The idea of foot binding also known as lotus feet, is believed to have come from the Tang dynasty. After the Southern Tang emperor, Li Yu asked his favorite concubine to bind her foot in silk into a crescent and perform a ballet-like dance on a lotus. His other concubines attempted to bind their feet in order to gain his favor and so the art of foot binding began to spread.
The practice of foot binding traveled to the Song dynasty and it became an established custom for the women. Every ethnic Han Chinese woman of any social class were expected to have lotus feet. Foot binding usually began when girls were around the ages of 4 and 6 years old. Some began as young as 3 and some at the ages of 12. Mothers, grandmothers, or any older female relatives were the first to bound the child’s feet. Their main goal was to make them 3 inches long, but only few girls were able to get them that small. To begin the process, each foot would soak in a warm mixture of herbs and animal blood. This was used to soften the foot and help with the binding process. Then the toe nails were cut and all of the toes except for the big toe were broken and held tightly against the sole of the foot. The arch of the foot was strained and bent double until it was broken, turning the foot into a triangle shape. After the excruciating procedure, they immediately bounded the feet with cotton or silk bandages in an eight figure movement and tightened with each passing. When the feet were unbounded, the bandages and feet were cleaned. Ironically, the toes were also checked for any injuries.
The broken feet and soles were kneaded to soften them, the soles were also beaten because they believed it made the bones more flexible. Their idea was to break the bones of the foot whenever it grew too large to keep it at a small size, this process took two or three years to complete. They believed that the smaller the feet, the more attractive they were, and they were seen as a sign of elegance. Even the walk style of a woman with bound feet became a necessity for all women since light steps were deemed as elegant. Bound feet was considered to be beautiful and they thought girls with lotus feet were more likely to marry well. Women also had limited mobility due to the pain of their bound feet.
When the Mongols overthrew the song dynasty, they adopted a lot of the Chinese traditions but not foot binding. The Mongol women were were not interested in permanently disabling their daughters to conform with Chinese standards of beauty. During the Qing dynasty, the emperor tried to ban foot binding, but people were still practicing it so he withdrew the ban. The practice didn’t come to an end until the creation of the People’s republic of China in 1949. Mao and his government made it illegal to practice foot binding throughout the country.
Question:
- Why do you think it was important for women to bind their feet around that time?
Citations:
Smith, Tiffany Marie. “Footbinding.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Mar. 2018, http://www.britannica.com/science/footbinding.
Szczepanski, Kallie. “The History of Foot Binding in China.” ThoughtCo, 21 Nov. 2019, http://www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-foot-binding-in-china-195228.
Oakes, Troy. “The History of Foot Binding in China.” Bringing You Truth, Inspiration, Hope., 30 Dec. 2017, visiontimes.com/2017/12/29/the-history-of-foot-binding-in-china2.html.
Commons, Jess. “These Pictures Show Us The Painful Legacy Of Chinese Foot Binding.” Grazia, Grazia, 18 Feb. 2016, graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/chinese-foot-binding-pictures/.
MIke, China. “THE QING DYNASTY [1644-1912 ]: Part I.” China Mike, 11 Feb. 2020, http://www.china-mike.com/chinese-history-timeline/part-10-qing-dynasty/.
Johnston, Georgia. “‘Lotus Slippers’ and Chinese Foot Binding.” Wellheeledwebsite’s Blog, 5 May 2010, wellheeledwebsite.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/lotus-slippers-and-chinese-foot-binding/.
The Medieval World at GV 
I think that it was important for women to bind their feet because it was a sign of beauty. While it may have been painful, it was more attractive. It could also be a symbol of wealth, as having bound feet meant you didn’t work. This practice was a sign of both beauty and social standing which made it important for women at that time.
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It’s interesting to consider how social standards of beauty are so variable; the example of the Mongols’ disdain for this practice is a good illustration of how subjective this idea of what’s “beautiful” really was. And, of course, the gendered element of this is an important consideration as well. We don’t see anything near the equivalent of this body modification applied to male standards of attractiveness.
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I believe one of the main goals was to keep women in the home. Since they became disabled through foot binding they couldn’t walk far distances which forced them to stay home and perpetuate the idea of the patriarchy, and once the trend of footbinding reached its way down to the peasantry it became vital in acquiring a husband.
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I would assume that the biggest reason is for social status, and presentation. It probably was a beauty standard to have lotus feet as women, and the process starts at an early age for most of these women. “Pain is beauty” is a common phrase even uttered nowadays.
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I saw a documentary on this about one of the last known woman surviver of the foot binding. It was done for higher status in for arrange marriage and socail status in that time period. It’s not done anymore because of what causes later on with a lot of pain and hard to barley walk.
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I read this post and I was blown away, I never would of guessed foot binding was an actual thing. I am assuming they did this for social status reasons. I feel like looks and they were founded to be more beautiful if the foot was binded.
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