The practice of foot binding began in China around the 10th century and continued for approximately one thousand years until the early 20th century. It involved tightly wrapping young girls’ feet with binding cloths to prevent further growth. The broken and deformed feet were considered a sign of beauty and a prerequisite for marriage into an elite family.
At its peak, it is estimated that 40-50% of all Chinese women had bound feet, also known as “lotus feet.” The process was extremely painful and traumatic, leading to lifelong disabilities for most women. Yet, it continued to be practiced, often voluntarily, driven by a mix of societal pressure and aspirations for beauty and marital prospects.
What Was Foot Binding?
Foot binding typically began between the ages of 4 and 9. It involved bending the four smaller toes under the foot and wrapping the foot extremely tightly with binding cloths. The cloths were wrapped tighter as the girl grew older. This intense pressure often broke bones and prevented the arch from growing normally.
The goal was to create a tiny “lotus foot” no longer than 3 inches. In severe cases, toes would rot and fall off due to lack of blood circulation. The binding cloths had to be worn for the rest of the girl’s life to maintain the shape. Walking became difficult and painful. Bound feet were prone to infections and gangrene. Most women were confined to their homes due to restricted mobility.
The Process of Foot Binding
Here are the specific steps involved in the foot binding process:
- Soak feet to soften them and trim toenails
- Bend the toes under the foot and break the arch
- Tightly wrap binding cloths around the feet, starting from the toes up to the heel
- Repeat wrapping process over the next 2 years, gradually tightening to keep feet small
- Splints or bricks were sometimes used to help break the feet
- New binds were applied each day and tighter bindings every 2 weeks
- The goal was to reduce feet to around 3-10 cm in length
Life with Bound Feet
Women with bound feet faced lifelong struggles:
- Excruciating pain during the foot binding process and recurrent pain throughout life
- Restricted mobility, inability to walk far distances
- Higher risk of falls and fractures
- Muscular atrophy in the feet
- Infection, gangrene, and potential loss of toes
- Psychological trauma from the painful process
- Dependence on servants and family members
Despite this, most women continued binding their feet to increase marriage prospects.
When Did Foot Binding Begin?
The exact origins of foot binding are unclear, but most historians believe it began among court dancers in the late Tang dynasty (618-907 CE). During the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE), binding spread from the palace and entertainment circles into upper-class Han Chinese society.
By the 12th century, it had become a widespread practice and marker of beauty and elegance. There are various myths and legends around its origins:
- Emperor Li Yu’s concubine Yao Niang wrapped her feet in silk to perform a “lotus dance”
- An empress ordered her maids to bind their feet to amuse her husband
- A prince commanded his favorite courtesan to bind her feet to resemble a new moon shape
While the exact origin story is uncertain, foot binding clearly began among female court entertainers and spread through elites.
Timeline of Foot Binding
| Time Period | Event |
|---|---|
| 960-1127 CE | Practice begins among dancers and courtesans in the Southern Tang dynasty |
| 10th-11th century | Binding spreads from the imperial palace to Song dynasty noble families |
| 12th century | Foot binding becomes prevalent among Han Chinese elites |
| 13th century | Practice reaches 100% among upper-class Han families |
| 14th-18th centuries | Foot binding persists as a marker of beauty and eligibility |
| Mid 19th century | Anti-foot binding campaigns begin but have limited success |
| 20th century | The practice is banned and gradually declines |
As this timeline shows, foot binding emerged over several centuries, eventually became a widespread practice, and took decades to eradicate.
Why Did Foot Binding Persist?
Although incredibly painful and debilitating, foot binding continued in China for hundreds of years due to a complex mix of cultural, political, and economic factors:
Cultural Values
- Small feet were considered beautiful, elegant, and feminine
- A sign of gentility and leisure, unlike peasant women who worked
- Essential for finding a good family to marry into
- Mothers perpetuated it to ensure daughters’ futures
Confucian Values
- Emphasis on obedience – daughters unable to resist
- Political stability valued over individual rights
- Patriarchal authority – men found bound feet erotic
Economic Incentives
- A prerequisite to marry into money
- Elite families required it as proof of gentility
- Husband’s family gained financially from marriage
Lack of Mobility
- Bound feet left women entirely dependent on husbands
- Unable to support themselves if they left
- Difficult to organize resistance
This combination of cultural aesthetics, Confucian patriarchal values, financial incentives, and physical constraints perpetuated foot binding despite its horrors. It granted social and economic advantages in a rigid society.
What Were the Effects of Foot Binding?
The effects of foot binding were severe and lifelong:
Physical Effects
- Extreme pain during initial binding and recurrent pain
- Broken bones, deformed feet, bent spine
- Infections, gangrene, potential loss of toes
- Difficulty walking, need for assistance
- Higher maternal mortality in childbirth
Psychological Trauma
- Emotional distress from enduring painful process
- Depression and suicidal thoughts were common
- May have perpetuated trauma on own daughters
Economic Constraints
- Unable to work, fully dependent on family
- Confined to the home due to reduced mobility
- Often arranged marriages to improve family status
Social Limitations
- Restricted to roles of mother, wife, homemaker
- Limited education opportunities
- Isolation and boredom
While perceived as beautiful, in reality bound feet dramatically limited Chinese women’s lives. The custom has been described as “breaking the bones and binding the feet to make the eyes smile.”
Reform Efforts Against Foot Binding
Opposition to foot binding began in the 17th century when some Chinese scholars condemned the practice:
- 1664 – Huang Yi condemned it on medical grounds
- 1673 – Wang Ping argued it damaged Confucian family values
- 1876 – John MacGowan called for Western missionaries to end it
However, organized reform only gained momentum in the late 19th century:
Within China
- 1883 – Guangzhou Women’s Anti-Footbinding Society formed
- 1892 – Xiamen Antifootbinding Society established
- 1895 – Manchu government bans footbinding for Manchus
- 1912 – Republic of China bans binding but has limited reach
Western Missionaries
- 1860s – Missionaries arrive in China, condemn practice
- 1875 – Anti-footbinding societies emerge in Foochow and Shanghai
- 1907 – Natural Foot Society has 200,000 members after 4 years
But ending such an ingrained tradition was difficult. Many elite families voluntarily gave it up, but binding continued in remote regions into the 1930s and 1940s.
The End of Foot Binding in China
After the Communists gained control in 1949, they used their authoritarian government to aggressively end foot binding across China through a multi-pronged approach:
- Mass meetings denouncing footbinding as feudal and patriarchal
- Fines and public shaming for bound feet
- Propaganda campaigns linking the practice to Western imperialism
- Providing medical care to correct deformed feet
- Promoting women’s equality in the workforce
- Educating girls and women
Within around 10 years of concentrated effort, foot binding was almost completely eradicated in both cities and rural areas. Several factors enabled this success:
- Communist ideology opposed old traditions
- Totalitarian system could enforce ban uniformly
- Improved status of women under Communism
- Modernization made bound feet unfashionable
Some elderly women continued with bindings into the 1960s and 1970s, but the thousand-year-old custom largely died out. The last factory making binding cloths closed in 1999.
Conclusion
The Chinese practice of foot binding, beginning in the 10th century, exemplified the patriarchal control of women’s bodies and lives. Driven by cultural aesthetics, Confucian values, and economic incentives, it inflicted severe lifelong suffering on generations of girls and women. Efforts to end it began in the late 19th century but were only successful under the authoritarian Communist system in the mid-20th century. The campaign against foot binding in China remains one of the most successful reform efforts against an embedded social convention in history. While the deformed feet have gone, the effects of the custom linger on physically and psychologically for the millions of Chinese women who endured the pain.