Why did you bind your feet in ancient times?

Foot-binding is caused by ancient aesthetics. The ancients respected the exquisite aesthetics, and the feet were beautiful, especially for men, the feet were very attractive. For example, the word "three-inch golden lotus" represents a noun that praises the beauty of women's feet. Those less than four inches are called "silver lotus" and those larger than four inches are called "iron lotus", which shows the degree of advocating small feet.

Foot-binding is a bad habit in ancient China, which means that women wrap their feet tightly with cloth, making them deformed and beautiful. Generally, women begin to bind their feet at the age of four or five and untie the cloth belt until the adult skeleton is finalized. Some people are still tied for life.

Foot-binding is an act that destroys the normal development of limbs. A woman who binds her feet should bind her feet from an early age and slowly bend the bones of her feet to deform them. After foot binding, there are not only various inconveniences in real life, but also great pains for women in the whole process of foot binding. This kind of thing, which has no practical effect and makes the victims extremely painful, has become a popular and social custom for nearly a thousand years.

Extended data

According to modern scholars' research, foot binding began in the late Northern Song Dynasty and rose in the Southern Song Dynasty. Foot-binding in Yuan Dynasty continued to develop in a slim direction. In the Ming Dynasty, the wind of foot-binding entered a prosperous period, and the saying of "three-inch golden lotus" appeared, which required that the feet should not only be as small as three inches, but also bend over and bend their backs.

However, foot-binding was not found in female corpses unearthed before the Qing Dynasty, which shows that foot-binding was not very common at that time. The storm of foot-binding in Qing dynasty affected women in all walks of life, rich or poor, but there were not a few who did not bind their feet.

For a long time, the Han people have been pursuing the beauty of women's bodies. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "the king of Chu starved to death in the palace with a thin waist", and there are countless poems praising the beauty and beauty in the past dynasties. The admiration of the rulers of the Song Dynasty also played a great role. The royal family and the upper class in the Song Dynasty first began to bind their feet.

"He Lu" records: After four years of advice, "I am very fortunate and suspicious. He frowned and said, "The Jin people drove them away and marched in Wan Li. How can they return to their original state? "... this is sad. "History of the Song Dynasty Five Elements" records: "Li Zongchao, imperial secretary tied his feet straight." This is an example of female foot-binding in the royal family and palace in Song Dynasty.

Su Shi's Bodhisattva Man chanting Buddha's Feet calls women's feet "palace-shaped", and Cao Yuanchong calls them "official" in a poem, which also shows that foot-binding originated from the upper class in the Song Dynasty, such as bureaucrats and nobles.

Foot-binding was also highly praised by scholars in the Song Dynasty. Even outstanding writers such as Su Shi and Xin Qiji have chapters to sing and appreciate foot binding. In Su Shi's Bodhisattva Man, there is a saying that "it is hard to say exquisite, but we must look at it from the palm of our hand". In Xin Qiji's Bodhisattva Man, there is a saying that "shoes are as small as a yellow bow, and the waist is afraid of the wind blowing off", which is often quoted.

Mr. Lin Yutang once described the gait of women after foot-binding: China women's foot-binding completely changed women's style and gait. "Its role is equivalent to that of modern girls wearing high heels, which produces a very stiff and beautiful gait, making the whole body fragile and wobbly, producing a subtle feeling."

It was this "sense of pity" that inflated the sense of superiority of feudal literati. Therefore, it gave birth to "the highest secret of sexual ideal"

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-foot binding