Bound

A Chinese Tradition

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No Pain! No Gain!  There is no truer statement when it comes to the pain that Chinese women went through to gain a husband.  Around the tenth century women started binding their feet to keep or make them small, about three to four inches.  Legend has it that Chinese prince Li Yu in the Sung dynasty had a concubine, Yao Niang, and she walked so gracefully that it appeared as if she was “skimming over the top of golden lilies.”  It was then said that she was ordered to bind her feet so that she could perform toe dancing for the royal court.  The most likely story about Yau Niang would probably be that she danced on a platform shaped like a lotus, as well as toe-danced within a six-foot high golden lotus flower.  Many women started to dance the same way and it looked best with their feet bound.  Another legend is that the Empress of the Shang dynasty had a deformed foot and made her husband declare that foot binding was necessary so that her foot would be considered beautiful.  The origin of foot binding is unclear but the painful deformities would last a lifetime.  At first only upper class women bound their feet, but it soon made it’s way down to the peasant class.  Having small, dainty, and lotus looking feet made a woman beautiful and therefore marriageable.  Anywhere from the age of four to six a girl’s mother would start the binding process.  All but the big toe were tucked tightly under the foot and bound with material.  Every few days the binding would be redone and each time the binding got tighter.  Binding the foot also made the foot arch up making the foot smaller.  Foot binding caused excruciating pain, infection, and in some cases death.  Foot binding didn’t officially end until about 1911 but even then some women in the country still practiced it. 

This pathfinder is meant for Young Adults who want to explore the tradition of foot binding.  This pathfinder will help get you started with your research.  It is always good to explore a mixture of electronic and print resources.  Both are richly filled with useful information. 

Created By: Lacey Klemm, Children's Librarian/Graduate Student

Last Updated: 6/04/06