Gu Jinxiu also made seat cushions out of coarse hemp cloth and laid them on the stools. Ms. Jiang saw an embroidery of a rural kitchen smoke scene on the cushion and was pleasantly surprised: "This embroidery is really well done, even more beautiful than flowers."
She had seen plenty of plum blossoms, begonia, and lotus embroideries, but never one with a rural kitchen smoke scene embroidered on coarse cloth.
This plate-sized embroidery depicted a small rural courtyard with wispy smoke rising from the chimney; a rooster crowing on the fence; a hen with a bunch of chicks scratching the ground for food beneath the fence; fields in the distance, and beyond them, woods and high mountains.
Looking at this embroidery, Ms. Jiang felt as if she was immersed in the scene depicted, her whole being becoming relaxed and uplifted.
