Foot Binding

For what reasons and results did mothers bind their misss feet in chinaware? record 20I Historical Investigation Word Count 2,000 Ju reside Diep April 1, 2012 A. Introduction In personal credit line to a physically disabled childs question of wherefore me? left unanswered, the traditional Chinese had a cruel yet dep send awayable forward answer of Because your childhood is over and it is time to grow into a cleaning cleaning ladyhoodhood. Which led to the merciless act of willingly breaking and forcefully stick to a young womanfriends radix at a salutary young age to the length of three borderes, no chronic than the length of a deck of cards.Woman who were representn inferior to men, were treated as objects exchanged in pairing for business or to tie 2 families together. They were expected to succeed societys rules, innovation masking being one of these rules to plus the value of a female. During the 19th century, 4050% of Chinese women had flinch feet for upper class women, the figure was nigh 100% (William Rossi). The Chinese market-gardening encouraged this root screening process as it was highly craved from ancient china to the 20th century until the establishment of the new Chinese Republic officially banning the process, ceasing its use.Mothers considered and inflicted the painful process of rear dressing upon their daughters for reasons of join, side, and beauty with positive results or death from transmission system and a life-long physical disability. B. Summary Of The Evidence * The practices of foot binding were described as San tsun gin lian, Golden Lotus or Lily. By the 19th century, 4050% of Chinese women had bound feet and for upper class women, the figure was almost 100%. * According to historical account, root of foot binding lie in chinaware in the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A. D. ), during the rule of Emperor Li Yu in China.The rulers favorite concubine Yao-Niang per directed a dance on the tips of her toes atop a golden lotus pedestal. * A nonher origin is of an Empress who had club-like feet, which became a loveable fashion. * Criteria for a well-bounded foot is three inches in length, a three inch deep clef mingled with the heel and repair and that the appearance of the bounded foot is seen as a dainty extension of the leg. * The elder village women or mother was responsible for initiating and monitoring the binding process. * stand binding was begun between the ages of two to five before the arch of the foot had a incident to develop fully. Toenails were gash back to prevent in-growth and infection. * Each foot would be soaked in a warm mixture of herbs and animal billet this was intended aid the process by softening the tissue and drum of the foot to allow manipulation. * All the toes on the foot except for the super toe are broken and folded chthonian the sole. * The broken toes were held tightly against the sole of the foot while the foot was then drawn down swell with the leg and the arch forcibly broken. * The foot was then bound in place with a 10x2 silk or cotton bandage. The bandages were repeatedly wound, starting at the inside of the foot at the instep, then carried over the toes, under the foot, and turn of events the heel, the freshly broken toes being pressed tightly into the sole of the foot. At each pass around the foot, the binding cloth was tightened, pulling the wrap of the foot and the heel ever close together, cause the broken foot to fold at the arch, and pressing the toes underneath. * Each time the feet were detach, they were washed, the toes carefully analyse for injury, and the nails carefully and meticulously trimmed. Immediately after this pedicure, the daughters broken toes were folded back under and the feet were rebound. * Process took approximately two eld. * Toenails would often in-grow, becoming infected and create injuries to the toes. * The tightness of the binding meant that the circulation in the feet was faulty, and the circulation to the toes was almost cut off. * As the girl grew older, the bones would begin to heal, although even after the foot bones had improve they were wedded to re-breaking. * Septicemia and gangrene resulted from the bacteria. A 1997 study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found that women ages 80 and older with bound feet were much likely to switch fallen in the previous year and to get hold of assistance in rising from a sitting position. They also had depress bone density in the hip and spine than women with normal feet, change magnitude their risk of debilitating fractures. * ass binding was first-year practiced among the selected and only in the wealthiest parts of China, which suggests that binding the feet of well-born girls represented their freedom from manual(a) labor and wealth. In politics, a woman was kept from interfering if she was immobile, and a kept woman reflected a powerful man. * Mothers would end ure binding their daughters feet as an investment in the future. The more(prenominal) attractive she could make her daughter, the better marriage prospects she had. * A bound foot signified that a woman had achieved womanhood, and served as a mark of her gendered identity. * Small bounded feet were seen as graceful, dainty, beautiful, erotic and a prerequisite for finding a maintain. * Foot binding was eventually criminalize in the 20th century with the rise of the new Republic of China through educational campaigns. C. AnalysisFrom the birth of a baby girl, the status of the family impelled whether her feet would be bounded or left untouched. If the family was wealthy and was of elite status, the girls feet would be bounded. It represented the freedom the girl had from manual labor, as she would not be able to walk or work in her bounded state, which also maintained family honor and reputation. move feet set the confines between high and dismount class. The people of humi liate class essential everyone in the family to work on the farm and could not afford the lavishness to tend to aesthetics or fashion, as bounded feet were seen as dainty, elegant and attractive.The Golden Lily or bounded feet were a desirable fashion among women and signified the transformation of a girl into a woman. The process marked the end of her childhood and the beginning of womanhood, which was important to ones identity. By not being able to bind their daughters feet, it was detrimental to her prospects of marrying into the higher class and raising her social status or having a more prestigious marriage. Zhou Guizhen, survivor of foot binding, 86 years old, states, At that time everybody had bound feet. If you didnt, youd only be able to marry a tribesman from an ethnic minority. The higher class glorified this painful process as aesthetically pleasing and as an investment in the girls future marriage. In China pre 19th century, marriage was a authoritative part of a wo mans entire life. Woman had the theatrical role of being a wife and reproducing children. Without marriage, there would be no husband to rely on, children to tend her grave and no prosperity to her family. If a woman did not marry it cope withd to a life with no meaning. In marriage, wealth, status and physical appearance were crucial. Marriage was a bond between two households or businesses.Thus the mother would increase the value of her daughter by binding her feet to display the wealth, status of the family and the attractiveness of the daughters physical appearance. Bounded feet increased marriage prospects and the likeliness for her to marry into another wealthy family, which would realise her own family in return. They were seen as erotic and as a form of chastity, being the symbol of submission to the husband. An immobile wife would not be able to leave the house and is wholly dependent upon the husband, thus objectifying the woman and reflecting a more dominant man.Bounde d feet were only seen as attractive when out of sight in the lotus shoes. Some men preferred to never see the bounded feet, so that they were concealed in their shoes as a beautiful mystery. If you remove the shoes and bindings, the aesthetic feeling will be destroyed forever. (Feng Xun). It was understood that the erotic fantasy of bounded feet did not equate to the unpleasant physical reality, which was therefore to he kept hidden. To an extent, foot binding was not considered a form of body mutilation but as a component of female attire or adornment.If done correctly the girl would survive the process, only to live with the physical disability and further risks of health check problems. During the process, despite the meticulous care of trimming the toenails, they would often in-grow causing infections in the toes and feet. The tightness of the bindings would decrease blood circulation to the feet ceasing injuries to heal and gradually worsen to infection or rotting flesh. The girl would be susceptible to infections such as septicemia and gangrene due to the increase of bacteria. The practice of foot binding was not only physically crippling, but it also produced physiological implications.The stomach would swell, the lumbar vertebra would curve forward and the back would be inflicted with increased massiveness stress. This forced the woman to put all her weight on her lower body and pelvis. Ones whole body was deformed as a result from foot binding. Simple acts such as scrunch and bending were difficult. Large corns and calluses would appear on the bounded feet and had to be cut off. Instead of walking in a straight line, the woman would have to walk side to side in a swaying motion. As the years passed, the bounded foot would continue growing, but instead of growing time-consuming the foot would grow crooked.This would cause further injuries and deformities to the foot. The toes would curl deeper inwards causing potential infections, which inevitab ly followed with diseases. According to a 1997 study by researchers in the University of California found that woman ages 80 and over with bound feet had lower bone density in the hip and spine than a woman with normal feet, suggesting that the bones were prone to re-breaking and fractures. Opposition to the foot binding first began in China during the Qing period (1644 1911) with Manchu rule.When foreign missionaries began to gain footholds in China after the Opium war and the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, the new Nationalist organization of the Republic of China banned foot binding. The Lotus feet were no longer a symbol of beauty but a symbol of conquering and were seen as a barbaric practice of the old China. Through raw education campaigns, it was explained that the rest of the world did not bind womens feet and that China was seen as savage, making the nation subject to international ridicule. The advantages of natural unbound feet over bound feet were encouraged.Natur al feet societies were formed whose members pledged not to bind their daughters feet or allow their sons to marry women with bound feet. These tactics succeeded in eradicating the use of a practice, which has survived for thousands of years. D. Conclusion According to an old saying in China, There are a thousand buckets of tears for one who binds her feet. These womans tiny feet sealed their tragic fate all for marriage prospects, status and beauty, ingredients for a good life of a woman in pre-20th China. Only to live with a self inflicted physical disability prone to infections, diseases and medical injuries.With the rise of the 20th century and the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the era of foot binding had been abandoned leaving only fragments of the past that present twenty-four hours society view as a horrific mutilation of the human body. E. Bibliography Dehoff, Elizabeth. Foot screening, Ask, http//shoes. about. com/od/footwear/qt/foot_binding. htm Farlander. Chinese Foot dors um, h2g2, http//h2g2. com/ deoxyribonucleic acid/h2g2/A11558722 Holman, Jeanine. Foot Binding, 2010, http//www. josephrupp. com/history. html Mao, J. Foot Binding Beauty And agony, The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 008 Volume 1 Number 2 Myfanawy, Evans. The Painful Tradition of Foot Binding in China, Pattya day by day News, September 16, 2010, http//www. pattayadailynews. com/en/2010/09/16/the-painful-tradition- of-foot-binding-in-china/ Wikipedia contributors, Foot binding, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http//en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=483989361 1 (accessed swear out 28, 2012). 1 . J. Mao, Foot Binding Beauty And Torture, The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 2008 Volume 1 Number 2 2 .Farlander, Chinese Foot Binding, h2g2, http//h2g2. com/ deoxyribonucleic acid/h2g2/A11558722 3 . Ibid. 4 . Myfanawy, Evans. The Painful Tradition of Foot Binding in China, Pattya Daily News, September 16, 2010, http//www. pattayad ailynews. com/en/2010/09/16/the-painful-tradition-of-foot-binding-in-china/ 5 . Blood poisoning from bacteria. 6 . Decomposition of body tissues from bacterial infection. 7 . Elizabeth Dehoff, Foot Binding, Ask, http//shoes. about. com/od/footwear/qt/foot_binding. htm 8 . Farlander, Chinese Foot Binding, h2g2, http//h2g2. com/ deoxyribonucleic acid/h2g2/A11558722 9 .Wikipedia contributors, Foot binding, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http//en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=4839893611 (accessed March 28, 2012). 10 . Farlander, Chinese Foot Binding, h2g2, http//h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A11558722 11 . Wikipedia contributors, Foot binding, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http//en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=4839893611 (accessed March 28, 2012). 12 . Blood poisoning from bacteria. 13 . Decomposition of body tissues from bacterial infection. 14 . Jeanine Holman, Foot Binding, 2010, http//www. josephrupp. com/history. html