What are the characteristics of Ou embroidery?

Ou embroidery is a local traditional art in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, one of the six famous embroideries in China (Ning embroidery, Xiang embroidery, Su embroidery, Jing embroidery, Yue embroidery and Shu embroidery), and one of the "three sculptures and one embroidery" special handicrafts in Zhejiang Province developed from the traditional embroidery in China. Wenzhou is located on the banks of the Oujiang River, hence its name, also known as "Wen Embroidery". Ou embroidery, also known as colored curtain, is one of the famous export embroideries in China, which is not only cherished by the country, but also presented as a national gift. It is called "embroidery diplomacy".

The composition is simple, the texture is clear, the stitches are neat and varied, the embroidered surface is bright and suitable for eyes, the colors are fresh and harmonious, the animal feathers are relaxed and lively, and figures and orchids can be embroidered exquisitely and vividly. Its style is characterized by "prominent theme, bright colors, concise composition and clear embroidery", which has a strong decorative and local style. It is made by scraping the green skin of bamboo, slicing it, cooking it, weaving it into a bamboo curtain, and then making works on it with pigments and colored lines. There are more than 20 kinds of stitches, such as broken needles, needle rollers and disorderly needles, and more than 60 kinds of varieties, such as brocade belly and bib. What restricts the development of Ou embroidery is that manual embroidery takes a long time and the wage profit is low. Embroiderers have to embroider for more than ten hours every day, and it costs five or six hundred yuan a month. Moreover, female embroidery workers rely entirely on their love for traditional crafts and their inheritance as family crafts.

Bamboo is woven from silk, and flowers and birds, landscapes or figures are drawn on it with colored lines, so it is also called "painting curtain". Ou embroidery products have various stitches, fine workmanship, and are characterized by bright colors, vivid embroidery surface, clever combination of embroidery and painting, symmetrical and flexible stitches, neat stitches, concise composition and prominent themes.