Not a
tradition throughout
China in all times and places, as many think, but still very prevalent in China up to the end of the
Qing dynasty. The process involved taking a
little girl's
foot and bending it under.
Crunch. Can you hear the
bones cracking? Because if that happend, it was
okay. Then they would be bound in
silk wrappings. They would have to be changed frequently for at least the first few years, as they would be soaked with
blood and
pus. For some
women, they never stopped bleeding--for all women, they never stopped hurting.
Sexy, eh? A
woman was completely unable to walk
bare-footed. In her specially made
shoes, she could hobble very slowly. If she tripped or lost a shoe, she would have to
crawl. Some women's feet were as small as two or three inches. They were prized as the most
beautiful and
desirable wives and
concubines. The custom started in the
upper classes, but spread to the lower classes because they wished to advance their
daughter's
fortune--and later, because she would be unmarriageable if her feet were not
bound.
Footbinding continued into the
twentieth century in some areas.
My gorge rises just writing this up.