Over 2,000 embroidered bodices housed in Xi’an private mansion

Over 2,000 Dudous, or traditional Chinese bodices, are currently being housed in the Gao’s Family Mansion on a bustling snack street in Xi’an, thepaper.cn reported on Jan. 2.

Collector Zhang Yi has always been fascinated by ancient silk fabrics, influenced by her mother from an early age.

The Dudou reflects the daily life of Chinese women throughout history, as various patterns embroidered on the diamond-shaped piece of fabric such as flowers and butterflies express their hope for a better life.

Dudous were most commonly made for women or babies, and are quite fragile and easily worn out, thus making them difficult to collect.

Zhang noted that it was difficult to find pieces when she started to collect this type of embroidery, but she believes her collection can shed a light on ancient Chinese craftmanship, and bring people from the past and present closer together. (Photo/thepaper.cn)