The History of Foot Binding in China

While we may think of the painful practice of foot binding as a part of China's past, it wasn't outlawed until 1911. Women lived with the health repercussions of it into the twenty-first century.

Origin

Foot binding started in the Sung dynasty (960-976 BC) and it is theorized that the practice started to follow the fashion of an imperial concubine who was required to dance with her feet bound. By the twelfth century AD, however, foot binding became widespread.

Technique

By the age of three, a young girl's toes were all broken except for the big toe. The feet were then tightly bound with strips of cloth so that her feet would not get bigger than four inches. She would then wear what were referred to as "lotus" shoes, so called because the shoes would mold her feet into the shape of a lotus blossom.

Consequences

The University of California, San Fransisco did a study where they found that women who had their feet bound suffered from lower hip bone and lower spine bone density than women with unbound feet, increasing their risk for hip or spine fractures. They were also more prone to falls and less able to squat.

References

• The Virtual Museum of the City of San Fransisco: Chinese Girl with Bound Feet