粤绣：广绣与潮绣，一针垫起来的立体感

▍一、起源地：一条江与一片海

广绣以广州为中心区域，流传于周边的佛山、南海、番禺、顺德等地；潮绣以潮州为核心，地涉汕头、揭阳及周边区域，属潮汕文化圈（据中国社会科学网《丰饶岭南热土 绽放瑰丽粤绣》）。

两地同属岭南，气候湿热、蚕桑与染色原料易得，刺绣成为日常女红并不奇怪。差别来自出海口：广州面向长期的外贸口岸，潮州面向密集的宗族与节俗生活。一边催生了外销取向的写实绣画，一边催生了用于祠堂与戏台的浓烈装饰。

一面绣屏斜靠在窗边的木架上，屏面上的花鸟在侧光下显出丝线的走向

▍二、历史背景：四大名绣中的"并蒂花"

粤绣与苏绣、蜀绣、湘绣并称为中国四大名绣（据人民日报 2023-02-18 相关报道）。据公开资料，岭南地区的刺绣在明清时期随海上贸易与外销需求而兴盛，广州一带的绣品曾作为商品输出海外。

2006 年 5 月，粤绣列入国务院公布的首批国家级非物质文化遗产名录，并明确标注其涵括广绣与潮绣——从名录层面确认了二者各具特色、不可混淆。

▍三、工艺特色：一平一凸

广绣走的是画的路子。题材多为写生花鸟，孔雀是历代皆有的经典；用色鲜艳明快，针法丰富多变，绣面平整精致，讲究画面的意境，无论国画、油画还是水彩风格都能演绎。

潮绣走的是另一条路。它最鲜明的标志是垫高绣：绣工先用较粗的丝线或棉线一层层叠绣，或用棉絮垫底，覆上丝绸再施绣，使画面主体部位隆起，最高处可达 4—5 公分，形成浮雕般的观感。与之相配的是钉金绣——把金银箔纸包在丝线上制成金银线，再钉绣于画面，大面积的金色让强烈对比的配色达到视觉平衡（据中国社会科学网、人民日报相关报道）。

绣绷上一处半成品的花瓣，垫高的部位在光下投出浅浅的阴影

▍四、文化价值：从祠堂到裙褂

粤绣在岭南生活中承担的角色很具体。潮绣的金银线与垫高工艺常用于祠堂庙宇的帐幔、潮剧戏服与节庆装饰；"劳热"这类庆丰收的民俗活动上，潮绣彩眉是常见的陈设。广绣的绣画则进入厅堂，成为雅俗共赏的陈设。

婚嫁是另一条线。岭南的裙褂传统让钉金绣有了稳定的用武之地，一套裙褂上的金银线密度至今仍是衡量做工的直观标准。

▍五、传承现状：一支在展馆，一支在产业

公开报道显示，粤绣的社会关注度在上升：2023 年 1 月中旬在中国工艺美术馆·中国非物质文化遗产馆开展的"文化之美·绣色可观：粤绣年度成果展"，半个月接待观众约 4.5 万人次（据人民日报 2023-02-18）。潮州珠绣于 2021 年列入国家级非遗名录，成为粤绣中较新的分支，其发展与当地婚纱晚礼服产业相互带动。

难处也在两端。垫高绣与钉金绣的手法需要长时间练习才能掌握分寸，培养周期长；另一方面，机器绣在平绣领域已相当成熟，手工的价值更多落在立体工艺与定制需求上。手艺还在，靠的是这两端都有人接着做。

▍问答

问 ｜ 粤绣和广绣、潮绣是什么关系

答 ｜ 粤绣是统称，广绣与潮绣是它下面的两支。2006 年列入国家级非遗名录（首批）时，名录明确标注粤绣涵括广绣与潮绣，申报地区为广州市与潮州市。广绣偏写实、绣面平整；潮绣偏装饰、以垫高绣与钉金绣见长。

问 ｜ 潮绣摸起来为什么是鼓起来的

答 ｜ 因为垫高绣。绣工先以粗线层层叠绣或用棉絮垫底，覆上丝绸再在其上施绣，使龙首、狮头、人脸、禽鸟双翅等主体部位隆起，最高处可达 4—5 公分，形成浮雕般的观感。这是潮绣区别于其他名绣的辨识点之一。

问 ｜ 韵和鸣的品类里有刺绣吗

答 ｜ 有。品牌以平遥推光漆器髹饰技艺起家，如今整合漆、竹、绣、银、锦、瓷多个非遗品类，绣是其中之一。标准不分产地与品类：只选真正的非遗手工品，只与传承人本人合作，核心工序必须手工完成。

▍说在最后

每天认识一项，时间长了就会明白：中国手艺的分布，比任何一张地图都密。

你家乡的那项手艺是什么？留言告诉我们，也许下一期就写它。

📩 非遗项目 ｜ 匠人举荐 ｜ 跨境出海 ｜ 线下联营

欢迎留言或后台联系，我们与匠人同行。

—— 韵和鸣 · 与匠人同行

〖 遗 〗

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English

Guang embroidery centres on Guangzhou and spreads through nearby Foshan, Nanhai, Panyu and Shunde; Chao embroidery centres on Chaozhou and reaches Shantou, Jieyang and surrounding areas, within the Chaoshan cultural sphere (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences website, "Rich Lingnan Soil, Magnificent Yue Embroidery").

Both lie in Lingnan, where the damp heat and ready supply of silk and dyestuffs made embroidery a natural part of everyday needlework. The difference comes from the sea outlet: Guangzhou faced a long-standing trading port; Chaozhou, dense clan life and festival custom. One produced naturalistic embroidered pictures for export; the other, intense decoration for ancestral halls and opera stages.

An embroidered screen leaning against a wooden stand by a window, the direction of silk threads visible on its flowers and birds under side light

Historical Background: Twin Flowers Among the Four Great Embroideries

Yue embroidery is named alongside Su, Shu and Xiang embroidery as one of China's four great embroideries (People's Daily, 18 February 2023). According to public sources, embroidery in Lingnan flourished during the Ming and Qing periods alongside maritime trade and export demand, with pieces from the Guangzhou area shipped abroad as goods.

In May 2006, Yue embroidery entered the first group of the national intangible cultural heritage list published by the State Council, explicitly noting that it encompasses Guang and Chao embroidery, confirming at the level of the list that the two have distinct characters and are not to be confused.

Guang embroidery takes the path of painting. Its subjects are mostly flowers and birds drawn from life, the peacock a classic across generations; colours are bright and lively, stitches varied, the surface flat and refined, with attention to pictorial mood, whether in the manner of ink painting, oil or watercolour.

Chao embroidery takes another path. Its clearest mark is raised embroidery: the embroiderer first builds up layers with coarse silk or cotton thread, or pads with cotton wadding, covers it with silk and stitches over it, so that the main parts of the design stand proud, at most by four or five centimetres, giving a relief-like effect. Paired with it is gold-thread couching: gold or silver foil is wrapped around silk thread to make metallic thread, which is then couched onto the surface, the broad fields of gold bringing strongly contrasting colours into visual balance (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and People's Daily reports).

A half-finished petal on an embroidery hoop, the raised section casting a shallow shadow in the light

Cultural Value: From Ancestral Halls to Wedding Skirts

The role Yue embroidery plays in Lingnan life is concrete. Chao embroidery's metallic thread and raised work appear on the hangings of ancestral halls and temples, on Chaozhou opera costumes and in festival decoration; at folk celebrations such as the "lao rua" harvest rites, embroidered brow-pieces are a common sight. Guang embroidery's pictorial pieces entered the reception hall as decoration appreciated at every level.

Marriage is another thread. The Lingnan tradition of the wedding skirt and jacket gives gold-thread couching steady use; the density of metallic thread on a set remains a direct measure of workmanship.

Transmission Today: One Branch in Museums, One in Industry

Public reporting shows attention rising: the exhibition "The Beauty of Culture, the Colours of Embroidery: Yue Embroidery Annual Achievement Show," which opened in mid-January 2023 at the National Crafts and Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, received roughly 45,000 visitors in half a month (People's Daily, 18 February 2023). Chaozhou bead embroidery entered the national list in 2021 as a newer branch of Yue embroidery, its growth tied to the local wedding and evening-wear industry.

The difficulty sits at both ends. Raised work and gold couching take long practice before the degree is right, and training is slow; meanwhile machine embroidery has become highly capable in flat work, so handwork's value lies increasingly in relief techniques and bespoke demand. The craft persists because people at both ends keep doing it.

What is the relationship between Yue embroidery, Guang embroidery and Chao embroidery?

Yue embroidery is the umbrella term; Guang and Chao embroidery are its two branches. When it entered the national list in 2006, the entry explicitly noted that it encompasses both, with Guangzhou and Chaozhou as the declaring regions. Guang embroidery leans to naturalism with a flat surface; Chao embroidery to decoration, known for raised work and gold-thread couching.

Why does Chao embroidery feel raised to the touch?

Because of raised embroidery. The embroiderer builds up layers of coarse thread or pads with cotton wadding, covers it with silk and stitches over it, raising the main parts: a dragon's head, a lion's head, a face, a bird's wings. At its highest the relief reaches four to five centimetres, producing a sculptural effect. It is one of the features that distinguish Chao embroidery from the other great schools.

Does embroidery appear among YUNHEMING's categories?

Yes. The brand began with the Pingyao polished lacquerware technique and now spans lacquer, bamboo, embroidery, silver, brocade and porcelain, embroidery among them. The standard does not vary by origin or category: only genuine handmade heritage works, only working with the bearers themselves, and core processes completed by hand.

Meeting one item a day, one comes to understand in time: China's crafts are distributed more densely than any map suggests.

What is the craft of your home place? Leave a comment; it may be the next one we write about.

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