Market challenges Miao embroidery

Wearing a black tunic with elaborate embroidery made by herself, Liu Ying of Miao ethnic is teaching her 11-year-old daughter to make a piece of dragon-patterned needle work, while Miao folksongs play on computer in background in her nine-square- meter rented house in the south part of Beijing.

"It would be a shame in our culture if a girl cannot embroider," says Liu. " Mothers of Miao start to teach their daughters about how to stitch when they are about five."

The motif of Miao embroidery, like those of other Chinese ethnic groups, usually express a certain mysterious or religious topic. Yet, it is distinct for its bright green, red, and yellow coloration, with basically three genres - geometric pattern, landscape pattern, and flower and animal pattern.

All things stitched are keenly observed by Miao women in their daily lives, such as flowers and birds. The results are abstractions imbued with great aesthetic value," says Wei Ronghui, deputy curator of the National Museum of China in Beijing.

A piece of fine embroidery reflects diligence and that a family is financially sound.

"You must concentrate on stitching, as your ancestors are watching you, " says Liu Ying.

A masterpiece - if taking three generations to complete -is only worn twice by a Miao woman in her life: at her wedding and funeral. And then it will be passed down to the next generation.

"I have been keeping the costumes with Miao embroidery my ancestors handed down," Liu says. "And I'll pass them down to my daughter after my death."

Miao embroidery, which can date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), was listed by the Chinese government in 2006 as a national Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The needlework of Miao, which is recognized one of the largest of China's 55 minority ethnic groups, and has a population of 9 million. Most of them live in remote villages in China' s southwestern province Guizhou, southern province Hunan, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region till trade in it began to flourish 20 years ago.

This ethnic style of needlework can be easily found in such big cities as Beijing and Shanghai, thanks to Miao traders like Liu Ying.

In 2000, Liu took her chance in Beijing to sell the Miao embroidery she made. She recalls, "It took me a three-hour-bus ride, and then 25 hours or so on the train from my hometown Kaili City, Guizhou, to the capital."

She now takes the same route every month to purchase the embroidery mostly from factories operated by Miao people in Kaili, and then she sells them at her two booths in Panjiayuan - the largest antique and cultural items market in Beijing.

Liu sells machine-made embroidered garments for 300 yuan on average, whereas hand-made ones for over 85,000 yuan, depending on the level of craftsmanship and time it took to produce.

For the least expensive goods she can make about 100 yuan per item, while for the most expensive ones she gets about 5,000 yuan per item.

"My life has been made better by trading Miao embroidery. I can now get around 1,000 yuan per month on average after paying for the dorm and booth rental," she says.

Liu has bought a new apartment in her hometown from her earnings.

Now, there are around 20 stores and booths owned by Miao people selling Miao embroidery in Panjiayuan market.

While factories that produce Miao embroidery have brought much wealth to Miao communities, the art of hand-made Miao embroidery is disappearing. Wei Ronghui noted that 80 to 90 percent of Miao needlework in the markets are machine-made.

Twenty years ago when Miao embroidery first entered the markets, they were all handmade. Zeng Li, the curator of Guizhou Ethnic Culture Museum, says, "The embroidery then was made to meet traditional needs, such as handing down to offspring. "

"But customers' needs have changed. Most of them prefer cheap ones only for room decorations, so machine-made fabrics can do the job. "

Zeng worries that "the tradition of making Miao embroider would die out soon" , as machines could one day produce all the Miao embroidery.

Furthermore, machine-made products have reduced the price of those that are handmade.

A handmade piece taking more than three months to make can sell for only three to four hundred yuan.

"Low income has led to less Miao embroidering by hand," Wei says.

Young girls no longer stay at home, but go out looking for employment in the Miao embroidery factories or in the big cities. In Liu Ying' s village, over 50 percent of her fellow villagers work away from home.

In fact, few Miao people working in the cities can tell the stories behind the embroidery patterns which contains the history of the ethnic group's migration and evolution.

Take dragon. Liu Ying did not know enough to talk about this mythical animal.Zeng Li says, "Dragon is an icon in Miao's culture. But its meaning is far different from Han's 'royalty'. It represents auspiciousness here."

Furthermore, any patterns and symbols on the clothes have a communication function, "because Miao people have no written language. Therefore, Miao symbols and embroider must be preserved."

To preserve Miao embroidery, local authorities have taken a series of measures to help keep the age-old handicraft alive.

A digital museum showcasing thousands of embroidered artworks from Miao ethnic group will open in 2011 in Guizhou.

Yang Xiaohui, the database's project director from the provincial culture and art research institute took on the project in 2008. He traveled around the eight provinces where the mainly Miao live collecting information.

Readers could access the database to learn the history, features and artistic value of Miao embroidery.

"At least we have literature and files about Miao embroidery," says Yang.

Meanwhile, some schools in Guizhou provide incentives for the students to learn about Miao embroidery.

"Many Miao ethnic mothers have gone to work in cities, leaving their daughter at home with virtually no one teaching them about the stitch work, " says Wei Ronghui.

"Hopefully, the school can equip those children with some basic skills of Miao embroidery."