What is the meaning of Footbinding?

Foot binding was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change the shape and size of their feet; during the time it was practiced, bound feet were considered a status symbol and a mark of beauty.

What was the purpose of Footbinding?

Foot-binding was a practice first carried out on young girls in Tang Dynasty China to restrict their normal growth and make their feet as small as possible. Considered an attractive quality, the effects of the process were painful and permanent.

Footbinding was first banned in 1912, but some continued binding their feet in secret. Some of the last survivors of this barbaric practice are still living in Liuyicun, a village in Southern China’s Yunnan province.

Did Footbinding cause infection?

In girls with large feet, glass shards or tile fragments were inserted into the binding beside the toes to deliberately cause an infection. The infection often led to septic shock and even death.

Why were bound feet considered beautiful?

The girls, naturally, developed a peculiar way of walking”almost as if they had hooves. And in order to facilitate moving around, women with bound feet developed strong muscles in their hips, thighs, and buttocks, so much so that these characteristics were considered physically attractive to the Chinese men of the era.

Why do Chinese wash their feet?

Washing feet is a part of the important “water culture” in China. So washing the feet is a way of showing respect to previous generations or your husband. It also is a way of expressing personal regret if you are feeling guilty.

Did Japanese do foot binding?

However, women in Heian Japan did enjoy some rights and privileges, despite their situation not being ideal. Despite these so called privileges, women were still discriminated against. The most infamous case was foot binding. Foot binding originated in the tenth or eleventh century by dancers and courtesans.

Once a foot had been crushed and bound, the shape could not be reversed without a woman undergoing the same pain all over again. As the practice of foot-binding makes brutally clear, social forces in China then subjugated women.

What age did they start foot binding?

between 4 and 6 years old

Can you walk with foot binding?

In many cases the arch was broken completely. Girls whose feet were bound would never again be able to walk fluidly, severely limiting their ability to move through the world. Many cultural accounts of foot-binding have been written, especially from a feminist perspective, and many academic studies mention the process.

What were the four major professions in ancient China?

These were the shi (gentry scholars), the nong (peasant farmers), the gong (artisans and craftsmen), and the shang (merchants and traders). The four occupations were not always arranged in this order.

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