Foot binding was an ancient Chinese custom and considered a status symbol. The act of foot binding involved wrapping the feet in tight bandages at a young age such that they would break and become highly deformed resulting in feet that were not larger than 4-6 inches!
You can read a more in-depth explanation of the custom on Wikipedia. Photos of this custom are shown below. If you are a bit squeamish, I’d advise skipping the photos.
28/06/2007 at 9:24 am Permalink
Footbinding photos. eeww!!
03/08/2007 at 10:24 am Permalink
Many girls died from this – pain and infection killed about 1 in 3! It required the breaking and removal of bone that slips through the skin. No painkillers or antibiotics in those days. Girls would scream in pain as their mothers bound their feet – this took months of work of cleaning and rebinding. Ironically when China began to meet westerners they were amazed that western women wore corsets! (which also caused deformity and death in some cases).
19/12/2007 at 4:15 am Permalink
*shudders* And I thought it was cool that I’m a size 6 here in the UK!
29/12/2007 at 10:25 pm Permalink
I used this site to get information for that i had in my class. This is an excellent site for this information
01/02/2008 at 7:26 am Permalink
Hey, kewl i’m lernin’ about this stuff in skool. we’re talkin’ about ancient china! i’m just glad we don’t have to do this kinda stuff now!!!
13/03/2008 at 11:56 pm Permalink
That was a pain of China.. my greatgrandma was one of them,she suffered alot in her old days,but yet i like her story with her 31/2inches feet..you won’t believe it!
30/03/2008 at 11:26 pm Permalink
I’m doing research on footbinding can anyone give me anymore detailed information about it
Thank you
23/05/2008 at 8:17 am Permalink
You have the best photos I have found on the internet. Great article !
05/08/2008 at 9:10 am Permalink
Sickos…
01/09/2008 at 4:53 am Permalink
I’ve heard of foot fetishes but this is pretty extreme.
18/10/2008 at 8:38 am Permalink
we just got done learning about this and my AWESOME social studies teacher told us to look this up and he was sooo right this is soo disugstin in sooo many ways i mean the toes are on the side of the foot yuck and dieing from sooo much pain or what ever that is sooo sad why did they doo that anyways?
22/11/2008 at 1:17 am Permalink
Hm.
Surprisingly this doesn’t disturb me as much as I thought.
Weird.
But it is a gruesome thing if you stare at it long enough.
I think they stopped this.
I was reading a book in 3rd block(I’m a 10th grader in high school)
And its called “ties that bind, ties that break”
its interesting.
well bye!
20/03/2009 at 4:19 am Permalink
Read “PEONY IN LOVE”
It’s a lovely ethereal romantic novel that takes place during this period of time and details the lives of a privaledged family of females! It also describes the various females that go through this to achieve the desired “Lily feet” (as they were called).
21/03/2009 at 7:14 pm Permalink
why every one think its horrible i wish i have a footbinding its soooo hot
28/07/2009 at 9:51 am Permalink
that sick as a cat on drugs
06/09/2009 at 4:09 am Permalink
I’m asian and I can fit a 3 1/2 size shoes. Dopes that mean I have a small feet? When I’m wearing my 3 1/2 shoes, i feel that my foot fit perfectly into the shoes, but I like to wear size 5 1/2 better it give my foot more space to breath. Anyhow yeah I agree that is just so freaking disgusting. how the heck did they walk and dance?
28/10/2009 at 10:57 am Permalink
Wow this is incredible! Imdoing a project for English and these pictures are actually very helpful. The reason their feet had to be binded was because in oder to be attractive an get a husband you would have to have small feet. That’s sad though, how all those girls ha to go through all that pain just so they could look better! They could barely move or walk from all the pain. The worst part was that the feet would sometimes rot from the lack of circuation and stuff.That must have sucked…
29/10/2009 at 11:31 am Permalink
I think this is amazing (gross but amazing) I am reading a book called ‘snow flower and the secret fan.’ it tells of a woman who went through this when she was 7. I couldnt imagine what her feet looked like, so i looked it up…it is amazing! (The book is also amazing and i suggest you read it if you are interested in 19th century china)
18/11/2009 at 4:20 am Permalink
Grouse
29/01/2010 at 11:58 am Permalink
Yes – these photos are quite graphic. The custom was heinous & cruel to women. They had NO purpose in life except to give birth to sons to carry on the family name & traditions. I can’t imagine not running far – far away from home (like to another country!) if anyone tried to do this to me!
05/02/2010 at 10:51 am Permalink
this is so nasty. why i the world wud people do such a this. i mean if you like it then do it on yourself. don’t make others suffer and die from it . that just doesn’t make sense.
19/08/2010 at 11:32 pm Permalink
self inflicted pain in the name of a custom, its good that the same is not being practiced in this modern day unless…………