the tradition of chinese foot binding
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The Tradition of Chinese Foot Binding. By: Brandi Gilliland. The practice of binding feet started just over 1,000 years ago. The Chinese government declared the practice illegal in 1911. The process continued, into the 1930’s - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Tradition of Chinese Foot Binding
By: Brandi Gilliland
The practice of binding feet started just over
1,000 years ago.
The Chinese government declared the practice illegal in 1911.
The process continued, into the 1930’s
In the 1980’s the last shoe manufacturer for bound feet closed its
doors
Sung Dynasty-960-1279AD
It was rampant by the 12th century
17th century decline-the Manchu barbarians
The Manchus abhorred all Han Chinese traditions;
above all, their attire and adornment, including foot-binding, and imposed death
penalties on those who breached the fashion code. Men were made to shave their heads; women were made to unbind their feet.
Wang Lifen was just 7 years old when her mother started binding her feet: breaking her toes and
binding them underneath the sole of the foot with bandages.
After her mother died, Wang carried on, breaking the arch of her own foot to force her toes and heel
ever closer. Now 79, Wang no longer remembers the pain.
What do you think these terms mean?
The Lotus of GoldThe Lotus of Silver
The Iron Lotus
Beauty Is PainThe process begins when girls are usually between 3 and 6 years
old
The feet are soaked
All toes except the big toe are broken and folded under the sole
The feet and toes are bound tightly
A
The wrappings are removed for washing and toenail clipping
every two days
The feet are re-bound tighter and
tighter until the arch breaks and is pulled straight with the leg
The feet are now considered an
extension of the leg and are no longer a tool for standing or
walking
Girls were often made to walk long
distances and sometimes carry
weights to form their feet.
It was not uncommon for
lacerations to occur which often opened
the girl up for infection or gangreneThis process lasted
anywhere from 2 to 10 years
As if the pain wasn’t bad enough….
The Dangers:ToesNails
Foot soaksFoot death
Death
WHY?Status
MarriageIdentityVirtueClass
Think…..What would you do to look good?
Consider the cultural values of the Chinese during the foot binding era and know that most,
if not all, of these women wanted their feet bound.