Ni Renji

CHINA, Zhejiang, Jinhua; Ming to Qing dynasty

Ni Renji, who was also known as Xinhui or Ningxiangzi, was an embroidery artist from Pujiang district in Jinhua. Having studied the Chinese Classics as a young girl, she was adept and knowledgeable in the areas of literature, history, poetry, calligraphy, music, and particularly embroidery. With her own style, Ni’s needling work was swift, flowing, and skilled.
Skilled in embroidering Buddhist figures, she once used real human hair to embroider images of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Lord Guan. Another Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva embroidery work by Ni, currently kept at Pinglong Temple in Zhejiang, displays the Chinese character “shou” (long life) in seal script over the entire frame, exhibiting delicate skill that earned her high reputation.
Her exquisite embroidery of the Heart Sutra was woven on a plain silk damask using dark bluish green silk threads which reflected like jade on the plain background. Other embroidery works by Ni include Planting Trees, kept at the National Museum of China in Beijing, and the Rich and Noble Spring, at the Yiwu Municipal Museum in Zhejiang.