There are many suggestions for the origin of footbinding.[4] One story relates that during the Shang Dynasty, the concubine Daji, who was said to have clubfoot, asked the Emperor to make footbinding mandatory for all girls so that her own feet would be the standard of beauty and elegance. Another story tells of a favorite courtesan of Emperor Xiao Baojuan, Pan Yuer (潘玉儿) who had delicate feet, dancing bare feet over a platform inlaid with gold and pearls decorated with lotus flower design. The emperor expressed admiration and said that lotus springs from her every step! (步步生蓮), a possible reference to the Buddhist legend of Padmavati under whose feet lotus springs forth. This may have given rise to the terms golden lotus or lotus feet used to describe bound feet, there is however no evidence that Pan Yuer ever bound her feet.[5] The general consensus is that the practice is likely to have originated from the time of Emperor Li Yu (Southern Tang Dynasty, just before the Song Dynasty).[1] Emperor Li Yu asked his concubine Yao Niang (窅娘) to bind her feet in white silk into the shape of the crescent moon, and performed a lotus dance ballet-like on the points of her feet.[4] Yao Niang was described as so graceful that she skimmed on top of golden lotus.[1] This was then replicated by other upper-class women and the practice spread.[6] The practice of footbinding became popular during the Song Dynasty. By the end of the Song Dynasty, it was customary for men to drink from a special shoe whose heel contained a small cup. During the Yuan Dynasty, some would also drink directly from the shoe itself. The practice was called toast to the golden lotus and lasted until the late Qing Dynasty.[4] Bound feet became a mark of beauty and was also a prerequisite for finding a husband. It also became an avenue for poorer women to marry into money; for example, in Guangdong in the late 19th century, it was customary to bind the feet of the eldest daughter of a lower-class family who was intended to be brought up as a lady. Her younger sisters would grow up to be bond-servants or domestic slaves and, when old enough, either the concubines of rich men or the wives of laboring men, able to work in the fields alongside them. In contrast, the tiny, narrow feet of the ladies were considered beautiful and made a womans movements more feminine and dainty, and it was assumed these eldest daughters would never need to work. Women, their families, and their husbands took great pride in tiny feet, with the ideal length, called the “Golden Lotus”, being about 7 cm (3 inches) long.[7] This pride was reflected in the elegantly embroidered silk slippers and wrappings girls and women wore to cover their feet. Walking on bound feet necessitated bending the knees slightly and swaying to maintain proper movement and balance, a dainty walk that was also considered erotic to men.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 08:55:37 +0000
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