Chinese Footbinding Essay -- China Culture Cultural Essays

Chinese FootbindingIn addressing the subject of footbinding, one special difficulty becomes apparent - that much remains within the realm of the unknowable. each factual knowledge about the practice may only be drawn from 19th- and 20th-century writings, drawings or photographs. In addition, many of these documents represent a clear Western point of view, as they are primarily composed of missioner accounts and the literature of the various anti -footbinding societies.1 The historical origins of footbinding are frustratingly vague, although brief textual references suggest that small feet for women were preferred as early as the Han dynasty. The first of all documented reference to the actual binding of a foot is from the judgeship of the Southern Tang dynasty in Nanjing, which celebrates the fame of its dancing girls renowned for their tiny feet and fair bow shoes.2 The practice apparently became the standard for feminine beauty in the imperial court, spreading downward social ly and geographically as the pooh-pooh classes strove to imitate the style of the elite. 3In its most extreme form, footbinding was the act of peignoir a three- to five-year old girls feet with binding so as to bend the toes under, end the bones and force the back of the foot together. Its purpose was to produce a tiny foot, the golden white lily, which was three inches long and thought to be both lovely and alluring.4 It is believed that the origin of the term golden lotus emerged in the Southern Tang dynasty around 920 A.D., where the emperor Li Yu ordered his best-loved concubine, Fragrant Girl, to bind her feet with silk bands and dance on a golden lotus platform encrusted with pearls and gems. Thereafter, women inside and outside the court ... ...ive (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1990).Jaschok, Maria. Concubines and Bondservants (London Oxford University Press, 1988).Ko, Dorothy. The Body As Attire The Shifting Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeenth-Century chin aware. journal of Womens History. Winter 1997, Vol.84.Levy, Howard S. The white lotus Lovers The Complete History of the Curious Erotic Custom of Footbinding in China (Buffalo, NY Prometheus Books, 1992).Llewellyn, Bernard. Chinas Courts and Concubines (London George Allen & Unwin, 1966).Lloyd, Carol. These Shoes Pinch. New York Times Magazine. Oct. 27, 1996. p. 25.Mackie, Gerry. Ending Footbinding and Infibulation A assembly Account. American Sociological Review. December 1996, Vol.61, Issue 6.Paulshock, MD, Bernadine Z.. Chinese Footbinding. Journal of the American Medical Association. August 12, 1992.