Introduction

Foot binding (also known as "Lotus feet") is the custom of applying painfully
tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth.
The practice possibly originated among upper-class court dancers during
theFive ynasties and Ten !ingdoms period in "mperial #hina ($%th or $$th
century)& but spread in the 'ong ynasty and eventually became common
among all but the lowest of classes.
Foot binding became popular as a means of displaying status (women from
wealthy families who did not need them to work could a(ord to have their
feet bound) and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in
#hinese culture.
The )anchu *mperor !ang+i tried to ban footbinding in $,,- but failed. "n
the $.%%s ($/th century)& #hinese reformers challenged the practice but it
was not until the early 0%th century that foot binding began to die out& partly
from changing social conditions and partly as a result of anti-foot binding
campaigns. Foot-binding resulted in lifelong disabilities for most of its
sub1ects& and some elderly #hinese women still survive today with disabilities
related to their bound feet.
Origin
There are many suggestions for the origin of footbinding.
2ne story relates that during the 'hang ynasty& the concubine a1i& who
was said to have clubfoot& asked the *mperor to make footbinding
mandatory for all girls so that her own feet would be the standard of beauty
and elegance.
3nother story tells of a favorite courtesan of *mperor 4iao 5ao1uan& 6an 7u8er
who had delicate feet& dancing bare feet over a platform inlaid with gold and
pearls decorated with lotus 9ower design. The emperor e+pressed admiration
and said that "lotus springs from her every step:"& a possible reference to the
5uddhist legend of 6admavati under whose feet lotus springs forth. This may
have given rise to the terms "golden lotus" or "lotus feet" used to describe
bound feet& there is however no evidence that 6an 7u8er ever bound her feet.
The general consensus is that the practice is likely to have originated from
the time of *mperor Li 7u ('outhern Tang ynasty& 1ust before the 'ong
ynasty). *mperor Li 7u asked his concubine 7ao ;iang to bind her feet in
white silk into the shape of the crescent moon& and performed a lotus dance
ballet-like on the points of her feet. 7ao ;iang was described as so graceful
that she 8skimmed on top of golden lotus8. This was then replicated by other
upper-class women and the practice spread.<,=
The practice of foot binding became popular during the 'ong ynasty. 5y the
end of the 'ong ynasty& it was customary for men to drink from a special
shoe whose heel contained a small cup. uring the 7uan ynasty& some
would also drink directly from the shoe itself. The practice was called "toast
to the golden lotus" and lasted until the late >ing ynasty.
5ound feet became a mark of beauty and was also a prere?uisite for @nding
a husband.
"t also became an avenue for poorer women to marry into money
Variation in practice
Foot binding& however& was practiced in varying forms. 'ome non-Aan ethnic
groups practiced loose binding& which did not break the bones of the arch
and toes but simply narrowed the foot.
Bhile it was e+tremely prevalent among the Aui in Cansu 6rovince&
the ungan people& descendants of Aui from northwestern #hina who 9ed to
central 3sia& were also seen practicing foot binding up to $/-.. 2thers& such
as the Aakka& did not practice foot binding at all.
"n southern #hina& in CuangDhou the westerner Eames Legge encountered a
mos?ue which had a placard denouncing foot binding& saying "slam did not
allow it since it constituted violating the creation of Cod.
)anchu women were forbidden to bind their feet by an edict from the
*mperor after the )anchu started their rule of #hina in $,--
Appeal
5ound feet were once considered intensely erotic in #hinese culture& and a
woman with perfect lotus feet was likely to make a more prestigious
marriage.
>ing ynasty se+ manuals listed -. di(erent ways of playing with women8s
bound feet.
'ome men preferred never to see a woman8s bound feet& so they were
always concealed within tiny "lotus shoes" and wrappings. Feng 4un is
recorded as stating& ""f you remove the shoes and bindings& the aesthetic
feeling will be destroyed forever"Fan indication that men understood that
the symbolic erotic fantasy of bound feet did not correspond to its
unpleasant physical reality& which was therefore to be kept hidden. The fact
that the bound foot was concealed from men8s eyes was considered to be
se+ually appealing. 2n the other hand& an uncovered foot would also give o(
a foul odour& as various saprobic microorganisms would coloniDe the
unwashable folds.
For men& the primary erotic e(ect was a function of the lotus gait& the tiny
steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound. Bomen
with such deformed feet avoided placing weight on the front of the foot and
tended to walk predominantly on their heels. 3s a result& women who
underwent foot-binding walked in a careful& cautious& and unsteady manner.
3dditionally a common male fantasy was that the unusual gait tended to
strengthen the vaginal muscles.
3n attribute of a woman with bound feet was the limitation of her mobility&
and therefore& her inability to take part in politics& social life and the world.
5ound feet rendered women dependent on their families& particularly their
men& and became an alluring symbol of chastity and male ownership& since a
woman was largely restricted to her home and could not venture far without
an escort or the help of watchful servants.
End
"n $.G-& ,% #hristian women in 4iamen called for an end of the practice and
it was championed by the Boman8s #hristian Temperance )ovement in
$..H& and advocated by missionaries including Timothy Iichard& who
thought that #hristianity could promote e?uality between the se+es.
*ducated #hinese began to realise that this aspect of their culture did not
re9ect well upon the progress of the modern rising worldJ
'ocial arwinists argued that it weakened the nation& since enfeebled
women supposedly produced weak sonsJ and feminists attacked the practice
because it caused women to su(er.
3t the turn of the 0%th century& well-born women such as !wan 'iew-Bah
(known in the Best as 5rigitte !wan)& a pioneering feminist& advocated for
the end of foot-binding.
There were also edicts that attempted to ban foot binding. The *mpress
owager #i+i& a )anchu& issued such an edict following the 5o+er
Iebellion in order to appease foreigners& but it was rescinded a short time
later.
Foot binding was also outlawed in $/%0 by the imperial edicts of
the >ing ynasty.
"n $/$0& after the fall of the >ing ynasty& the new ;ationalist government of
the Iepublic of #hina banned foot binding& though& like its predecessors& not
always successfully.
"nTaiwan& foot-binding was banned by the Eapanese administration in $/$K.
Bhen the #ommunists took power in $/-/& they were able to enforce a strict
prohibition on foot-binding& including in isolated areas deep in the
countryside where the ;ationalist prohibition had been ignored. The ban
remains in e(ect today.