Mountains and Rivers Have Two Sides: the World Is Hidden in the Embroidery

The fictional Zhou Dynasty is set in a setting similar to Jiangnan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The silk weaving industry was prosperous, and government-run institutions such as Suzhou Weaving and Jiangning Weaving coexisted with private embroidery workshops. Embroidery skills are not only a pastime for women in the boudoir, but also a craft that can make a living and even influence the court. The story revolves around a lost skill of "double-sided embroidery of mountains and rivers". This technique can embroider completely different patterns on the front and back of the same piece of silk. On one side are ordinary flowers and birds, but when flipped over it is a map of mountains and rivers with hidden mysteries. It is said that the former dynasty used this technique to convey military information. After the fall of the country, the technique was lost, leaving only a mantra: "The mountains and rivers are hidden in the embroidery, and the universe is hidden under the needle."