A giant panda sat quietly, with a naive expression and clear and bright eyes. It gently placed a round palm on its cheek and looked into the distance, as if thinking about "Bear Life".
This is one of the widely circulated cute photos of the giant panda "Fu Bao". The difference is that this is a Shu embroidery work carefully embroidered stitch by stitch.
▲ "Fubao" Shu embroidery video screenshot
Shu embroidery is a national intangible cultural heritage project. This special work has attracted widespread attention on the Internet platform. The average number of likes per video captured during the embroidery process is About 20,000, and the most popular one has more than 120,000 likes. "How can the embroidery be so lifelike?" "The master's skills are so good that he embroidered 'Fu Bao' so vividly"... The work that combines giant pandas with Shu embroidery has been praised by netizens.
Now, as "Fubao" is officially unveiled at Wolong Shenshuping Base, this Shu embroidery work has also been loaned to Shenshuping Base for display.
Why do we need to embroider "福宝"? Why did you choose the expression of "Fubao"? What is the difficulty in embroidery? On June 11, a reporter from Red Star News talked with the author of this Shu embroidery work - Peng Shiping, the provincial inheritor of Shu embroidery, a national intangible inheritance project and a master of arts and crafts in Sichuan Province, and revealed the story behind the "Fubao" Shu embroidery.
▲ Shu embroidery master Peng Shiping is embroidering a panda work
I thought "Fubao" was cute at first, and wanted to promote Shu embroidery
"I didn't know it was 'Fubao' at first, I just thought it was very cute and knew it was very popular." Speaking of the original intention of embroidering "Fu Bao", Peng Shiping said with a smile, "In the video of my embroidery, netizens left me messages, and I realized that this was the famous 'Princess Fu'."
Peng Shiping, 63, learns this As the young netizens called it, they affectionately called the "Fu Bao" under their embroidery needles.
Shu embroidery is one of the four famous embroideries in China, famous for its bright and clear colors and exquisite stitching. Peng Shiping, who has been engaged in Shu embroidery for more than 40 years, once won the gold medal at the first World Expo held in Beijing in 1989 with his Sanyi embroidery "Wenjun Panda".
The original intention of embroidering "Fubao" was actually to promote Shu embroidery.
Two years ago, Peng Shiping tried to create a self-media account under the name "Peng Shiping Chengdu Shu Embroidery" and posted his process of embroidering Shu embroidery on the Internet platform. "Shu embroidery has a long history and unique artistic style, but young people now don't know enough about it. We can't do things behind closed doors, so we hope to improve everyone's understanding of Shu embroidery in a way that young people like, thereby promoting the protection and protection of Shu embroidery Inheritance also allows everyone to see the charm of Chinese traditional culture.”
What surprised Peng Shiping was that netizens showed a strong interest in Shu embroidery. "Many people have left me messages and pictures, leaving me messages saying, 'Grandpa, can you embroider this, can you embroider that?'"
In Peng Shiping's view, Shu embroidery can be used to present things that everyone loves. On the one hand, it can satisfy the wishes of fans who pay attention to Shu embroidery, and on the other hand, it can use it as an opportunity to promote Shu embroidery, so he decided to satisfy the requirements of netizens. "At that time, netizens posted a lot of photos of giant pandas, and this photo was posted by a lot of people. I think this one is particularly cute, naive, and very unique."
The photo Peng Shiping mentioned is of Fubao holding his chin with his hand. , thinking about the photo of "Xiong Sheng".
▲ Photo of "Fubao" According to the interviewee
, it took more than 300 days to embroider "The most difficult thing is the look"
In August last year, Peng Shiping officially started embroidering "Fubao". An ordinary Shu embroidery work basically takes about 30 days to complete. However, this "Fu Bao" took Peng Shiping more than 300 days, and it was not officially completed until June 6, five days ago. The primary reason why
took so long was its size. "Fubao" Shu embroidery has a height of 1.2 meters and a width of 0.94 meters, so the workload is large. "I originally wanted to promote Sichuan embroidery, and Fubao has also received attention and love from many people. I thought about making a more shocking and better one."
also encountered many difficulties during embroidery, such as The hand holding the chin.As Peng Shiping spoke, he held his cheek with his left hand, "Because from the photo, it's not clear how curved it is. We need to understand the structure of the giant panda's hand, including the palm, back of the hand, etc. Repeatedly experiment and ponder what structure it has when it assumes this posture. "
To this end, Peng Shiping found a number of pictures with different light and dark colors for comparison, and also made a special trip to the panda base to observe the giant panda's movements, just to remove the bear's paws. , find out the structure of nails and hair.
▲ Shu embroidery master Peng Shiping is embroidering a panda work
The "hair flu" that makes this Shu embroidery come to life also cost Peng Shiping a lot of effort. In the "Fubao" Shu embroidery, every stitch and thread seems to be transformed into the real hair of "Fubao". To the naked eye, the hair is natural, three-dimensional, fluffy and very lifelike. This sense of realism comes from Peng Shiping's innovative technique of combining "hair application needles" and "random needles." Restored the hair of the giant panda.”
The most difficult thing is to restore the innocent demeanor of “Fubao”. "The cute look is the characteristic of 'Fubao', especially the eyes. It is the most difficult to restore the eyes through needlework." Peng Shiping said that in order to present the round and bright eyes of "Fubao", he used turning needles Technique, by controlling different effects such as brightness, highlights, light and shadow, to restore the look of "Fu Bao". "Use needle and thread to achieve an effect as bright as glass beads."
Peng Shiping's intentions have also been responded to. He was very happy to see netizens describe the work as "lifelike", "realistic" and "vivid".
What made Peng Shiping even more happy was that he saw some netizens asking where to learn Shu embroidery below his video. “Seeing so many people starting to understand Shu embroidery, liking Shu embroidery, and even being willing to learn Shu embroidery, I felt that what I was doing was very important. Meaningful.”
▲Screenshot of netizen comment web page
Intangible cultural heritage inheritors’ expectations: Let Shu embroidery develop sustainably
When the reporter interviewed Peng Shiping, he was embroidering another giant panda “Menglan”, using random stitches and techniques. The technique of combining wool needles makes an embroidery needle fly up and down.
observes the embroidery surface from the side. The staggered structure of the stitches not only creates a chaotic hair flow, but also makes the layers of the picture fuller. The luster of the silk threads is reflected in the sun, just like real animal hair.
"First of all, I like giant pandas very much, and I have embroidered many panda works in the past; secondly, these giant pandas are also loved by many netizens, and I can also take this opportunity to promote Shu embroidery." Peng Shiping said.
Promote Shu embroidery and promote the protection, development and inheritance of Shu embroidery. This is Peng Shiping's original intention of opening a self-media account. It is also the reason why he embroidered giant pandas such as Fubao and Menglan. It is also the focus that he frequently mentioned in interviews.
▲ Screenshot of Peng Shiping’s Douyin account
In Peng Shiping’s view, Shu embroidery works are currently divided into three categories: Shu embroidery commercial products and cultural and creative products for the public, Shu embroidery works with higher artistic value, and extremely high collection value. Collection of Shu embroidery. "The common development of various types of Shu embroidery can not only promote the protection of cultural heritage, but also improve economic benefits and promote economic development." Peng Shiping said.
"Just like this Shu embroidery work of a cat and a dog with "two sides and three differences", the "three differences" are "different colors, shapes, and stitches." The colors and stitches of the cat on this side are all the same as those of the two sides. On the other hand, the embroidery of wolf dogs is completely different.” Peng Shiping believes that this kind of innovation and change is the inheritance and development of Shu embroidery culture and skills.
On the other hand, Peng Shiping Studio is promoting the development of cultural and creative products related to Shu embroidery, such as Shu embroidery earrings, pendants, Shu embroidery fans and other products, to open up a larger market for Shu embroidery and expand economic benefits. "Only by achieving the common development of culture and economy can the industry develop sustainably."
Speaking of his expectations for the future, Peng Shiping said that he wanted to recruit a "disciple" to inherit Shu embroidery.
Peng Shiping said that this is not easy, because it is difficult to master Shu embroidery. It requires strong art skills and the patience of sitting on the bench for ten years. "What I am doing now is to hope that everyone can pay more attention to Shu embroidery, let more people fall in love with Shu embroidery, and let this craft survive sustainably."
Red Star News reporter Peng Jing, intern photographer Yang Yurui Wang Xiao
edited by Mange
