Guxiu embroidery was created in the 38th year of the reign of Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty by Ms. Miao， a concubine of Gu Huihai whose father was Gu Mingshi， a Jinshi （a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations in feudal China） residing in Songjiang Prefecture at that time， and it is the only embroidery style named after a family in the south of the Yangzi River. Han Ximeng， the wife of Gu Mingshi’s second grandson， was good at painting， and she substantially further developed the craft for her unique and smart stitching and color application. Guxiu embroidery is also known as “painting embroidery”.

“From the flowers and birds in the size of Doufang （a format for painting and calligraphy， about 25-50cm2） to the figures on sachets， Guxiu embroidery is so elaborate and exquisite that no other embroidery style at any other place can rival with it”， as recorded by the Log of Songjiang County （or Song Jiang Xian Zhi） written during the reign of Chongzhen Emperor in the Ming Dynasty.

Guxiu embroidery is characterized by： a） integration of embroidery and painting （which provides an edge in adding new color and borrowing bottom color）； b） curiousness in material selection； c） demitint evolved from halftone. It was such combination of embroidery and painting as well as Han Ximeng’s strenuous efforts for years that created the venerable and admirable embroidery works， copying the eight painting masterpieces in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Dong Qichang， the typical representative of Songjiang painting school in the Ming Dynasty， rendered a high praise to Guxiu Embroidery that “ingenious and delicate， beyond the reach of other cotemporary embroideries…with superb craftsmanship excelling the nature， how remarkable it is！”. Indeed， this “Painting Embroidery” period established by Han Ximeng is the initial stage for the development of Guxiu Embroidery， which is also called as “Hanyuan Embroidery （a kind of embroidery founded by Ms. Han Ximeng）”. At this stage， a majority of embroideries were from the hands of the womenfolk of the Gu family and used for the purposes of personal collection and presents.

As the Gu family declined after the death of Han Ximeng， it gradually turned to be a family business which had provided subsistence to the Gu family， and which had employed a large amount of women workers. Guxiu embroidery transformed from family needlework to embroidery commodities afterwards. Directly inculcated by Ms. Miao and Ms. Han， Gu Lanyu， the greatgranddaughter of Gu Mingshi， carried on the technique and know-how of the Guxiu Embroidery. According to Log of Songjiang Prefecture （Song Jiang Fu Zhi） written during the reign ruled by Jiaqing Emperor in the Qing Dynasty， “Adept in embroidery， （Gu Lanyu） opened a training workshop to pass on her techniques. All the women apprentices came for learning， whose works were also regarded as the Guxiu Embroidery by the contemporaries. In this way， the Guxiu Embroidery was spread out， enjoying tremendous popularity across the country.” Another master in this flied was Ding Pei， also from Songjiang， in the reign of Daoguang Emperor in the Qing Dynasty. Proficient in both embroidery and painting arts， she wrote a treatise titled with Embroidery Book （Xiu Pu）， for which she was praised as “the one who is capable to expound the excellence and ingeniousness comprehended from the Guxiu Embroider”. “All the imitations in the later ages were called as ‘Guxiu Embroidery’. Moreover， all the embroideries were honored by a label of ‘Guxiu Embroidery’. So， such a name can be found in almost all the embroiders from the area around Suzhou.” At the beginning of the twentieth century， there was a class of Guxiu Embroidery founded in Songyun Girls’ Vocational School， Songjiang District. A student in this class， Dai Mingjiao， close to 90 now， is considered as a representative successor of the Guxiu Embroidery， for the period near 50 years. She wrote a book n a m e d a s Preliminary Discussion on Method of the Guxiu Embroidery（Gu Xiu Zhen Fa Chu Tan）.

As a product of folk embroid eryand literati painting， Guxiu embroidery requires embroiderers to be equipped with attainments of painting and calligraphy. For such reason， it is hard to be popularized， let alone that its fabrication consumes much time and efforts. After the 1950s， many a Guxiu embroidery factory emerged in Shanghai. Unfortunately， nearly all of them were wound up in the end. In the context of the modern industry， a mass of fake Guxiu embroideries can be found in the market， casting a great shadow on the traditional craft. Furthermore， the fabulous reputation of the Guxiu Embroidery is eclipsed by the fact that those who have mastered the “painting embroidery” skill are hardly available in Shanghai. Therefore， necessary measures must be taken to save， protect， sort out and exploit this traditional embroidery style.