Why did ancient women regard the three-inch golden lotus as beautiful? When did the custom of female foot-binding originate?

Three-inch golden lotus is called "lotus", while feet of different sizes are different grades of "lotus", those larger than four inches are "iron lotus", those four inches are "silver lotus" and those three inches are "golden lotus". The theory of "three-inch golden lotus" requires that the feet should not only be three inches smaller, but also bend over and bend their backs.

Aesthetics:

Three-inch golden lotus is an ancient aesthetic custom, which originated from the concept that "women take their feet as beauty". When a woman reaches a certain age, she wraps her feet tightly with a cloth belt, and finally forms a cone like a water chestnut. After the feet are wrapped, put on pointed shoes embroidered with satin or cloth (bow shoes), which is the "three-inch golden lotus".

History:

1. Foot-binding started in the Five Dynasties and originated from concubines in Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty. She is beautiful and versatile. She is good at singing and dancing. Li Houzhu specially made a six-foot-high golden lotus, decorated with jewelry ribbons and tassels, and ordered her to tie her feet with silks, so that her feet were slightly bent into a crescent shape, and then put on plain socks to dance on the lotus stage, making the dance more beautiful. ?

2. Foot-binding has been recorded in the Song Dynasty. Some scholars pointed out that foot-binding of ancient women in China rose in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there was no foot-binding of women in China before the Five Dynasties. Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty, once wrote the word "Bodhisattva Man" and lamented foot binding. "Don't cherish step by step lotus, worry about wearing socks to Ling Bo; I saw the dance in the air without a trace. Stealing the palace is as stable as Mount Tai, and it is a double drop; It should be hard to say that it is wonderful. It must be seen from the palm of your hand. " It can also be called the first poem dedicated to foot binding in the history of China's poetry.

3. Qing soldiers entered the customs, and there was a "haircut order". Under the pressure of force, Han Chinese men finally had to give in, so men's haircuts were regarded as a symbol of surrender to the Qing court. At the same time, although women's foot-binding was ordered by the Qing court to stop, it did not achieve the purpose of prohibition, so there is a saying that "men drop women." This shows that the wind of foot binding is deeply rooted. Because of this, female foot-binding reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty.