During Ottoman times it was converted into a han (caravanserai) for silk manufacturers.
Mr. Feng, 76, comes from a well-off Shanghai family, the son of a silk manufacturer.
Soon afterwards, he was listed as a "boot and shoe & silk manufacturer".
The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer - a man dogged through life by misfortune and failure.
The styles and technological innovations made by Como's silk manufacturers may be new, but the raw material has remained constant for more than 4,000 years.
The house, built in 1898 by a silk manufacturer with 13 children, has gilded plaster ceilings and six hand-carved oak fireplaces.
Charles Holme was the son of a silk manufacturer from Derby.
In Lyon, they were originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products.
At the age of 14, she was forced to support herself as a maid, and in 1763, she is listed as a silk manufacturer.
They were a well-to-do family, Job earning his wealth as a silk manufacturer.