A Thousand years of bound feet

As evidenced by the creation of “Lotus Shoes”

Footbinding: A Footbinding: A Revisionist’s ViewRevisionist’s View

Song paintings indicate that most women had tianzu (heavenly or natural feet) rather than chanzu (bound beet) or sancun jinlian (the three-inch golden lotus)

“Spinning Wheel”, Wang Juzheng, Southern Song

“Variety show—Beating Flower Drum,” anonymous, Song

Occasionally, some paintings indicate that some women had chanzu

How did it end?How did it end?

Anti-footbinding legislation and Anti-footbinding legislation and campaignscampaigns(from the perspective of “gigantic (from the perspective of “gigantic

history”, public-national rhythm/vocies)history”, public-national rhythm/vocies)The demise of all cultural symbols The demise of all cultural symbols

and values underpinning it, which and values underpinning it, which were used to justify its practicalitywere used to justify its practicality(from the perspective of “miniature (from the perspective of “miniature

history, private-individual history, private-individual rhythy/voices)rhythy/voices)

Anti-footbinding Rhetoric and Movement• Began from late 19th to early 20th century• Characterized by:

• the absence of “authentic” female voice.• Hubris of western (Christian) and modernized sense of

gender equality and body freedom • Newly invented terms denoting the liberation of bound

feet—tiangzu (heavenly feet), fangzu ( freed feet or letting feet out)

• Condemnation of the shame it brought to the patriarchal nation

• Claim that it hurts democracy

• formation of a denigrating, insulting, and erroneous image of women

•Exaggeration of women’s ordeal as inferior and oppressed sex and of men’s position as superior and oppressive sex

• Criminalization of Chanzu

• Creation of two diametrically opposed female subject position, highlighted by chanzu inspectors.

• Expression of the movement’s misogynist attitude toward women with bound feet

“Yaoniang wrapping her feet”

Chairs used to wrap feet

Bound foot women in late Qing

Bound feet women in Modern Times

Only ten-millimeters long

Bronze Sculpture

The size of “Lotus Shoes”

Granny Wu inspected Maiden Liang Ying’s body

The “Origin” DiscourseThe “Origin” Discourse

Foodbinding’s Foodbinding’s origin: footbinding origin: footbinding in historical in historical accounts and accounts and highbrow literature highbrow literature

The “origin issue” The “origin issue” emerged as a topic emerged as a topic of literati of literati conversation in the conversation in the Ming Dynasty Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)(1368-1644)

Myth and history Myth and history are both myths.are both myths.Most commonly Most commonly

accepted notion: accepted notion: Yaoniang’s Yaoniang’s wrapped feet in wrapped feet in the court of Li Yu the court of Li Yu of the Southern of the Southern TangTang

Philologists’ and historians’ views:Philologists’ and historians’ views: Yang Shen of the Ming tried to push its Yang Shen of the Ming tried to push its

origin from recent past to remote antiquity: origin from recent past to remote antiquity: HanHan

Hu Yinglin traced it back to the Six Hu Yinglin traced it back to the Six DynastiesDynasties

Zhao Yi reviewed all existent theories based Zhao Yi reviewed all existent theories based on textual evidence and favored the “tenth on textual evidence and favored the “tenth century theory” because the sources were century theory” because the sources were closest to the practice; practices of closest to the practice; practices of footbinding were localized and varied footbinding were localized and varied

Qian Yong echoed the chronology suggested Qian Yong echoed the chronology suggested by Hu and Zhaoby Hu and Zhao

Foodbinding in Fiction:

Examples of Illustrated Fiction: (left) Dream of the Red Chamber (Honglou meng); (right) The Plum in the Golden Vase (Jinping Mei)

•Fiction provides information which is of dubious historical veracity:

•“Feet Contests” (saijiao hui) in Datong caused the production of distinct lotus shoes with regional reputation

•“Feet contest” took various forms for various reasons and occasions

•Competitors were judged by the following attributes of their feet:

•Small, slender (narrow), pointy, arched, fragrant, soft, correct (proper, balanced)

•Competition also promoted footbinding

•Fiction depicting footbinding as an important element of culture:

•Li YU (1610-80), Xianqing ouji (Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling), demonstrates the author’s connoisseurship of bound feet.

•Connoisseur will watch, smell, touch, discern …the bound feet

•Will also look at the full body in movement

•Li remains keen on the balance between beauty and function of bound feet.

•Bound feet, although small, serve their function in altering the gait and enhancing the grace of the woman

•Wang Jingqi (1672-1726), Jottings on My Westward Journey (Dushutang xizhengsuibi)

•Tiny-feet northern womenwere bandits with bound feet•Their femininity did not impede their agility •They would rob andkill northern men

• Pu Songling (1640-1715), Vernacular Plays from Liaozhai (Liaozhai liqu ji)

• Beautiful women or courtesans wore

high-heeled lotus shoes • Footbinding was a fashion, identity,

and representation of social status

Fiction shows that footbinding is characterized by:

• Status distinctions

• Regional diversities: north vs. south

Impacts of footbinding:

• Caring of bound foot including a wide array of medical treatments: powder, broth, ointment…

• Eroticization of female body

• Mass production of lotus shoes