Foot binding. What is that? Why did it become such an important part of China’s history?
For decades in China, women used this practice to essentially “shape and form” their feet by means of pain and binding. The women’s feet were “systematically broken and shaped in such a way that resembled hooves.” Women with money and free time took up the practice of foot-binding as it became a symbol for the elite. Small feet, just like how a small waist is desirable in Victorian England, represented the “height of female refinement.
To make things sound even worse, the women would endure the pain of the binding as young children! The “ideal age” for foot binding was usually around the ages of four to six. This was because it would be easier to reason with the girls and help them deal with the pain. An age younger than four would be too young as the child wouldn’t be able to endure the pain. By the time the girls were six years old, their feet would have already grown too large to be reformed. Could you imagine going through the pain of unnaturally reshaping your feet as a six-year old? I definitely can’t!
According to Matt Schiavenza, the first recorded binding was in “Five Dynasties and Ten States period in the 10th century.” It was believed that this practice was first inspired by a dancer named Yao Niang. She bound her feet into a “new moon” shape and danced for the emperor on her toes. The emperor was said to be entranced with her dancing and her tiny feet inside a “six-foot golden lotus festooned with ribbons and precious stones.” As a result of the emperor’s liking towards the idea, foot binding became increasingly popular and actually extremely fashionable since many woman wanted to imitate the dancer to gain the emperor’s approval. Soon after, foot binding, that started in the royal court, spread throughout the entirety of China.
The first step to foot binding was to plunge the feet into hot water and to clip the toenails. After, the feet would be massaged and oiled except the big toe before being broken and bound flat against the sole. This would make a triangle shape with the foot. As it continued, the arch of the foot would become strained and the foot would be bent over itself. The last step to finalizing the foot binding was to wrap it in place using a silk strip. To prevent blood flow and the infection of pus, the wrap would be removed about every two days. The heel and the sole would crush together over time as the binding would become tighter and the shoes would become smaller. The process would only be concluded after two years! Furthermore, there would be no way of reversing the binding unless the women were to endure the same pain once more.
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-footbinding-persisted-china-millennium-180953971/