FOOT BINDING

FOOT BINDING
In the beginning in the 10th century and ending in the early 20th century, China had adopted a very extreme way in their tradition called foot binding.

Foot binding was a custom practiced on young females. Young girls’ feet, usually at age 6 but often earlier, were wrapped in tight strap up so that they could not raise and develop normally; they would, instead, break and become highly deformed, not growing past 4-6 inches (10-15 cm). Today, it is a major cause of disability among some elderly Chinese women.
Some consequences of foot-binding were stable, especially if a girl's arches had been broken or other drastic measures taken in order to achieve the desired tininess.
From the 17th century, Han Chinese girls, from the wealthiest to the poorest peasants, had their feet bound. Some approximation that as many as 2 billion Chinese women were subjected to this practice, from the late 10th century until 1949, when foot binding was outlawed by the Communists.


First, each foot would be drenched in a warm assortment of herbs and animal blood. This concoction caused any necrotized flesh to fall off. Then her toenails were cut back as far as possible to prevent ingrowths and subsequent infections. To prepare her for what was to come next the girl’s feet were delicately massaged. Silk or cotton bandages, ten feet long and two inches wide, were prepared by soaking in the same blood and herb mix as before. Each of the toes were then broken and wrapped in the wet bandages, which would constrict when drying, and pulled tightly downwards toward the heel. There may have been deep cuts made in the sole to facilitate this.


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