企画展 いま、「女性」はどう生きるか ―キャリア・結婚・装い・命―

Foot binding- Little feet that were a symbol of beauty

What kind of custom is foot binding ?

Have you ever heard of the term “foot binding”? Foot binding was a custom in pre-modern China of binding women’s feet with cloth to alter their shape into a smaller size. Foot binding was a symbol of beauty and femininity.

Evidence of the actual practice of foot binding remains since the 13th century; where the first cases of foot binding were practiced by women of the elite class. Foot binding was one of the indicators representing high social status because it was unsuitable for agricultural work. In the 17th and 18th centuries, with the development of weaving and spread of cotton planting, peasant daughters had more opportunities to work indoors and began to compete with each other to practice foot binding.

Foot binding and the mother’s heart as hard as steel

A long, thin strip of cloth bound the girls’ feet tightly from the ankles when their bones are still soft to finely reshape them. The girls suffered pain, but their mothers were determined to have them wear shoes for bound feet. The mothers hardened their hearts because foot binding was a requirement for marriage.

What is the beauty of “(t)he Three-cun Golden Lotus”?

“The Three-cun Golden Lotus” is a metaphorical description of the beauty of foot binding. Three-cun is less than 10 cm, indicating the ideal size of bound feet. The golden lotus is a metaphor comparing bound feet that do not lose their purity even when stepping on soil to a lotus flower that is not stained when it emerges from the mud. Foot binding was a standard of female beauty, even more so than having a beautiful face.

Regional differences in the binding process

In the 13th century, foot binding was practiced by wives of officials and courtesans*. From the 14th century onward, it became commonplace and was even considered a prerequisite for brides in some regions. In Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu in particular, foot binding was practiced by poor women. However, in the Chang Jiang river basin such as in Jiangsu, the binding was relatively loose, and many rural women did not bind their feet.

  • Courtesans mean prostitute or geiko in China

“Little feet are beautiful” -The origins of foot binding-

Foot binding was supported by the notion that small feet were beautiful. Let us examine its history.

3rd to 6th centuryMention of feet in a description of female beauty in poems

13th centuryWives and daughters of officials bound their feet in cloth and wore arched shoes

13th to 15th centuryA symbol of the bride’s modesty and diligence

In pre-modern China, marriage was decided by the parents.
Parents asked for their son’s wives to become accustomed to their marital home, respect their elders, and run the house. Women who endured pain and had small feet were considered to be of a humble and hard-working nature, and capable of living up to such expectations.

9th centuryA Chinese Cinderella story in the essay You yang za zu

Versions of the Cinderella story can be found throughout the world, but among its earliest appearances is in the Chinese book You yang za zu in the 9th century. It is the story of a girl who has been abused by her stepmother and is discovered by the king through a small shoe dropped at a festival. The story illustrates that small feet were a thing of beauty. Furthermore, in the Southern Tang which flourished in the 10th century, legend has it that Yaoniang, a court dancer, bound her feet with cloth and curved them into an arch, and danced on a platform shaped like a lotus flower.

Mid-17th centuryThe Qing dynasty banned foot binding. But...?!

During the Qing dynasty, China was ruled by the Manchus, a tribe in which even women were trained to ride horses. Kangxi, emperor of the Qing dynasty, banned foot binding in 1664, but the trend of Han women’s foot binding did not disappear, and this ban was withdrawn four years later. The Manchu women were forbidden from binding their feet, but their longing for foot binding led them to wearing high-soled shoes to imitate an unsteady gait of bound feet.

3rd to 6th centuryMention of feet in a description of female beauty in poems

9th centuryA Chinese Cinderella story in the essay You yang za zu

Versions of the Cinderella story can be found throughout the world, but among its earliest appearances is in the Chinese book You yang za zu in the 9th century. It is the story of a girl who has been abused by her stepmother and is discovered by the king through a small shoe dropped at a festival. The story illustrates that small feet were a thing of beauty. Furthermore, in the Southern Tang which flourished in the 10th century, legend has it that Yaoniang, a court dancer, bound her feet with cloth and curved them into an arch, and danced on a platform shaped like a lotus flower.

13th centuryWives and daughters of officials bound their feet in cloth and wore arched shoes

13th to 15th centuryA symbol of the bride’s modesty and diligence

In pre-modern China, marriage was decided by the parents.
Parents asked for their son’s wives to become accustomed to their marital home, respect their elders, and run the house. Women who endured pain and had small feet were considered to be of a humble and hard-working nature, and capable of living up to such expectations.

Mid-17th centuryThe Qing dynasty banned foot binding. But...?!

During the Qing dynasty, China was ruled by the Manchus, a tribe in which even women were trained to ride horses. Kangxi, emperor of the Qing dynasty, banned foot binding in 1664, but the trend of Han women’s foot binding did not disappear, and this ban was withdrawn four years later. The Manchu women were forbidden from binding their feet, but their longing for foot binding led them to wearing high-soled shoes to imitate an unsteady gait of bound feet.

Foot binding started in early girlhood

Foot binding was practiced since a very young age. How was the foot reshaped to a smaller size?

Women began to practice foot binding between the ages of five and eight years old. As shown in the procedure on the right, the feet were folded in and bound for a long time with a long, thin cloth to create deep grooves on the soles of the feet.

It was applied under the direction of the mother. First, the mother explained to her daughter about the beauty of foot binding and made her long for it. At first, she bound her daughter’s feet rather loosely, but after that she gradually tightened them, forcing the daughter to walk a lot even if it hurts, and never loosened the binding cloth, even if it made her heart ache.

The daughter continued binding her feet, and at the age of twelve or thirteen, when her feet were in good shape, she began to think that bound feet were beautiful; thus, her mother let her to bind them and take care of them by herself.

Steps in foot binding

1.Wash and rub feet

Wash feet in hot water and rub. Medicines thought to soften the feet were sometimes added to the hot water, or alum was sprinkled between the toes.

2.Bind the four toes except the big toe

Hold four toes except the big toe and bend them to the sole of the foot. Apply strong pressure so that the toes are completely folded into the sole of the foot, and wrap the cloth around the foot, pressing hard against the sole.

3.Wrap the entire foot

Wrap the cloth around the toes, heels, instep, and sole of the feet several times, securing the toes and heels as close together as possible, and finally sew the cloth together.

Shoemaking for bound feet to “measure the quality of women”

Shoes for bound feet were not only footwear, but also had a special meaning in their process of making and designing the shoes.

Shoes for bound feet were made by the women themselves.
Sometimes the shoes were given to the groom’s family to demonstrate the woman’s needlework skills, and sometimes they were given as gifts to family members or very close female friends. Since bare feet were only to be shown to husbands and the shoes had a special meaning, having them made by someone else was sometimes condemned as a lack of decency.

Shoes were made of cotton or silk and were delicately embroidered on the top, slides, and sometimes even the soles. In addition to floral, butterfly, and bird designs, some embroideries depicted candidates who had passed the Imperial examinations* in hopes that their husbands would pass the examinations.

  • The Imperial examination = A civil-service examination system in Imperial China for the purpose of selecting candidates for posts as state officials.

Various tools were used to
make shoes for bound feet.

Wooden soles. Though some shoes were made of cloth alone, it was also common to buy wooden soles from peddlers and attach them to handmade cloth shoes.

Lionhead-shaped thread puller in black lacquered wood.

Spool in red lacquered wood with drawers for needles.

Were bound feet a point of appeal for women?

Bound feet were considered attractive for various reasons; therefore, they influenced women’s lives.

According to Confucian teaching, women of marriageable age were supposed to be in women’s quarters in the house. Foot binding made it difficult to walk and go outside the gates of the house. The ideal image of a modest woman was one who stayed at home and was in charge of household affairs.

Foot binding was the most distinguished feature between men and women, and it was a point of attraction for women. The sight of a bride walking with thin, small feet at her wedding filled the groom’s family with joy. Usually, husbands had their wives cover their legs with long skirts or trousers. The only time the feet of anyone other than the wife could be seen were when they met with courtesans*. Courtesans* who were known for their small feet were inundated with customers.

  • Courtesans mean prostitute or geiko in China
Reasons for the preference of foot binding:
  • To keep women at home;
  • Small feet were considered beautiful;
  • To increase women’s sexual attractiveness for men.

The wish that a daughter can marry into a good family…

Small feet were considered as a women’s attraction. There is also a story of a woman from a poor family who was admired by a wealthy man because of her small feet. Parents tried to find a good groom for their daughters because the daughter’s fate depended on the family she married into. Girls suffered greatly from foot binding, but if they did not find a partner, they would face difficulty for the rest of their lives. Therefore, the mother bound her daughter’s feet.

Reading from the experiences of “admiration for bound feet”

What did the women who practiced foot binding think? Let us unravel the story from their memoirs.

Experience of Ms. Lin Yanmei

I didn’t want to take off the foot binding. I thought the three-cun golden lotus was beautiful compared to the natural feet.

She was born in the late Qing dynasty. She started practicing foot binding when she was just four years old because women put high value on foot binding at that time. She reminisced, “My mother used to compliment me on my small feet, and I was very proud of them.” When there were calls for the emancipation of foot binding, her father who had taken the position of a principal at the time, stopped her from binding her feet because of his position. Yet she did not want to unwrap the binding cloth because she thought it was more beautiful. This demonstrates what women of that time thought about foot binding.

Experience of Ning Lao Tai-tai

To determine whether a girl is beautiful or desirable, the beauty of her feet was more important than her personal beauty!

In some regions, even beggars wore shoes for bound feet. When she was a child, her father peddled rice cakes because their family fortunes declined, but her parents bound her feet.
This was because a woman's beauty was determined by her feet, which were considered more important than her face when it came to marriage. She said, “The matchmaker would not ask if the girl was ‘good-looking,’ but rather, ‘How small are her feet?’ A face is a gift, but a shabby pair of feet is a sign of lack of perseverance.”

The harmful effects of foot binding on the feet and body.

Foot binding, which deforms the feet to an extremely small size, had a variety of negative effects on the body.

All toes except the big toe are folded downwards, and the base of the folded toes and the heel are placed as close together as possible. This causes the instep to bulge out like an arch and the sole of the foot to form a very deep fissure. Foot binding causes the ligaments and tendons of the foot to bend and stretch. The position of the bones is also altered.

Women with bound feet walk with a loose, shuffling gait. This caused the strengthening of their hip and thigh muscles, while it atrophied the muscles from the knee down to the ankle.
Even when practicing foot binding, it was desirable to be able to walk on one’s own, but some people were unable to walk without support as a result of binding their feet too tightly.

Anti-foot binding movement and the end of foot binding

Many women longed to bind their feet, and it took some time for the practice to disappear completely.

1883Kang Youwei created the Anti-Footbinding Society

Kang Youwei, a Han Chinese politician, did not allow his daughters to practice foot binding. He tried to establish the Anti-Footbinding Society, but it was unsuccessful.

1897Inauguration of the Shanghai Foot Emancipation

In the Shanghai Foot Emancipation in which Liang Qichao, a disciple of Kang Youwei, played a central role, it was stipulated that daughters of members would not bind their feet and sons of members would not marry women with bound feet to eliminate women’s fears that they would not be able to marry without foot binding.

1937Decreased due to the Sino-Japanese War

The practice of foot binding varies greatly by region. In some places it quickly disappeared, while it took root in other areas. During the Sino-Japanese War, there was no leeway for an anti-foot binding movement. However, during the war, foot binding made it difficult to run and therefore escape and thus naturally fell into disuse. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1950, another ban on foot binding was issued, but at that time, the practice of foot binding only remained in a few areas.

1895Alicia Little created the Natural Feet Society in China.

Alicia Little, a British woman writer, gathered Westerners in China to form the “Natural Feet” Society which refers to feet in their natural state, and appealed to Chinese intellectuals for the emancipation of foot binding.

1912Increased female students led people to unbind their feet

Women’s schools established from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, advocated for the emancipation of foot binding and stopped women from practicing it when they entered the school. Female students walked to school in the streets with their natural feet, and also played sports. Male students also received anti-foot binding education and desired to marry a woman whose feet were not bound. The custom began to die out from the upper strata of society.

1883Kang Youwei created the Anti-Footbinding Society

Kang Youwei, a Han Chinese politician, did not allow his daughters to practice foot binding. He tried to establish the Anti-Footbinding Society, but it was unsuccessful.

1895Alicia Little created the Natural Feet Society in China.

Alicia Little, a British woman writer, gathered Westerners in China to form the “Natural Feet” Society which refers to feet in their natural state, and appealed to Chinese intellectuals for the emancipation of foot binding.

1897Inauguration of the Shanghai Foot Emancipation

In the Shanghai Foot Emancipation in which Liang Qichao, a disciple of Kang Youwei, played a central role, it was stipulated that daughters of members would not bind their feet and sons of members would not marry women with bound feet to eliminate women’s fears that they would not be able to marry without foot binding.

1937Decreased due to the Sino-Japanese War

The practice of foot binding varies greatly by region. In some places it quickly disappeared, while it took root in other areas. During the Sino-Japanese War, there was no leeway for an anti-foot binding movement. However, during the war, foot binding made it difficult to run and therefore escape and thus naturally fell into disuse. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1950, another ban on foot binding was issued, but at that time, the practice of foot binding only remained in a few areas.

1912Increased female students led people to unbind their feet

Women’s schools established from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, advocated for the emancipation of foot binding and stopped women from practicing it when they entered the school. Female students walked to school in the streets with their natural feet, and also played sports. Male students also received anti-foot binding education and desired to marry a woman whose feet were not bound. The custom began to die out from the upper strata of society.

Source
  • Gao, Hong Xing (translated by Suzuki, Hiroshi), Zusetsu Tensoku No Rekishi, Harashobo, 2009.
  • Kansai Chugoku Joseishi Kenkyukai (Ed.), Chugoku Joseishi Nyumon: Onnatachi No Ima To Mukashi, Jimbun Shoin, 2005.
  • Ko, Dorothy, Every Step a Lotus: Shoes for Bound Feet, University of California Press, 2001. (translated by Ono, Kazuko and Ono, Keiko), Tensoku No Kutsu: Chiisana Ashi No Bunkashi, Heibonsha, 2005.
  • Yao, Lingxi. (Ed.) Cai Fei Lu. Tianjin Shi Dai Gong Si, 1936.
  • Pruitt, Ida (translated by Matsudaira, Ioko), Kan No Musume: Ning Lao Tai-tai No Shougai. Serica Shobo, 1980.
  • Tohda, Masahiro. Tensoku No Hakken: Aru Eikoku Josei to Shinmatsu No Chugoku. Taishukan Shoten, 2004.
同時開催