苗绣的第一缕针丝缀着山川灵秀织就千年，这份沉淀着苗族先民智慧与信仰的绣艺，便以“辫绣锁边、打籽凝香”的技法，铺展了西南秘境里的“针尖图腾”。它是中华刺绣中最懂以线传情的“立体史诗”，既将丝线之润藏于盛装的华贵、常服的质朴，也以“彩线缠针、纹样藏秘”的精湛工艺，糅着深山的苍劲与溪水的灵动，藏着迁徙文明的坚韧与万物有灵的哲思。
今天，就让我们一同踏入苗绣的锦绣天地，品味这份浸在经纬交织里的文化基因吧！本期让我们跟随商务英语2505班汪君倩同学的脚步，穿梭于飘着靛蓝暗香的吊脚楼与缀着银饰流光的节庆现场，感受这份独属于苗绣的瑰丽与深情。
蒲公“英”说书人
大家好，我是来自商务英语2505班的汪君倩，喜欢游泳、唱歌。
原文
Miao embroidery
Decorated with patterns like the butterfly that symbolize maternal love and vitality, Miao embroidery is not only China's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) embroidery style, but a distinct art dubbed the wordless epic of China's Miao ethnic minority group.
The Miao ethnic minority group boasts a rich history but lacks a systematic written language. In lieu of writing, generations of the Miao people developed a tradition of stitching patterns on cloth to document their daily lives, migration stories and cultural beliefs.
This tradition not only marks the origin of Miao embroidery, but also elevates it beyond mere craftsmanship. It serves as an artful expression of the Miao people's chronicles that continues to resonate in the modern era.
More than stitches
Miao communities are mainly distributed in Southwest China's Guizhou province, and Miao embroidery originated in various areas across the province, including its southeastern counties of Leishan and Jianhe, and Kaili city.
Taking Leishan Miao embroidery as an example, it is known for creating multi-dimensional designs through intricate stitching techniques known as lock embroidery and braid embroidery. By braiding colored silk threads, the embroidery exhibits relief-like aesthetics and features layered compositions.
Although 3D design is also used in Chaoshan [in East Guangdong province] embroidery, its presence in Miao art is tied to more mythical and folklore-related aesthetics, Qiu Xiaoyan, an embroidery expert, shared with the Global Times.
The cultural symbolism behind Leishan Miao embroidery is what earned its recognition as a national-level ICH item in 2006.
A key motif in Leishan Miao embroidery is the combination of butterfly, gourd, bird and petal, which depicts a legendary Miao tale in which birds rescue a child who has fallen into a gourd. Nowadays, this particular motif can still be seen on children's clothing, representing blessings of health and prosperity.
In addition to the Leishan branch, Miao embroidery, based on different villages' indigenous tales, has developed more than 100 niche styles characterized by diverse patterns.
In the eastern part of the province, Miao people use animal patterns such as phoenix and Chinese dragon to convey the meaning of happiness. Other patterns, like the centipede-shaped dragon, the yin and yang fish and the sun, reveal the Miao people's reverence for nature as well as their longing for harmony.
Unlike some embroidery traditions that focus on realism, Miao embroidery is characterized by a combination of abstract imagery and familiar motifs. Taking the yin and yang fish as an example, the fish is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture. But the two fish symbolizing male and female in Miao embroidery denote wishes for a happy marriage. Therefore, this pattern often appears on Miao wedding dresses, and is often embroidered by the bride.
There exists a wealth of Miao embroidery patterns, but they all aim to depict the evolving cultural narratives of the Miao ethnic group, Niu Hongjuan, an expert of Chinese fashion history, told the Global Times.
Following the Miao people's historical migration, the embroidery embodying ethnic cultural narrative has been spread to other places such as South China's Hainan province. The province is home to China's Li ethnic minority. Through the integration of the two ethnic cultures, seaside plants and Li ethnic fairy tales started to emerge among the themes represented in traditional Miao embroidery.
Miao embroidery exemplifies how diverse Chinese ethnic cultures take inspiration from each other through exchanges, Qiu told the Global Times.
Looking to the future
Considered a kind of handicraft, Miao embroidery has been treated as a practical daily necessity passed down through generations.
Noting that Miao embroidery is traditionally practiced by women, Yang Chunlin, a young inheritor of Miao embroidery, told the Global Times that a girl's embroidery journey in his village often starts at the age of 7 or 8, and continues throughout her lifetime.
It is like a cycle, but each generation of Miao embroiderers has their own personal preferences, and will add some new elements to the tradition, Yang emphasized.
It is because of such consistent inheritance that this ICH is able to reach more people, including overseas visitors, Yang told the Global Times.
Apart from being an ICH inheritor, Yang has also established his own Miao embroidery brand.
As a trendsetter of Miao embroidery, he gathered old embroidery pieces from a flea market in his hometown Kaili to launch an old embroidery rejuvenation program that promotes sustainable Miao fashion.
In September, a total of 40 Chinese Miao embroidery artists, including Yang and his mother, were invited to London Fashion Week in the UK.
The team brought a Miao embroidery piece inspired by patterns of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) glazed tiles, which was displayed at the show. Commenting on the event, Yang told the Global Times that he considers embroidery a window for people to see the depth of traditional Chinese culture.
The ethnic embroidery serves as an excellent entry point to showcase Chinese culture to the world, Niu told the Global Times, adding that there is a definite trend for more Chinese ethnic ICH items to be staged on the global fashion stage in the future.
本文摘录自Global Times 2024-12-20
译文
苗绣
苗绣以蝴蝶等象征母爱与生命力的图案为装饰，不仅是中国的非物质文化遗产刺绣技艺，更被誉为中国苗族的“无言史诗”，是一种独具特色的艺术形式。
苗族有着悠久的历史，却缺乏系统的文字。于是，苗族先民以绣代文，世代相传着在布料上绣制图案的传统，用针线记录日常生活、迁徙故事与文化信仰。
这一传统不仅是苗绣的起源，更使其超越了单纯的手工艺范畴，成为苗族族群编年史的艺术表达，在当代依然能引发共鸣。
不止于针线
苗族主要分布在中国西南部的贵州省，苗绣起源于该省多个地区，包括黔东南的雷山县、剑河县以及凯里市。
以雷山苗绣为例，它以“锁绣”“辫绣”等精湛针法打造立体纹样而闻名。通过彩丝线编织，绣品呈现出浮雕般的美感，构图层次丰富。
刺绣专家邱晓燕在接受《环球时报》采访时表示：“虽然粤东潮汕刺绣也采用立体设计，但苗绣中的立体元素更蕴含神话与民俗美学。”
雷山苗绣背后丰富的文化象征意义，使其在2006年被列为国家级非物质文化遗产。
“蝶、葫芦、鸟、花瓣”的组合是雷山苗绣的核心纹样，描绘了苗族传说中“百鸟救童”的故事——孩童坠入葫芦后被鸟类营救。如今，这一文样仍常见于儿童服饰，寓意健康顺遂、吉祥兴旺。
除雷山苗绣外，基于不同村落的本土传说，苗绣已发展出百余种小众风格，纹样各具特色。
在贵州东部，苗族群众以凤凰、龙等动物图案传递吉祥寓意；蜈蚣龙、阴阳鱼、太阳等纹样，则彰显了苗族对自然的敬畏与对和谐生活的向往。
与部分侧重写实的刺绣传统不同，苗绣的特点是抽象意象与常见纹样的结合。以“阴阳鱼”为例，在中国文化中鱼象征富足吉祥，但苗绣中代表雌雄的两条鱼，寓意婚姻美满，因此常出现在苗族嫁衣上，多由新娘亲手绣制。
中国时尚史专家牛宏娟向《环球时报》表示：“苗绣纹样虽丰富多样，但核心都是‘描绘苗族不断发展的文化叙事’。”
随着苗族的历史迁徙，承载着族群文化叙事的苗绣传播至海南等地。海南是黎族聚居地，通过两族文化交融，海边植物、黎族神话等元素逐渐融入传统苗绣主题。
邱晓燕说：“苗绣是中国各民族文化通过交流相互汲取灵感的生动例证。”
展望未来
苗绣本是手工艺，长期作为实用生活用品，在世代间传承。
年轻的苗绣传承人杨春林告诉《环球时报》，苗绣传统上由女性传承，在他的家乡，女孩通常7、8岁便开始学绣，且刺绣陪伴一生。
“这是一种循环，但每一代苗绣艺人都有自己的偏好，会为传统增添新元素。”杨春林强调。
他表示，正是这种持续的传承，让这一非物质文化遗产得以触达更多人，包括海外友人。
除了非遗传承人的身份，杨春林还创立了自己的苗绣品牌。
作为苗绣时尚引领者，他从家乡凯里的跳蚤市场收集老绣片，发起“老绣新生”项目，推广可持续苗绣时尚。
今年9月，包括杨春林母子在内的40名中国苗绣艺人受邀参加英国伦敦时装周。
团队带来了一件以明代（1368-1644年）琉璃瓦纹样为灵感的苗绣作品参展。杨春林在评价此次活动时说，他认为刺绣是人们窥见中国传统文化深度的一扇窗。
牛宏娟表示：“民族刺绣是向世界展示中国文化的绝佳切入点，未来会有更多中国少数民族非物质文化遗产登上全球时尚舞台，这是明确的趋势。”
四六级关键词，接住啦
Heritage 遗产
Distinct 独特的
Document 记录
Chronicles 编年史
Intricate 复杂精细的
Symbolism 象征意义
Indigenous 本土的
Reverence 崇敬
Exemplify 举例说明
四六级暴击，小试牛刀
Question 1: Why is Miao embroidery called a wordless epic of the Miao ethnic group?
A. It has a written record of embroidery techniques
B. It documents the Miao's life, migration and beliefs through stitches
C. It only depicts mythical stories without practical meaning
D. It is passed down exclusively by male craftsmen
Answer：B
解析：答案对应原文第一段。该段指出苗族虽历史悠久但缺乏系统文字，“generations of the Miao people developed a tradition of stitching patterns on cloth to document their daily lives, migration stories and cultural beliefs”，说明苗绣通过针线记录苗族的生活、迁徙与信仰，这正是其被称为“无字史诗”的核心原因。A 选项与“lacks a systematic written language”矛盾，C 选项“only depicts mythical stories”和“without practical meaning”不符合文意，D 选项“exclusively by male craftsmen”与后文“traditionally practiced by women”相悖，故排除。
Question 2: What stitching techniques are featured in Leishan Miao embroidery to create 3D effects?
A. plain stitch and cross stitch
B. lock embroidery and braid embroidery
C. satin stitch and chain stitch
D. seed stitch and running stitch
Answer：B
解析：答案对应原文“More than stitches”部分。该部分明确提到“Taking Leishan Miao embroidery as an example, it is known for creating multi-dimensional designs through intricate stitching techniques known as 'lock embroidery' and 'braid embroidery'”，直接说明雷山苗绣通过“锁绣”和“辫绣”实现立体效果。A、C、D 选项中的针法在原文中均未提及，不符合雷山苗绣的工艺特征，故排除。
Question 3: What does the yin and yang fish pattern in Miao embroidery symbolize when used on wedding dresses?
A. reverence for nature and the sun
B. blessings of health and prosperity
C. wishes for a happy marriage
D. memories of the Miao's migration
Answer：C
解析：答案对应原文“More than stitches”部分。该段指出“the two fish symbolizing male and female in Miao embroidery denote wishes for a happy marriage. Therefore, this pattern often appears on Miao wedding dresses”，明确说明苗绣中婚服上的“阴阳鱼”图案象征对美满婚姻的祝愿。A 选项是蜈蚣龙、太阳等图案的寓意，B 选项是“蝶、葫芦、鸟、花瓣”组合图案的寓意，D 选项与“阴阳鱼”图案的象征意义无关，故排除。
