Yu Rongxiu inherits Lisu embroidery with craftsmanship

In Lisu Embroidery Learning Center of Yongping county, west Yunnan’s Dali Bai autonomous prefecture, a variety of colorful embroidery works were eye-catching. More than 30 Lisu embroiderers, dressed in their traditional attire, gathered. They greeted guests warmly with traditional dances, music, and six-flavor tea. Among them, Yu Rongxiu, the instructor of embroidery class, is not only a representative inheritor of Dali’s prefecture-level intangible cultural heritage but also the head of the learning center.

Seventy-four years ago, Yu was born in a Lisu embroidery family in Yongping county. She started to learn the art of cutting fabric and embroidering at a very young age. Later, she continued learning from her grandmother and mother, becoming the fifth-generation inheritor of Lisu embroidery skills in Yongping.

Lisu embroidery is known for its cut-in-half embroidery technique. As its name, each embroidery piece is created as a pair, embroidered at the same time and then cut into halves.

According to tradition, Lisu ancestors created this unique technique to fairly treat two children who wants the same embroidery piece. The matched pair of embroidered pieces are of the same pattern but of opposite directions. This technique has been preserved for over a thousand years.
"Among Lisu embroidery techniques, the cut-in-half embroidery is the most challenging. Each step is intricate, involving numerous processes,” said Yu, “but these challenges make it worth our focus."

Currently, the original and complete technique is only preserved within the Lisu people in Yongping county.

According to Yu, delegations from other provinces would visit her, and sent good embroiderers for training. Yu has also been invited to teach in places like Sichuan province and Shandong province. Yu has trained over 2,000 individuals up to now.

Enlivening the traditional embroidery has always been Yu's approach to inheritance. "We need to gradually turn simple patterns of the past into modern products that people need today, allowing it to bring greater benefits," said Yu. With her craftsmanship, Yu is protecting the essence of Lisu culture.

Source: Xinhua; trans-editing by Wang Yunya