Wednesday, November 18, 2009

THE ART OF FOOT BINDING



           The art of foot binding has been a custom practiced on young females for over 1,000 years in China. This unusual custom was an extremely painful attempt to stop the growth of feet. It began as a luxury for the rich, then became a prerequisite for marriage, and finally turned into a symbol of chastity. To this day, we don’t know the true reason this custom was formed, but it is mind boggling altogether that it lasted as long as it did.

          The horrendous process of foot binding began around the ages of four to six. The young girls’ feet were first soaked in herbs and her toe nails were cut short. Second, a strip of bandage measuring ten inches long and two inches wide was wrapped tightly around her foot. Then, as painful as it sounds, the four smaller toes were broken and bound under the sole of the foot. This made the foot shorter, as well as the arch of the foot more bowed. Everyday the bandage was made tighter, and the shoe sizes got smaller. Finally after two years, the foot would have healed deformed, resulting in a tiny 4-6 inch long foot.

            This custom, as you can imagine, caused a lot of different physical problems. To begin with, the pain was so immense that the girls would sometimes hide or try to run away from home. Also, the deformity of the broken feet caused many back, posture and spine complications. This sadly, sometimes led to being handicapped or disabled. Another problem had to do with little or no circulation in the feet and lower legs. This caused infection, horrific odor, painful blisters/sores and most of the time calluses that had to be cut off with knives. In addition, nerve damage was also very common among foot binding victims.

          In conclusion, this two year process of insanity was highly valued at this time, but was it worth it for the girls? Many people saw this tradition as a privilege, which made the girls seem “prized”. The nickname for a foot-bound girl was, “a three inch golden lotus.” Tell me, would you go through all that pain just to be considered a prize?

2 comments:

  1. ThIs woUlD bE vErY pAiNfUl AnD iT DoNt lOok cuTE WhAt wAs tHey tHiNkINg gOoD job As AlWayS Babe...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm 15 years old. I was born with HIV my mother passed away because of the HIV infection And I regret why i never met Dr Itua he could have cured my mum for me because as a single mother it was very hard for my mother I came across Dr itua healing words online about how he cure different disease in different races diseases like HIV/Aids Herpes,Parkison,Asthma,Autism,Copd,Epilepsy,Shingles,Cold Sore,Infertility, Chronic Fatigues Syndrome,Fibromyalgia,Love Spell,Prostate Cancer,Lung Cancer,Glaucoma.,psoriasis,Cirrhosis of Liver, Cataracts,Macular degeneration, Chrons disease,Infectious mononucleosis.,Cardiovascular disease,Lung disease.Enlarged prostate,Osteoporosis.Alzheimer's disease,psoriasis,Bipolar Disorder,Dementia.,Tach Disease,Breast Cancer,Blood Cancer,Colo-Rectal Cancer,Love Spell,Chronic Diarrhea,Ataxia,Arthritis,Amyotrophic Lateral Scoliosis,Stroke,Fibromyalgia,Fluoroquinolone ToxicitySyndrome Fibrodysplasia Ossificans ProgresSclerosis,Weak Erection,Breast Enlargment,Penis Enlargment,Hpv,measles, tetanus, whooping cough, tuberculosis, polio and diphtheria)Diabetes Hepatitis even Cancer I was so excited but frighten at same time because I haven't come across such thing article online then I contacted Dr Itua on Mail drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com/ . I also chat with him on what's app +2348149277967 he tells me how it works then I tell him I want to proceed I paid him so swiftly Colorado post office I receive my herbal medicine within 4/5 working days he gave me guild lines to follow and here am I living healthy again can imagine how god use men to manifest his works am I writing in all articles online to spread the god work of Dr Itua Herbal Medicine,He's a Great Man.

    ReplyDelete