What Would Happen If Foot Binding In China Had Not Been Outlawed In 1912?

While under the rule of the Emperor Qianlong, China’s foreign policy and trade was beginning to unfold and open up to Europe. Qianlong, however, still maintained a strict and regulated administration of all foreign trade and foreign ability to exist within China. “ It is true that Europeans, in the service of the dynasty, have been permitted to live at Peking, but they are compelled to adopt Chinese dress, they are strictly confined to their own precincts and are never permitted to return home.” All outside interactions with China could only be permitted if ‘in the

The feet of little girls between the ages of three and five were bound tight with strips of cloth to retard growth. The arch was broken; the four smaller toes were broken and folded under the palm of the feet so that the feet resembled half-moons. It was an extremely painful process that was perpetuated in the name of beauty. It was only during the revolution of 1911 that the practice was finally banned.

China has changed in certain ways and remained the same in others from the early Golden Ages to the late 1900s. China has experienced a series of cultural and political transformations, shaping the lives of many Chinese citizens. Culturally, the country’s art and literature hardly changed for almost eight hundred years. Along with their culture, China remained politically the same from the beginning of the Golden Ages all the way until the 1800s. On the other hand, China’s government and society were restructured after new leaders took over. From a monarch to total communism, China’s society had a multitude of new ideas and policies they had to adapt to.

Beauty of a woman was very important to men because it often showed wealth. Footbinding was a cruel way to show a woman’s beauty in Ancient China, especially during the Song dynasty. It is thought that foot binding began in around 900 AD during the Tang dynasty and continued until 1911 when it was finally banned. "The practice of binding feet was originally introduced about a thousand years ago, allegedly by a concubine of the emperor. Not only was the sight of women hobbling on tiny feet considered erotic, men would also get excited playing with bound feet, which were always hidden in embroidered silk shoes” (Wild Swans) Footbinding was considered very attractive and was very common. Many times, a girl who did not have bound feet were rejected by

After China had been conquered by the Mongols and their population was diminished by the plague, they began to look to into their past in order to shape their future. The Chinese society allowed “two empresses [write] instructions for female behavior” (423). These behaviors included those that were held previously to the Chinese women and were seen as “traditional expectations” (423). Much of the Chinese culture was changed due to the rule of the Mongol Empire. Because of this, China attempted to put an end to any evidence of foreign rule from the Mongol Empire. This included the “[discouragement] [of] the use of Mongol names and dress” (423). This discouragement of the Mongol traditions provided China the opportunity to reintroduce the concept of Confucian learning. This is another

I was nine they started to bind my feet again and they had to draw the bindings tighter

In addition, the influence of the non-Chinese Mongols influenced changes in traditional Chinese law and cultural practices. The rule of the Mongols was incredibly significant in improving the rights of women as they expanded “protective legislation for women” (Rossabi, “From Yuan” 331). The Mongol Emperors, perhaps under the influence of their wives, whom

If I were a Ming emperor, I would not have closed the boarders to the outside world.

These process was in session or considered a law that had to be obeyed for around a millennium. The footbinding started in the Song Dynasty around the 10th century and lasted as long as through the 20th century. This crippling process

In the article, Ko highlights the many misconceptions modern people have on footbinding such as keeping a woman’s foot bound, kept them in a hobbled and subservient domestic state or as sex objects . Afterwards, she states that our “certainties may turn out to be dead wrong” suggesting to readers that she is going to shine a positive light on footbinding. Ko goes more in depth about the three things men believed footbinding was, and why the tradition of binding ones foot was important at that time. The Chinese believed that wearing shoes differentiated and distinguished them from beasts as well as savages

Although it being a common practice amongst girls, Grand Aunt saw foot binding it to be cruel and unjustified. As her protest, Grand aunt “rejected all food and drink until her feet were, in her words, ‘rescued and set free’” (Yen Mah 5) this shows how determined she was to stand up for what she believed in. Despite being at such a young age of three, it is apparent that Grand aunt was a woman of integrity and self-confidence. Although, we won’t always get what we seek like Grand Aunt, other times we may try our hardest but doesn’t necessarily work

In China, in the 10th and 11th century, foot binding was a common practice for women. It was also called lotus feet. Women had to bind their feet at a very young age (very tightly) so that as their bodies grow, their feet remain the same size. As weird as this concept is, small feet were considered beautiful at that time. And so, women obliged.

If you were a peasant in China, life was difficult. It was especially difficult if you were a woman. Women living in China had very few rights, and were expected to be subservient to men. Chinese women were expected to stay close to home so that they could execute their duties. A physical sign of this expectation is through the practice known as foot binding. Women would bind their feet so that they would not wander far from the home. Women were expected to have an escort when they left their house. If women did not have an escort, they were subject to public ridicule, or sometimes they would be taken. In the book A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman, written by Ning Lao T’ai T’ai we see the consequences of what happens when Ning’s granddaughter goes out alone to shop:

When coupled with the line "the bound feet" (Piercy, 20), the poem appears as if it were a comment solely about the injustice forced upon Chinese women from 934 until 1949. Foot binding is a painful process which includes breaking all of the toes and arch of the foot to grossly alter the shape of the foot, so that the foot, when mature would be no more than four inches long.  The first break was usually made when a girl was three to five years old, then the feet were wrapped in yards of cloth to prevent them from growing or reshaping. The pain from the initial break was nothing compared to the enduring pain the women experienced for the rest of their lives. The pain was caused by the drastically deformed feet. (Chinese foot binding- lotus shoes)

Throughout the story, the viewers are shown an abundance of shots of bare feet. For instance, in the opening scene, where Jamal is being tortured by the police, the viewer is shown a quick shot of Jamal’s feet, as he dangles helplessly from the ceiling, his arms tied above his head. Another shot involving characters feet is when Salim is shown stealing shoes for the first time. The viewer is momentarily shown Salim’s feet as they slip into the pair of sneakers. One last usage of feet is when Salim, now much older, begins to pray before he goes to commit his ‘hit’. When praying in India, many of their religions involve the removing of shoes, and while they pray, they are known to do so in bare feet. A barefoot itself is symbolic. It is symbolic of birth, and it is symbolic of a cleanse. Salim cleanses his soul before he goes to complete his