Foot binding

Foot binding
An albumen silver print photograph of a young woman with bound feet; she sits on a chair facing left, her feet - one with a lotus shoe, the other bare - propped up on a stool.
A Chinese woman showing her foot, image by Lai Afong, c. 1870s
Traditional Chinese纏足
Simplified Chinese缠足
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinchánzú
Wade–Gilesch'an2-tsu2
IPA[ʈʂʰǎn.tsǔ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationchìhn-jūk
Jyutpingcin4-zuk1
IPA[tsʰin˩.tsʊk̚˥]
Alternative (Min) Chinese name
Traditional Chinese裹腳
Simplified Chinese裹脚
Transcriptions

Foot binding (simplified Chinese: 缠足; traditional Chinese: 纏足; pinyin: chánzú), or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls to change their shape and size. Feet altered by foot binding were known as lotus feet and the shoes made for them were known as lotus shoes. In late imperial China, bound feet were considered a status symbol and a mark of feminine beauty. However, foot binding was a painful practice that limited the mobility of women and resulted in lifelong disabilities.

The prevalence and practice of foot binding varied over time and by region and social class.[1] The practice may have originated among court dancers during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in 10th-century China and gradually became popular among the elite during the Song dynasty, later spreading to lower social classes by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Manchu emperors attempted to ban the practice in the 17th century but failed.[2] In some areas, foot binding raised marriage prospects. It has been estimated that by the 19th century 40–50% of all Chinese women may have had bound feet, rising to almost 100% among upper-class Han Chinese women.[3]

While Christian missionaries and Chinese reformers challenged the practice in the late 19th century, it was not until the early 20th century that the practice began to die out, following the efforts of anti-foot binding campaigns. Additionally, upper-class and urban women dropped the practice sooner than poorer rural women.[4] By 2007, only a handful of elderly Chinese women whose feet had been bound were still alive.[3]

  1. ^ Shepherd 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Lim, Louisa (19 March 2007). "Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors". Morning Edition. National Public Radio.
  4. ^ Hershatter 2018, p. 68.

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