Due to the unique chemical characteristics of silk, it is difficult for embroidery to be preserved for a long time in the humid climate of Sichuan. Therefore, few embroidery products have been found in the archaeological research in Sichuan, so it is impossible to trace the origin of Shu embroidery by archaeological methods. However, Shu embroidery still has its glory in other forms. In 1986, a bronze statue about 4,800 years ago was unearthed at the Sanxingdui Site in Chengdu. The statue was dressed in a dragon costume with complicated dragon, beast and variant cloud and thunder patterns. With the level of textile technology at that time, these decorative patterns could not have been woven by a textile machine. Since the pattern of the embroidery is consistent with the embroidery residue of the Western Zhou Dynasty unearthed in Baoji, Shaanxi province in 1974, it is most likely that the embroidery was made with the lock embroidery method, which traces the history of Shu embroidery back to the Sanxingdui civilization in ancient Shu, which was contemporized with the Xia Civilization in the Central Plains.
Shu embroidery in the early period was mostly used for making ceremonial clothes is true.