satarakoolen
I am becoming an expert in Chinese Culture: Foot Binding
This gives a new meaning to 'Beauty hurts'
Chinese women bound their feet because it was a symbol beauty, feminism, status and wealth.
At what age did Chineses girls get their feet bound?
Typically Chineses girls got their feet bound between the ages 4 - 9
Who decided whether the girls feet would be bound?
The mother of the girl would choose whether or not she wanted her daughters feet to be bound.
The nickname for bound feet was lotus feet.
The general consensus is that the practice is likely to have originated from the time of Emperor Li Yu (Southern Tang of the Ten Kingdoms, just before the Song dynasty).
Emperor Li Yu created a six-foot tall golden lotus decorated with precious stones and pearls, and asked his concubine Yao Niang to bind her feet in white silk into the shape of the crescent moon, and performed a dance ballet-like on the points of her feet on the lotus.
Yao Niang's dance was said to be so graceful that others sought to imitate her. The binding of feet was then replicated by other upper-class women and the practice spread.
However no one knows the exact origin of this practise.
It was outlawed because it made China look barbaric towards females and because feminists realized how cruel the practice was.
The process was started before the arch of the foot had a chance to develop fully, usually between the ages of 4 and 9. Binding usually started during the winter months since the feet were more likely to be numb, and therefore the pain would not be as extreme.
First, each foot would be soaked in a warm mixture of herbs and animal blood; this was intended to soften the foot and aid the binding.
Then, the toenails were cut back as far as possible to prevent in-growth and subsequent infections, since the toes were to be pressed tightly into the sole of the foot. Cotton bandages, 3 m long and 5 cm wide were prepared by soaking them in the blood and herb mixture. To enable the size of the feet to be reduced, the toes on each foot were curled under, then pressed with great force downwards and squeezed into the sole of the foot until the toes broke.
