Page 97 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

A SPECTACULAR STITCH

THOUGHTS ON AN INTRIGUING
JIAQING DRAGON ROBE

JOHN E. VOLLMER

he décor on this jifu, (吉服,literally, ’auspicious’ dress), The skill required to achieve this without snagging the metal
or longpao, (龙袍,[imperial] dragon robe) follows the thread when it is pulled through the silk back stitches is even
Tstandard Qing disposition of five-clawed dragons (long, more awesome. A single line of these gold-wrapped thread
龙) amid clouds across the entire surface of the garment. The loops marked the lower edge of the embroidered designs at
standing water (lishui, 立水) border at the hem features piled the hem and edges of the cuffs and facings, an attention to
wind-swept waves on which float the Eight Buddhist Symbols detail rarely seen on any other embroidery for the court. It
(ba jixiang, 八吉祥), symbols for the Eight Precious Things suggests the piece may have been specifically ordered for the
(ba bao, 八宝), the attributes of the Eight Daoist Immortals imperial household.
(ba xian, 八仙), large peony blossoms, and several motifs that
There is confusion in the literature concerning beijing zhen or
function as rebus. The term ‘hurricane waves’ was coined by lasuo xiu and seed, or knot stitch (dazi xiu, 打籽秀). Both were
Alan Priest in the 1940s to describe this variation of lishui,
caught up in the early twentieth century in ’old China hand’
which first appears on some jifu robes during the first quarter accounts of handicrafts, where the term ’forbidden‘, possibly
of the nineteenth century. The dragons, as is typical, are
referencing the residence of the emperor, was attached
depicted with couched gold-wrapped threads while the rest of to types of complex embroidery with the implication such
the embroidered decoration uses colored floss silk. However,
embroidery was used exclusively for the court. A second term
what is remarkable is the choice of embroidery stitches for ‘blind’ was applied to such embroidery with the explanation
executing these colored silk elements.
that small scale and complicated manipulation in making this
The embroidery employs a single stitch commonly known in stitch caused needle workers to lose their eyesight.
the West as ‘pekin’, ’peking’, or ‘pekinese’ stitch, (Beijing zhen, Dazi xiu embroidery has a long history in China. Schuyler
北京針). It is also known as lasuo xiu (拉锁绣, literally ‘zipper
Cammann cites Han dynasty examples recovered from the
stitch’). It is a composite stitch involving two elements: a row of Noin Ula, the Xiongnu burial site located in Mongolia north of
1
closely spaced back stitches and a second element interlaced
Ulan Bator and notes that the stitch was used sparingly during
in continuous loops moving forward two and back one through the Ming and during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty.
2
the previously laid down back stitches. It is time-consuming and
However, the wide-spread use of dazi xiu for large areas of
requires consistent, exacting skill to maintain the proper tension design flourished in the nineteenth century. The appearance of
and spacing of each parallel row of back stitches and well as
beijing zhen or lasuo xiu stitching coincides with development.
rigorous consistency in placing the interlacing elements.
Both techniques were used largely on dress trimmings and
The effect is spectacular. The density of the silk floss and the smaller personal accessories and occasionally on late Qing
play of light on the filament of the interlaced elements, which dynasty rank insignia badges.
lie in different directions, intensifies the appearance of color The exclusive use of beijing zhen or lasuo xiu stitching on a
and offers crispness to the edges of each design motif. Single
court dragon robe remains a puzzle.
rows of pekin stitch worked in red silk back stitches with a
1 See: https://www.newhanfu.com/13343.html (accessed 08.03.2030)
fine gold-wrapped yellow silk interlacing thread outline motifs. 2 Cammann, Schuyler. “Embroidery techniques in Old China” in Archives of the Chinese Art
Society of America. 16 (1962) 16-39.

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