At the start of 2023, a sprightly illustrator in his early 30s suddenly skyrocketed to fame on China s social media platform Xiaohongshu. Li Shichuan rise to stardom was no stroke of luck. Just before his newfound popularity, he had a whimsical idea to infuse the millennia-old Chinese tradition of the lively lion dance into his artistic pursuits. With a quirky twist, he brought this age-old tradition to life in a vibrant, cartoonish style, captivating throngs of fans.
With a simple needle moving up and down on a piece of cloth, a delicate flower begins to take shape under her hands.
Watching Yao Jianping doing embroidery is just like watching a ballet performance of fingers; it is both elegant and skillful.
Ever since she was a young girl, Yao, a well-known artist from Suzhou, East China s Jiangsu Province, has been creating Suzhou Embroidery, one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world and the most representative type of Chinese embroidery.
In this issue of the Cultural Influencer series, the Global Times sat down with Yao at her studio in a suburban town of Suzhou, the birthplace of the craft, to explore her unique artistic style as well as get her thoughts on how to adapt this fine traditional art to modern times and make it a daily part of people s everyday life.