Han Ximeng
Elevated Gu embroidery to painted art
Han Ximeng(韓希孟) (lived during the Ming dynasty from the Wanli to Chongzhen periods) was a female artisan from the Ming dynasty, originally from Wuling (now Hunan), later living in Shanghai. She was the granddaughter-in-law of Jia Jing-era jinshi Gu Mingshi(顾名世) and the wife of Gu Shouqian(顾寿潜). She was good at painting flowers and skilled in embroidery, particularly famous for copying embroidery of famous Song and Yuan dynasty calligraphy and paintings. She was widely known as 'Han Yuan Embroidery(韩媛绣)' and often signed her works with red embroidery. Han Ximeng studied embroidery techniques together with her husband Gu Shouqian, who was a student of Dong Qichang. She used needle techniques like套针 (sleeve stitch) and 松针 (pine needle stitch), combining silk threads with materials like feathers and hemp to enhance texture. In the 7th year of Chongzhen, she created embroidered copies of the 'Gu Embroidery Song-Yuan Famous Works Album,' which included eight pieces such as 'Washing Horses' and 'Hidden Fishermen in Flower Creek.' Each piece was stamped with 'Han Clan Women's Embroidery' and had inscriptions praising them by Dong Qichang. These works are now kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Gu embroidery was originally created by Miao, a concubine of Gu Huihai, the eldest son of Gu Mingshi. Han Ximeng brought unique ideas to needle techniques and color use, significantly elevating the artistic quality of Gu embroidery, which also became known as 'painted embroidery.'