according to the designed patterns to form patterns or characters with embroidery marks is one of the excellent national traditional crafts in China. It was called "haze" and "needle haze" in ancient times. Later, because hand embroidery was mostly done by women, it was also called "needlework". According to the Book of History, as early as 4,000 years ago, the system of chapter clothes stipulated that "clothes should be embroidered". In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a record of "embroidery * * *". The level of embroidery in the Warring States and Han Dynasties unearthed in Hubei and Hunan is very high. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, hand embroidery was used for painting, calligraphy and decoration. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the scale of court embroidery was large, and folk hand embroidery was further developed. Suzhou embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, Xiang embroidery, Shu embroidery and silk reeling have been produced successively, and they are also called "four famous embroideries". In addition, there are Gu Embroideries, such as Beijing Embroidery, Ou Embroidery, Lu Embroidery, Min Embroidery, Bian Embroidery, Han Embroidery and Miao Xiu, all of which have their own styles, which have been handed down for a long time. There are dozens of stitches in hand embroidery, such as Qi Zhen, sleeve needle, inserting needle, long and short needle, minute needle, Ping Jin, and shifting sand, which are colorful and have their own characteristics. The uses of embroidery include: shroud, song and dance or opera clothes, tablecloths, pillowcases, cushions and other daily necessities, screens, wall hangings and other furnishings.

Before the Tang Dynasty, embroidery was mostly used for practical and decorative purposes, and the content of manual embroidery was related to the needs and customs of life. Hand-embroidered works in Song Dynasty are not only practical products, but also devoted to embroidery. Since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, literati loved calligraphy and applied it to painting. Calligraphy and painting was the highest artistic expression at that time. In the silk embroidery of Song Dynasty, the style of calligraphy and painting directly influenced the style of manual embroidery. Embroidery painting should be closely related to the paintings of all ages up to the Qing Dynasty. The development of hand embroidery in Song Dynasty was encouraged by the imperial court at that time. According to the Official History of Song Dynasty, the Chinese Embroidery Institute of the Forbidden City compiled embroidery products. During the reign of Hui Zong, there was also an expert in embroidery painting, who divided embroidery painting into landscapes, pavilions, figures and flowers and birds. As a result, famous embroidery workers appeared one after another, which made painting develop to the highest level. From practicality to artistic appreciation, calligraphy and painting were brought into manual embroidery, forming a unique ornamental embroidery. The handicraft industry of dyeing and weaving in Ming Dynasty didn't develop until Xuande. Handmade embroidery began in Guluxiang Garden in Shanghai during Jiajing period. It was handed down by embroidery, and celebrities came forth in large numbers. Gu Shouqian, the second grandson of Gu Ming, and his wife, Han Ximeng, are well versed in the six methods, far from the true biography of hair embroidery in Tang and Song Dynasties. Imitation embroidery of ancient and modern celebrity calligraphy and painting, silk color matching, secret biography, so it can be printed in words, embroidered landscape figures, flowers and birds, all exquisite, known as Luxiangyuan Gu embroidery, covered with so-called painting embroidery. This is the famous ancient embroidery. Gu embroidery stitch mainly inherited the most complete embroidery stitch in Song Dynasty, and changed and applied it, which can be described as a great achievement of stitch. Most of the wires used are flat wires, and sometimes twisted wires are used. The thread is as thin as a hair and the stitches are flat, but the variety of colored threads used is incomparable to Song embroidery. At the same time, the middle color line is used, and the color is borrowed and supplemented, and embroidery and painting are used together to make the manuscript realistic. According to the needs of the pattern, you can use materials at will, regardless of the method. True grass, Siamese cockfighting tail hair, fine gold and hair can all be embroidered with innovative ideas, especially with hair embroidery to complete painting, which has never been seen in the history of dyeing and weaving in the world. This shows that Gu embroidery has an extremely ingenious and exquisite hand embroidery technology. Hand embroidery in the Qing Dynasty and the hand embroidery used by the imperial court were mostly drawn by painters in Ruyige Palace. After approval, they were sent to three weaving and embroidery workshops under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Weaving, so embroidery was still made, and the embroidery was extremely neat and exquisite.