现在的传承人是苏州的钱小萍。
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word “broccoli,” comes from Italian broccato meaning “embossed cloth,” originally past participle of the verb broccare “to stud, set with nails,” from brocco, “small nail,” from Latin broccus, “projecting, pointed.”
织锦缎（satin brocade 或 tapestry satin）是中国最著名的传统丝绸织物统称，也是丝织物中最为精致华丽的纬三重纹织物。织锦缎的地料是单色经纹缎料，以至少有3种彩丝做纬面缎纹起花，在制作时也使用斜纹辅助修饰。
Song brocade was developed in Song Dynasty. As it mainly originated from Suzhou City, it is called “Suzhou Song Brocade”.
宋锦，为宋代发展起来的织锦，因主要产地在苏州，故谓”苏州宋锦”。
Suzhou, the well-known ancient silk city in China, teems with brocades, embroideries, damasks and silk products. In Tang and Song dynasties, Suzhou was the national silk production center. In Ming and Qing dynasties, Suzhou was famous for Suzhou Weaving Office. The imperial weaving and folk silk manufacturing saw both production and marketing thrive at that time. It was so famous that “the sound of looms could be heard in almost half of the southeast of Suzhou”.
苏州是我国著名的丝绸古城，为锦绣之乡、绫罗之地。唐宋时，苏州成为国内丝绸生产中心；明清时期，苏州又有著名的苏州织造府，其宫廷织造和民间丝织产销两旺，素有”东北半城，万户机声”之称。
Suzhou Song Brocade can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, noblemen in Wu State located in regions south of the Yangtze River had used brocades widely in everyday life. The brocade weaving skills were improved completely in Northern Song Dynasty through development in previous historical periods. In Southern Song Dynasty, an official workshop was established in Suzhou. A brand new type of brocade with delicate texture and distinctive craftsmanship, namely Suzhou Song Brocade, took shape at this time. It was not only used in the making of gowns and dresses but also widely used in skillful mounting of scrolls of calligraphy or painting works. It had more than 40 types in total. In particular, the application in the mounting of calligraphy and painting works allows the gorgeous brocades to be preserved together with calligraphy and painting masterpieces. In Ming and Qing dynasties, Song Brocade was applied more widely, especially during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty (1662-1795), the development was in full bloom in history. The scroll of painting entitled “Pure Land”, the masterpiece housed by the Palace Museum, is the typical Double Brocade produced in Suzhou during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. It is rated as a rare treasure.
苏州宋锦的渊源可追溯至春秋时，地处江南的吴国贵族已经在生活中大量使用织锦。历经各时代的发展，织锦技艺在北宋时期得到了全面的提高。南宋时，苏州成立了作院，这时在苏州织锦中，出现了一种质地精美、技艺独特的新品种–苏州宋锦，除用于袍服衣着等服用外，还大量用于书画卷轴类技艺装裱之用，品种共有四十多种。特别是装裱书画的应用，使这些美丽华贵的织锦与书画珍品一起得以保存。明清时，宋锦织物使用范围扩大，特别是康熙、乾隆年间（1662-1795）出现历史上的全盛时期。故宫博物院收藏的”极乐世界织成锦图轴”就是乾隆时期苏州生产的重锦，堪称稀世珍宝。
Song Brocade, which is produced in Suzhou, has exquisite craftsmanship and elegant artistic style. It carries on the traditional style and characteristics of Song Dynasty. Different from other types of fabrics that were popular in Yuan and Ming dynasties, such as brilliant gold-wefted brocade, and brocaded satin, Song Brocade is a kind of brocade knitted with warp and weft concurrently. It not only inherits the skill of warp-patterned brocade in Qin and Han dynasties but also inherits the style of weft-patterned brocade in Tang Dynasty, integrating the two characteristics. Song Brocade can be divided into Double Brocade, Fine Brocade, Box Brocade and Small Brocade according to the structure of the fabric, level of craftsmanship, quality of material, thickness of fabric and application performance, etc.
苏州生产的宋锦，织工精细，艺术格调高雅，具有宋代以来的传统风格与特色，与元明时期流行的光泽艳丽的织金锦、妆花缎等品种有着明显的区别，是一种以经线和彩纬同时显花的织锦，既继承了秦汉经锦的技艺，又继承了唐代纬锦的风格，集两者特色于一身。宋锦的类别，根据织物的结构、技艺的精粗、用料的优劣、织物的厚薄以及使用性能等方面，分为重锦、细锦、匣锦和小锦四类。
There are so many procedures for manufacturing traditional Song Brocade. A finished product is made through over 20 procedures from silk reeling, dyeing to knitting. The product has the following basic characteristics: on the one hand, patterns are woven in a structure of warps interspersed with wefts; on the other hand, multicolored shuttles are cast in different combinations as to change the colors of the pattern to make the silk threads and structure more colorful on the surface of the fabric. The essence of the skill is subsequently absorbed by Cloud Brocade and finally handed down to be used today as well. As far as the artistic style is concerned, the varied geometry is regarded as the framework and knitted with natural flowers and decorative pattern of happiness and auspiciousness inside. Decorated with harmonious yet contrasted colors, it is bright-colored in good taste, simple, unsophisticated and graceful. For this reason, since Song Dynasty, Song Brocade had replaced warp-patterned brocade in Qin and Han dynasties and weft-patterned brocade in Sui and Tang dynasties and developed rapidly in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. With high historical and cultural value, Song Brocade is not only an important part of excellent traditional silk culture in Suzhou, the ancient silk city, but also the masterpiece representing traditional silk skills in China.
传统宋锦的生产制作，工序很多，从缫丝染色到织成产品前后要经过二十多道工序。其产品的基本特点是采用了经线和纬线联合显花的组织结构，应用了彩抛换色之独特技艺，使织物表面色线和组织层次更为丰富。这一技艺特征被后来的云锦所吸收，并一直流传到当代的织锦技艺上。在艺术风格上，以变化几何形为骨架，内填自然花卉、吉祥如意纹等，配以和谐、对比的色彩，使之艳而不俗，古朴高雅。正因此，自宋代起，宋锦便取代了秦汉时期的经锦、隋唐时期的纬锦，并在宋、元、明、清得以蓬勃发展。宋锦不仅是苏州这座丝绸古城优秀丝绸传统文化的重要组成部分，也是中国丝绸传统技艺杰出的代表作，具有很高的历史文化价值。
Due to economic transition and long-term neglect of the skills, the traditional Song Brocade craftsman workshop has been out of business and lots of craftsman, tools and pattern designs have been lost. Therefore, it is urgent to take pragmatic measures to resume and protect the skills.
由于经济转型和长期得不到重视，传统宋锦手工作坊现已停产，艺人、工具、纹样严重散佚，亟待采取切实措施，予以恢复和保护。
And now its inheritor is Qian Xiaoping in Suzhou.
