Most women living in Gaoping, Shanxi Province are good at spinning and embroidery. With their dexterous hands, they embroider a series of lively and graceful embroidery crafts, Gaoping embroidery, which has been passed down from generation to generation and continues to this day. In 2008, Gaoping embroidery was selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection projects in my country. Gaoping embroidery is an ancient Han embroidery craft. According to experts, it can be traced back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Embroidery crafts have formed a variety of embroidery needlework according to the purpose of the work, the content of expression, and the image of the work. Gaoping embroidery is divided into two categories: silk thread embroidery and cloth patch embroidery. Silk thread embroidery has flat needle embroidery, seed embroidery, gold embroidery, gold (silver) embroidery and other needlework. Flat needle embroidery is more commonly used. According to the shape of the embroidery, there are long and short embroidery, and the lines are required to be arranged evenly without showing the bottom. Flat needle embroidery is characterized by smoothness, delicacy, and rich expression. The long and short needles are used alternately, striving for neatness, showing a very rich embroidery effect. Seed embroidery means that each stitch is wound into small granular bumps, and these small bumps are arranged closely to form. Because each stitch sees a grain, it is called seed embroidery. Its characteristics are strong and wear-resistant. It is generally used on children's hat tails, needlework bags, embroidered shoes, and powder brushes. Folk artists also use it to embroider bird eyes and stamens to add a finishing touch, with a good texture effect. Panjin embroidery is a decorative technique that uses gold thread to coil into shape and then climbs and embroiders on the bottom satin. Gold and silver embroidery first cuts gold and silver foil into shape, attaches it to the bottom satin, and then uses silk thread to embroider along the lace. The outer edges of the shape are all lines outlined by gold and silver foil, making the picture look magnificent. In actual use, in order to enrich the content, various embroidery techniques are often used interchangeably. Silk thread embroidery is generally used for fine work, and the content is embroidered on the silk satin with embroidery needles and silk threads. Wedding embroidered clothes, dragon and phoenix embroidered shoes, insoles, apron corners, and powder brushes are all embroidered with silk threads. Flat needle embroidery has the richest expression. Seed embroidery is strong and wear-resistant. Gold plate embroidery and gold embroidery make the picture look magnificent. There is also an embroidery needlework called cloth patch embroidery. The various cloth scraps left after cutting clothes are good materials for embroidery. When making, the cloth scraps are cut into shapes of people, animals, flowers, plants, etc. according to the requirements of the concept, and then piled on the bottom surface for lock stitch embroidery. The finished product is simple and generous with bright colors. The biggest feature of Gaoping embroidery in the use of color is bright colors and strong contrast. Generally, black, blue, red, and fish belly white are used as the background, and the patterns are embroidered with bright and lively colors on it. It is bright but not dazzling, strong but not glaring. In long-term practice, a set of contrasting and unified color matching rules have been summarized. In terms of expression techniques, in order to enhance the decorative effect, the expression content is often boldly exaggerated and deformed, without seeking similarity in shape, only focusing on spirit and full composition. Gaoping embroidery mostly uses natural images such as flowers, fruits, insects, fish, butterflies, auspicious birds and auspicious animals as themes, such as double dragons playing with pearls, phoenixes wearing peonies, noble sons picking lotus flowers, fish playing with lotus flowers, monkeys holding peaches, unicorns delivering children, butterflies catching melons, magpies playing with plum blossoms, deer holding plum branches, lions rolling embroidered balls, fish and lotus dolls, etc. In addition, some traditional operas such as "Three Niangs Teaching Their Sons", "The Legend of the White Snake", "Turning Cloud Mountain" and "The Generals of the Yang Family" are also used as the content of expression. In the long creative practice, Gaoping embroidery has been passed down from generation to generation through the dexterous hands of local women, condensing the wisdom and ingenuity of Han women and accumulating the ancient Han cultural heritage. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)