Zhang Longyuan may be 74-year-old, but his strength has not left
him, determined as he is to keep the flag of traditional Yunnanese
craftwork flying.
Zhang runs an embroidery gallery in Kunming, capital of Yunnan
Province, comprising eight sections spread over 100 square
meters.
The gallery has drawn patrons from as far as the United States,
who have marveled at the needlework and other handicrafts,
especially those from Jianshui, a city in Yunnan Province.
More than 200 pairs of golden lotus shoes (worn by women with
bound feet in medieval times) and a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) royal
dragon arras are the jewels of Zhang's crown, containing 2,100
pieces of embroidery.
He has trudged up mountains in Jianshui, a city with centuries
of embroidery history, and visited remote hamlets to collect the
pieces.
"The sight of almost every piece has enchanted me, and I've
bought many of them, some with borrowed money," he says.
His son supports his quest, and has helped him convert his
apartment into a gallery. "His love for the treasures cannot be
imagined, and we respect his passion," the son said.
His affair with the graceful art of needlework began in 1949,
with most of his collection coming from Jianshui.
However, neither Jianshui nor Yunnan Province as a whole, figure
among the four major schools of Chinese embroidery namely Jiangsu,
Guangdong, Sichuan and Hunan provinces despite the unique style of
its needlework.
(China Daily January 11, 2007)