Female
foot-binding can be traced back to 10th century China. Young girls in China
were subjected to this extremely painful procedure for centuries. This process
maimed the feet of millions of Chinese girls and women for centuries. These
tiny, maimed feet were known as "lotus feet". Foot-binding was
usually begun when a girl turned four, until nine. A girl's foot was
transformed into a "golden lotus" foot by breaking her toes and
binding them to the sole of her foot, with cloth strips, then the foot was tied
front-to-back over a period of years, and grew into an exaggerated high curve.
The
girls' feet were first soaked in a warm mixture of herbs and animal blood to
soften them, then the toenails were cut back to prevent infections. The third
step involved shattering the bones by twisting the toes downwards towards the
bottom of the foot. All but the big toe were broken. The ideal "lotus
foot" was only three to four inches, and tucked into embroidered shoes.
Girls with five-inch feet had a hard time finding good suitors.
Girls with bound feet
naturally developed a unique way of walking; they walked as though they had
hooves. This made them develop strong muscles in their hips, thighs and
buttocks; attributes that were considered physically enticing to Chinese men at
the time.
Foot-binding endangered
a girl's health as the girl's toenails repeatedly grew back into the swollen
flesh of the feet which led to severe infections oftentimes. What's more, lack
of circulation in the feet resulted in gangrene. Gangrene was considered an
advantage though, as it caused the toes to rot and eventually fall off the
feet, hence smaller lotus feet.
Bound feet were
considered sensual and beautiful and were thought to be a passport to a better
marriage and easier life, that's the idea they were sold. Yao Niang, a
tenth-century court dancer is thought to have been the inspiration for
foot-binding. She was Emperor Li Yu's favorite consort, and bound her feet into
the shape of a crescent moon, and performed a ballet-like dance on the points
of her feet, on the six-foot tall golden lotus the emperor had made. Emperor
Yu's other consorts then began binding their feet to please him. The practice
continued with the Royal court, and soon became a symbol of class, elegance and
beauty.
Laurel Bossen, co-author
of the book Bound Feet, Young Hands suggests that girls' feet
were bound for economic purposes; families whose daughters had bound feet could
forgo work in the fields. This is because women with bound feet could not walk
well enough to do labor that required lengthy standing. Bossen said, "You have to link hands and feet. Foot-bound women did
valuable handwork at home in cottage industries. The image of them as idle
sexual trophies is a grave distortion of history." Women with bound
feet carried out boring lengthy sedentary tasks such as cotton spinning,
weaving and other hand-work. Foot-binding declined as the economic advantage of
producing cloth at home was overtaken by cheaper factory-made alternatives.
Bound feet signified
relative wealth, prompting some poor farming families who could not afford to
lose a child's labor to bind their eldest daughters' feet, with the hopes of
attracting wealthy husbands for their daughters.
The banning of
foot-binding began in the early years of the 20th century, with the advent of
western missionaries and reformers. They called for an end to this disturbing
practice which had persisted for more than 1,000 years. Chinese
intellectuals who had studied in North America and Europe returned to China and
gave their support to the cause. Foot-binding became unfashionable in the
1920s, and women who had had their feet bound to attract suitors suddenly found
themselves wanting, for they had endured a lot of pain and tears in vain.
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