Foot Binding

Why Chinese can't play football

Foot binding is now forbidden in China, although you still might see the terrible results on very old ladies nowadays.




It is a practice that started around the 10Th century and was banned in 1911. So this custom existed for about thousand years!


At the age of 5 or 6 the feet of girls were wrapped in bandages. The natural grow got disturbed and the toes and feet would break. Bounded feet measured between 10 and 15 cm. These distorted feet were easy to get infected and the ladies suffered not only from uncomfortable walking but also from diseases and paralysis.


Only girls and women who had a certain social status and therefore resided in a courthouse were subject to this practise. Normal women who were working on the land didn't got there feet bound. During the Qing period (1636-1911) more and more common people started to get there feet bound.



But why this terrible practise?


1. First of all the social status, women would have been proud to get their feet as small as possible.


2. Because it was appealing to man. Hmm very sexy indeed. Because the feet were only washed a few times and never in the presence of men. It was seen as something very intimate and men could only think what was behind those wrappings. The fact that the feet were concealed for men's eyes was sexually suggestive. When women were walking they could not walk with huge tread, but had to with tiny steps, which would have been erotic to look at for Chinese men.


3. Because of the walking difficulties it was also a way to keep the women in the house. The could not easily run away with those tiny feet. The man stayed dominant over the weak woman.



When the Qing dynasty fell and the Republic of China was proclaimed, the custom of binding feet was banned. Women had to unwrap their feet or they would be killed. With the People's Republic of China started in 1949 the ban was maintained and still stand until today.


The few old Chinese ladies that are still walking around in China now are called the Lilly footed Women. Some of them took a trip to visit Beijing, the trip was recorded and there are some art picture books dedicated to them.