![]() The most desirable bride possessed a three-inch foot, known as a “golden lotus.” It was respectable to have four-inch feet-a silver lotus-but feet five inches or longer were dismissed as iron lotuses. For families with marriageable daughters, foot size translated into its own form of currency and a means of achieving upward mobility. Gradually, other court ladies-with money, time and a void to fill-took up foot-binding, making it a status symbol among the elite.Ī small foot in China, no different from a tiny waist in Victorian England, represented the height of female refinement. From the start, foot-binding was imbued with erotic overtones. In addition to altering the shape of the foot, the practice also produced a particular sort of gait that relied on the thigh and buttock muscles for support. She entranced Emperor Li Yu by dancing on her toes inside a six-foot golden lotus festooned with ribbons and precious stones. The shock of discovery was like being doused with a bucket of freezing water.įoot-binding is said to have been inspired by a tenth-century court dancer named Yao Niang who bound her feet into the shape of a new moon. The miniature “doll” shoes had in fact been worn by a human. ![]() This was when I was informed that I had been holding the real thing. When it was over, I turned to the museum curator who had given me the shoes and made some comment about the silliness of using toy shoes. Archaeologists discovered tiny, misshapen feet that had been wrapped in gauze and placed inside specially shaped “lotus shoes.” For one of my pieces on camera, I balanced a pair of embroidered doll shoes in the palm of my hand, as I talked about Lady Huang and the origins of foot-binding. Some early evidence for it comes from the tomb of Lady Huang Sheng, the wife of an imperial clansman, who died in 1243. These changes can be illustrated by the practice of female foot-binding. It took place during a segment on the social changes that affected Chinese women in the late 13th century. In the latest round of filming there was an incident that haunts me. For the past year I have been working with Britain’s BBC television to make a documentary series on the history of women.
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