Linshu Intangible Cultural Heritage: Mo’s Velvet Embroidery – Stitching Colors with Needles

March 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT

Entering the Mo’s Velvet Embroidery Museum in Lizhuang Village, Yushan Town, Linshu County, Linyi City, Shandong Province, the exterior presents a peaceful and elegant scene with white walls and red tiles. Inside, dappled light falls on rows of neatly arranged velvet embroideries, their interplay of light and shadow like a projection of time, reflecting the imprints of history and culture.

“Our Mo’s Velvet Embroidery can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. The needlework, materials, and patterns of each piece reflect the social and cultural characteristics of that time,” recalls Mo Zongrong, the fifth-generation heir of Mo’s Velvet Embroidery, about the intention behind establishing the embroidery museum. “By restoring and showcasing the works of our predecessors, we aim not only to illustrate the historical imprints of each era through velvet embroidery but also to pass on the culture of velvet embroidery.”

Velvet embroidery is a technique that uses colorful cotton thread to create designs with an embroidery needle. The Mo family began researching velvet embroidery in the early 20th century, combining the art of European velvet embroidery with contemporary embroidery techniques, and after improvements and innovations, they formed the uniquely styled Mo’s Velvet Embroidery. According to Mo Zongrong, Mo’s Velvet Embroidery has continuously improved and innovated over its century-long heritage, integrating with other excellent Chinese embroidery arts such as Suzhou embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Sichuan embroidery to develop its distinct velvet embroidery art style.

Mo’s Velvet Embroidery can be created freely with underlying rules, based on one’s understanding of the subject matter, resulting in works that are rich and solemn, with vibrant colors, clear layers, delicate stitching, and full images. With thousands of colors of pure wool threads, the works express effects in shape, spirit, color, and light, achieving an artistic effect that is true to the original but surpasses it.

The main varieties of Mo’s Velvet Embroidery include figures, landscapes, famous calligraphy, cartoons, oil paintings, and festive paintings of various sizes, as well as daily necessities like cushions, sofa covers, handbags, car seat covers, wall tapestries, and rugs, as well as holiday ornaments like Christmas tree skirts and Christmas stockings. The products are mainly exported to Europe and the United States.

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Linshu Intangible Cultural Heritage: Mo’s Velvet Embroidery – Stitching Colors with Needles

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