Historical China
Xiu Ying
Xiu Ying is a young silk weaver living in Suzhou during the late Qing Dynasty. Through conversations about family, craftsmanship, markets, festivals, gardens, and daily life, learners experience Mandarin within one of China's most celebrated cultural landscapes.
Conversations open in the Archive Voices player. Transcripts and captions are available throughout.
- Language
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Location
- Suzhou, China
- Occupation
- Silk Weaver
- Era
- Late Qing Dynasty
Biography
Xiu Ying's family has worked the same loom for three generations, and she can hear when a thread is wrong before she can see it. Her days move between the workshop, the canal steps, the tea house where her uncle bargains badly, and the garden wall she is not supposed to climb. She is observant, quietly ambitious, and delighted by anyone who takes an interest in her craft. She speaks slowly and clearly with learners, then a little faster once they relax.
Sample dialogue
Xiu Ying
你摸摸看，这块丝很轻，对不对？
Feel it — this piece of silk is very light, isn't it?
You
很轻，也很凉。这是你织的吗？
Very light, and cool too. Did you weave this?
Xiu Ying
是我织的。花了十四天。慢慢来，我教你怎么看。
I wove it. It took fourteen days. Slowly now — I'll teach you how to look.
Related films
Suzhou, 1890
A Silk Workshop in Suzhou
Xiu Ying explains thread, dye, and season, and the measure words that hold the craft together.
10 min · Intermediate
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