Article ID: CBB001214319

Embroidering Guanyin: Constructions of the Divine through Hair (2012)

unapi

Li, Yuhang (Author)


East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine
Volume: 36
Pages: 167--176


Publication Date: 2012
Edition Details: Part of a special issue, “Women and Textile Production Techniques in Traditional China”
Language: English

Hair embroidery was a particular technique practiced by lay Buddhist women to create devotional images. The embroiderers used their own hair as threads and applied them on silk to stitch figures. This paper will analyze the religious connotation of hair embroidery, the ritual process and the techniques for making hair embroidery in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. By tracing its appearance in both literary texts and actual surviving objects, this essay will ask how and in what circumstances human hair was applied to embroidery? What was the significance of transferring one's own hair onto an icon? How did hair embroidery combine women's bodies (their hair) with a womanly skill (embroidery) to make a unique gendered practice in late imperial China?

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Included in

Article Sheng, Angela (2012) Women's Work, Virtue, and Space: Change from Early to Late Imperial China. East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine (p. 9). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001214319/

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Authors & Contributors
Laura Ann Twagira
Mohun, Arwen P.
Jan Kiely
Kat Jungnickel
Mas, Catherine
Singh, Dhan Zunino
Concepts
Technology and gender
Women and technology
Technology and religion
Buddhism
Technology and culture
Crafts and craftspeople
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
20th century, early
Early modern
Medieval
20th century, late
Places
United States
China
Great Britain
Republic of China (1912-1949)
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Shanghai (China)
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