Foot binding

Foot binding is an old Chinese custom of wrapping girls' feet with cloth in order to stop them from growing with age. This tradition lasted until the early 20th century, when it was banned by the People's Republic of China.

A woman with bound feet.

Usually, the goal was to make the feet about 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, at most.^[source?] Women who had their feet bound were usually impaired by permanent injuries for the rest of their lives. The physical consequences of foot binding stayed in Chinese society until very recently, according to a study published by the University of San Francisco.^[source?]

History

Some Chinese legends say people started binding women's feet as early as the Shang dynasty (1700–1027 BCE). However, writing says that foot binding began at the court of the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE).

After Manchuria created the Qing dynasty (1644-1912 CE), Manchurian emperors wrote many laws banning foot binding. However, the laws did not work very well. In 1874, a British priest led the first anti-footbinding committee in Shanghai.

After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the republican government kept trying to stop foot binding. They gave fines (orders to pay money) to women who still had their feet bound after 1915.

During the early 20th century, western fashion was affecting China more and more. The People's Republic of China eventually outlawed foot binding, although this was not very successful in actually ending the practice. According to Xinhua News Agency, the last factory to make shoes for foot-bound women stopped making those shoes in 1998, in Harbin, China.

Purpose

Foot binding was a sign of social status. If a woman's feet were bound, it was a sign that she was a higher-class woman who did not have to do hard work. However, foot binding slowly spread to the lower classes, who wanted to improve their social status. By the 17th century, Chinese girls of all social statuses had their feet bound.

Some people think that Chinese women were forced to bind their feet in order to please their husbands sexually. Some people also see foot binding as insulting to women. But other people argue that this view is biased against the Chinese culture in favor of modern Western standards.

References

• "Foot binding" Encyclopædia Britannica Online (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed 8 June 2009.

Other websites

• The lingering influence of foot binding
• Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors
• History and the culture of the Song dynasty