Friday, December 30, 2011

Chinese Foot Binding

Foot binding was a custom practiced on young girls in China for about one thousand years from the 10th century and until the early 20th century. Beginning at an early age; young girls' feet were wrapped in tight bandages to prevent them from growing normally; their feet became deformed, never growing beyond 4-6 inches (10-15 cm). The four smaller toes on a girl's foot would break within a year of the initial binding; only the big toe remained intact. A well developed arch was the essential feature of a perfect "lotus foot". The ideal outcome was a 3-inch foot, called a golden lotus. A 4 inch (10 cm) foot, called a silver lotus, was considered acceptable.


8 comments:

  1. Just finished reading "Snow Flower and the secret fan" by Lisa See, about this subject, interesting read.

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  2. SO VIEL SCHÖNHEIT MACHT SPRACHLOS

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  3. Die meisten der gezeigten Füße sind wunderbar gearbeitet. Was für eine Kultur, die sich 1 000 Jahre soche Frauen leisten konnte!

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  4. Las mujeres siempre somos las perjudicadas en cosas asi, es como que por ser mujer debemos sufrir los macabros pensamientos de los hombres.

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  5. Ya estamos con que la culpa es siempre del hombre….!! Así vamos con esa mentalidad. Creo que en lugar de culpar, se han buscado soluciones y ahora ya no hay diferencias de género, generalmente claro. Mira a tu alrededor a ver cómo están las mujeres de otros países que ahí es donde hay que pronunciarse.

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