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
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