The Art of Foot Binding in Ancient Chinese Culture

Every culture seems to have their own idea about what constitutes beauty. Women of early America used to bind their waists with corsets in order to make their stomach or midsection area smaller in size. Staining the teeth black was once considered to be a symbol of high beauty as well as symbol of being in the upper class.

Foot binding was the symbol of beauty in Ancient China. It has long been rumored that it was beautiful silk slippers to gliding dances that started this trend which was considered the ultimate symbol of power, beauty and wealth.

The exact origin of foot-binding can't be found anywhere in books but the earliest and most prominent legend of the beginning of this ancient art form is a tale from the Sung Dynasty. The story is told that it was Prince Yu who demanded his young concubine, Yao Niang to bind her feet for toe dancing which was an early variation of ballet. Yao Niang performed on a platform shaped like a lotus according to legend. It would be nearly impossible to walk with bound feet and even more unlikely someone would be able to dance and the reason this legend has been disputed throughout history.

What seems like a more probable story is the legend involving a Shang Dynasty Empress. This Empress had been born with a club foot. At some point in her adult years, she decided she did not want her deformity to be so peculiar to others and requested that her husband order all young girls to have their feet bound. No one really knows for sure which story is true but it seems the tale of the Empress is a more likely one. We do know whoever started this ritual began a Chinese tradition that lasted over a millennium.

It was left to the girls mother to do the foot binding. The child's feet were first soaked in some kind of a herbal tonic and then rubbed with a special ointment to get rid of any dead skin Then the child's four smallest toes were broken. Bandages that had been soaked in warm water and herbs or even animal's blood were placed on the four broken toes and wrapped tightly around them up to the heel of the foot. Every couple of days the feet would be unbound and then wrapped again but only tighter each time. The feet were appropriately 3 to 4 inches long after two years time of binding. The process had to continue for at least ten years in order for the feet to remain this size.

Tiny and delicate slippers made from silk with intricate designs were worn on the bound feet which were referred to as "lotus slippers". As one can imagine foot binding had many effects on young girls. First of all the pain was absolutely excruciating and the smell from the blood soaked bandages was overwhelming. Often times the young girls were shunned due to the stench. If the feet weren't unbound in time, the toes would often fall off due to the lack of blood supply. Toe nails would cut into the skin as well as curl causing the flesh to become decayed. The physical deformities caused to the feet was permanent and it was not uncommon for even death to occur because of atrophy and infection.

The ritual was mainly followed by upper-class families in early history. By the time of the Qing Dynasty, 1644 - 1911 A.D., only girls from poor families who needed to take care of the crops and the home didn't have to partake in the ritual. The end of foot binding came when the Qing Dynasty marked an end to it. They also made the process of foot binding illegal. The Chinese government demanded that all women unbind their feet or face death and officially banned the practice.

The effects of this ritual can still be seen in some elderly Chinese women who's feet still remain bound after many decades. In some remote areas of China, the ritual is still practiced even though it is illegal today.