Stitching up history

Stitching up history

故宫里的织绣品文物，是如何被修复的?

Beauty is probably the reason that has kept them sitting in front of exquisite centuries-old woven pieces and forgetting the flow of time.

能让她们一直坐在历经百年的精致罗裳面前，忘记时间的流逝，这其中缘由大概就是跨越历史的罗裳之美。

Qu Tingting has worked in the textile conservation studio of the Palace Museum in Beijing since 2013. Doing the needlework on ancient Chinese embroidery, silk pieces and other types of textiles, Qu says she does not have even one moment of boredom. With fashion designing as her major in college, Qu says that being a doctor curing the ancient textiles is an ideal choice.

自2013年起，曲婷婷就在北京故宫博物院的织绣修复组工作。对着中国古代刺绣、丝绸和其他类型的织绣品做针线活，曲婷婷表示她一点都不感到无聊。她大学学的是服装设计，所以她觉得当一名古代织绣品的“医生”不失为一个理想的职业选择。

No matter how sparkling these textiles were when they first came to the Forbidden City, they were dusty when they were handed to conservators later. Using a specially designed " miniature vacuum cleaner" , an area up to the size of a hand can be cleaned a day. These relics deserve the utmost caution as textiles are one of the most fragile cultural relics in the museum.

无论这些织绣品初到紫禁城时是多么的光鲜精致，送到修复师手上时都是灰扑扑的。修复师使用专门设计的“微型吸尘器”，一天可以清洁一只手掌大小的区域。处理这些织绣文物需要十分谨慎，因为它们是故宫中最脆弱的文物之一.

Royal garments and Peking Opera costumes are the signature relics in this category, but textiles were almost ubiquitous in the former imperial palace and used to make windows, paintings, folding fans, cushions, pillows, bedsheets, valances, and other interior decorations. The artisans were generous in demonstrating their creativity by weaving auspicious patterns in corners of the imperial palace.

织绣品的标志性文物是皇家服饰和京剧服饰，但在原本的皇宫中，织绣品几乎无处不在，由它们制成的窗户、画卷、折扇、床垫、枕头、床单、帷幔和其他室内装饰品随处可见。织绣工匠尽情展现他们的创造力，在皇宫的每一个角落编织着象征吉祥如意的图案。

Consequently, following the renovation of the palatial architecture, more textile relics were sent to the conservation studio. For example, in the ongoing renovation of the Hall of Mental Cultivation - the last eight Qing emperors' residence - conservators have new tasks: the daily-use articles were moved from that hall to the studio.

因此，随着宫殿的修缮，有更多的织绣文物被送到了修复组。例如，在养心殿(清朝最后八位皇帝的寝宫)进行修缮期间，修复师就有了新的任务:将养心殿中的日常用品搬到工作室去做修复。