Foot Binding: Beauty And Torture

Abstract

Chinese foot binding is an ancient tradition of beauty and torture, passed from mother to daughter, generation to generation, that lasted for almost 1,000 years. Foot binding was seen as a sign of beauty and attractiveness. Once a girl was of marriageable age, prospective mother-in-laws would come around and pick a wife for her son by the appearance of the girl's feet. Foot binding was the act of wrapping a threeto five-year old girl's feet with binding so as to bend the toes under, break the bones and force the back of the foot together. The bound foot was also a symbol of identity and virtue. A bound foot signified that a woman had achieved womanhood, and served as a mark of her gendered identity. Foot binding was not considered mutilation but a form of adornment, an embellishment to the human body. According to historical account it was around 970 A.D., during the rule of Emperor Li Yu, the custom of foot binding began in China. The ruler's favourite consort Yao-niang performed a dance atop a golden lotus pedestal. She wrapped her feet in long strips of silk cloth. From that day on, foot binding was often associated with the term, golden lotus. What made the author to take this topic is that my (Late) grandmother had small feet. In this paper the author traces the origin of foot binding, process of foot binding, reasons for foot binding, physiological implication, opposition and abolishment of foot binding.