Cang Wei

People?who?visit?Yao?Huifen?s?workshop?often?mistake?her?embroidery?（刺繡品）?for?paintings?or?photo?graphs.?It?is?easy?to?see?why.?Yao?s?works?look?so?realistic，?like?oil?paintings，?Chinese?ink?wash?paintings?or?photographs.

Her?Mona?Lisa，?the?painting?originally?done?by?Leonardo?da?Vinci，?and?the?breathtaking?beauty?of?many?landscapes?appear?in?vivid?colors.?Many?of?her?works?have?been?bought?by?domestic?and?foreign?museums.

The?inheritor（繼承人）?of?embroidery?in?Suzhou，?Jiangsu?Province，?was?born?into?a?family?with?a?long?history?in?the?art.?Her?grandparents?and?parents?worked?in?the?industry.?She?started?to?learn?from?her?grandmother?and?mother?when?she?was?little.

For?more?than?10?years，?she?learned?embroidery?from?masters?of?Suzhou?embroidery?and?gradually?became?famous?for?her?own?skill.?Elected?as?a?promoter?and?ambassador?of?Suzhou?embroidery，?she?has?been?to?many?countries?for?cultural?communication，?including?the?United?States，?France?and?Italy.

Yao?says?that?traditional?crafts?should?adapt?themselves?with?the?development?of?society，?as?every?generation?has?its?own?aesthetics?（美學）.?Traditional?handicrafts?need?to?conform?（相符合）?to?the?current?aesthetics?and?cannot?linger?on?the?standards?of?old?times.?Embroidery?techniques?should?also?be?improved?continuously.?Yao?also?suggests?that?embroiderers?should?open?up?new?horizons?instead?of?working?in?workshops?all?day?long.?She?visits?art?exhibitions?and?museums?at?every?opportunity?when?she?goes?to?big?cities.9C338361-AD28-40DD-9FBD-CD41187E646A

Like?many?intangible?cultural?heritage?items，?Suzhou?embroidery?faces?the?problem?of?finding?young?people?to?pass?the?craft?down.?The?huge?input?of?time?and?energy?required?to?learn?embroidery，?Yao?admits，?has?scared?away?many?young?people.?However，?she?takes?it?as?her?responsibility?to?attract?and?train?enough?inheritors.?She?cooperated?with?colleges?in?Suzhou?to?open?an?embroidery?course?and?teach?the?students?for?free.

Yao?has?been?teaching?embroidery?lovers?at?her?workshop?for?many?years.?Some?of?her?students?have?set?up?their?own?workshops?and?started?to?teach?others?themselves.?“To?inherit?embroidery，?first?you?need?to?help?the?young?people?understand?and?love?it，?and?then?you?can?invite?them?to?join?the?club，”?Yao?says.?“I?believe?that?Suzhou?embroidery?will?have?a?bright?future.”9C338361-AD28-40DD-9FBD-CD41187E646A