The Practice of Foot-Binding in China

Foot Binding was a chinese cultural practice that involved tightly bandaging womens feet to restrict normal growth and make the feet look as small as possible. The practice originated in the 10th century during the reign of the Tang dynasty and lasted until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.  Foot binding reached its peak during the Qing dynasty (also known as the Manchu dynasty). Even though the Manchu emperors forbade women from binding their feet and gave numerous orders to stop the practice among han women, the practice continued until the 20th century when it eventually began to die out. (wang)

These tiny, deformed feet came to be known as lotus feet making them a symbol of feminine beauty, hierarchy and morality in the Chinese society. The fashion for bound feet began in the upper classes of Han Chinese society, but it spread to all but the poorest families. Having a daughter with bound feet increased her marriage prospects significantly. Having bound feet was extremely  painful and significantly reduced the mobility of women. Hence, the only women who did not bind their feet were the very poor, ethnic Hakka people, and women who worked in fishing because they had needed to have normal feet in order to balance themselves on boats. (atlantic article)

History

There are several myths that celebrate light footed women and feature the same interplay of fact and fiction. According to Yao Lingxi's Records of Gathering Fragrance The practice of foot binding can be traced back to as early as the sixteenth century B.C. when Da Ji, a beautiful fox fairy was sent to earth to destroy the corrupt kingdom. She transformed herself into a beautiful lady but was unable to change her feet which still looked like hooves, so she wrapped them in a cloth (Wang 2000, 29-53). To enchant the king she danced on a gilded stage in the shape of a lotus flower (Schiavenza 2013). She soon became the kings favourite concubine and other court women began to bound their feet in the hope to gain favours of the king through their tiny feet (Wang 2000, 29-53)

Books and paintings show that more women started binding their feet from the Northern Song around the 11th century. The Mongols who founded the Yuan dynasty(1271-1368 ), loved bound feet and encouraged foot binding. By the time of the Ming dynasty (1368—1644) footbinding was widespread in china.

In the 19th century, toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, Western countries began to colonize China and many Western people began to move to the country. This coincided with the height of foot binding, when the practice was most prevalent. Many western women, especially the wives of Christian missionaries, became strong advocates against the practice, producing pamphlets and even opening shelters in support of afflicted women. Around the same time leading intellectuals began seeing footbinding as a major symbol of China's backwardness. With the  government bans and widespread negative propaganda by the chinese communist’s the practice had virtually disappeared by 1949 in most parts of China. By the 21st century, only a few elderly women in China still had bound feet.