Embroidery on Chinese art paper: Innovation on traditional craft

Photo shows an embroidery work on Xuan paper created by Zhang Yan, one of Gu Yuchun's disciple. It's a regular script in small characters, as used in Chinese calligraphy exercises. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Embroidery on Xuan paper, or Chinese art paper, sounds impossible, but folk artist Gu Yuchun has made the impossible possible.

Xuan paper, which traces its roots to ancient China, is used for writing and painting. It is renowned for being soft and fine textured, suitable for conveying the artistic expression of both Chinese calligraphy and painting.

As the ninth inheritor of paper embroidery of Gu family, Gu Yuchun has made some changes in the production of Xuan paper, which make the embroidery on Xuan paper possible.

Now, Gu's embroidery on Xuan paper has secured a national patent on the intangible heritage in East China's Jiangxi province.