Week 13: Medieval China IDs

Kelsey Rector

Footbinding

Foot binding was a custom practiced in some parts of medieval China on young females beginning in the Tang Dynasty. Young girls' feet, usually at age 6 or 7, were wrapped in tight bandages or silk so their feet could not grow normally. It would break their toes within the first year (big toe staying intact), and become deformed as they reached adulthood. The feet would remain small and dysfunctional, prone to infection, paralysis, and muscular atrophy. The arch had to be well-developed for the perfect "lotus foot" to be formed.

This ideal foot form was around 3 inches. It was initially only a common practice in the wealthiest parts of China, particularly in north China yet, by the late Qing Dynasty, footbinding had become popular among women of all social levels, including poor.

...typical shoes

...x ray of a (bound) chinese woman's feet! :)