Beauty By Gia

Throughout history, both men and women have gone through great lengths in order to achieve beauty. At times great pain was suffered, in order to achieve what society perceived to be beautiful. In ancient China it was fashionable for women to have their feet binded. Though Foot binding went a bit deeper than fashion, it also reflected the position of women in society.

Though there are several myths about the roots of foot binding, no one is certain how the practice of foot binding began. It began in the late T’ang Dynasty (618-906) and gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty (960-1297). It lasted approximately one thousand years. In the beginning, only the court dancers practiced this custom, it was later followed by the women of the court.

The process of foot binding was in effort to make the feet narrower but it also made the feet shorter because it forced the big toe and the heel closer together. To begin the process, a bandage, ten feet long and two inches wide was wrapped around the foot, forcing the small toes under the sole of the foot. ("Chinese Footbinding"1) This process eventually broke the arch of the foot and constricted it (Newman 17). Over time the bandage was tightened and the girl was put into smaller and smaller sized shoes. To have your foot perfected this process would continue for two years. ("Chinese Foot binding" 1) This process began between the ages of four and seven but six was the ideal age because the foot is still composed primarily of pre-bone cartilage which is mostly water, so it is easier to mold. A young girl’s foot binding voyage would begin in the autumn because the winter would help numb the feet to relieve pain. (Jackson 27)

This great custom is also a dangerous one. First, look at the prevalence and consequences of foot binding according to lead author Steven R. Cummings, MD and UCSF professor of medicine of epidemiology and biostatistics ("lotus shoes"). The practice is virtually crippling and ten percent of its recipients do not survive. The most common health factor of foot binding is osteoporosis, which consumes most of the foot binding population. It can also cause ulceration of the foot, paralysis, and gangrene. The consequence of foot binding that is the least to occur but does is blood poisoning, which is deadly (Vento 2). The worst part of the process was that the feet would practically die after three years. The feet being dead caused a terrible smell, which the girl carried with her, everywhere (Chinese Footwear 1).

Some girls made it through their youth without having any medical problems; yet the time when most women had health problems due to foot binding was in their later years. The women who had their feet bound were more likely to fall, less able to squat and less able to rise from a sitting position in their older years. The combination of the lower hip bone density, along with the fact women with bound feet were more likely to fall, put these women at an extremely high risk for hip fractures (Ling 1,2). Overall, foot binding had its beauty, yet the consequences were very severe

Foot binding sounds so terrible but it did not stay popular forever. In the mid-1600s the Manchus took over the Yuan dynasty to create the Qing Empire. The Manchus were strongly against foot binding. The Qing Empire began to charge people for having daughters with bound feet and prohibiting it in areas they could control. The practiced nevertheless continued. It had become so much part of the Chinese culture and famiy traditions, that the government could not stop it. The Chinese continued to see foot binding as a beautiful act although it was illegal (Jackson 48).

Interesting Facts

·        Men in China, in that era would not marry a woman who did not have bound feet.

·        A mother was responsible for making sure her future daughter-in-law had her feet binded.

·        If the mother of the man lifted up the woman’s dress and discovered (Clowns feet) she would not allow her son to speak to that woman again. This was considered one of the most embarrassing things that could happen to a woman.

·        It was believed to make a woman more desirable to men; therefore she could move up in status.

·        It was acceptable for a woman’s foot to be the length of this bar.