Foot Binding in Ancient China

Friday, February 11, 2011

Women in ancient China would bind their feet and wrap them with special binding clothes. Such as silk. Since silk was very popular in China, the rich and wealthy would wrap their feet in it. They would change the material daily! They would also sometimes use ribbon!

Why do woman have their feet bound??

Women in ancient China would have their feet bound all the time! They thought it would symbolize many things! Such as coming from a rich family! Coming from a rich family means that those women did not have to work in the shops or fields. It symbolized that those women were feminine and graceful! They would have a higher bride price and more men would want to marry them! I would've liked that!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

When and where did foot binding start and end?

Foot binding originally began in the 10th century. It all started when palace dancers performed with bound feet and the practice spread slowly through China! The practice officially was sanctioned in 1902. It was such a nasty thing to do. I mean, come on! Who would want to shoventheir foot in a baby-size shoe?

How is foot binding in ancient China performed?

Foot binding took a very long time! Between the ages 5-8, young girl's mothers would take their toes and bend them over the side of their feet. After that, they'd wrap them up in material and shove their feet into teeny tiny shoes! The foot would eventually stop growing and it would be about 3 inches long! Totally gross!

What does foot binding in ancient China do?

Foot binding was a very painful and GROSS thing to do. See, what they would do is take young women's feet and bend their little toes under the balls of their feet with long strips of fabric. They eventually break the bones in your feet and your feet stop growing completely! Their own mothers do it do them too! When your foot stops growing its about 2-4 inches long! Women couldn't walk or even stand because it was extremely painful to them!