Splendid slippers
Late 19th century Chinese slipper Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
My father was in the Royal Navy for many years and
travelled all over the world, to many parts which are now forbidden to Western
travellers. Being apart for years at a time, for commissions were long, the
souvenirs he brought home to my mother were treasured. I wrote about the
eggshell porcelain tea and coffee sets and the Lithophane cups here. I loved
these sets when I was young and they have pride of place in my home.
Another thing he brought home was a pair of embroidered
Chinese slippers which fascinated me. They were tiny and I could not believe
that anyone other than a very small child could have worn them. My feet were
far too big – I couldn’t fit even my toes into them, but yet my father insisted
that they had indeed been intended for women, whose feet had been bound so that
they could wear these beautiful doll-sized shoes.
In later years, I discovered more about foot-binding
and learnt what a cruel tradition it was. Small feet were considered beautiful,
not least because they caused the women to sway as they walked in a sensual
way. It was believed that tottering along on tiny feet also made the thigh and
pelvic muscles tight and so the smaller the feet, the stronger the muscles would become.
The ‘golden lily’ feet, the most prized of all, were just
three inches long, sometimes less. Four–inch feet were called silver lilies and
bound feet larger than that were known as ‘iron lilies’. Having such prized
feet meant that a family could marry off a daughter to a wealthy man. If they
could also provide a rich dowry, the social elevation of their daughter was
almost assured.
It was the ambition of all poverty-stricken parents
that their daughters should rise to live a life of luxury. A pretty daughter
would have her toes, apart from the big toe, folded under the foot and
bound. This usually took place when the little girl was five or six years old, when
the bones were still soft enough to be manipulated. The binding would be
undertaken by her mother and grandmother or sometimes an official foot-binder. It was an excruciatingly painful
process. The child would be forced to walk on her bound feet to crush the toes. If
this did not break them, stones would be bound into the bandages.
Binding was necessary to stop the bones growing. The
bandages would be changed every couple of days and gradually the bindings would
become tighter. Often the flesh would be lacerated with sharp objects so that
it would rot away, helping to make the feet even smaller. After two years, the
required size and shape would have been achieved, but the feet would continue
to be bound for life and the pain was unrelenting.
Many girls died
from infections caused by the procedure. It was considered that a bound-foot
woman, having undergone such agony, would be obedient and uncomplaining in her
marriage.
The practice of foot-binding was not completely
abandoned until 1949, though it continued in some extremely
remote areas until 1957. Believed to have begun in aristocratic families in the 10th century, it was gradually adopted by poorer people as a means of freeing their families from poverty.
A prospective suitor, and particularly the potential mother-in-law, would look at the slippers the
girl had embroidered. The first thing to consider was the size. The smaller the
slipper, the more attractive the proposition. Another consideration was the embroidery.
Bound-foot girls spent many hours embroidering slippers, taking inspiration
from Nature. The finest embroidery on the most beautiful material of the
tiniest shoe was almost a guarantee of marriage. A plain girl with tiny feet would be a more desirable acquisition than a pretty girl with larger feet.
I don’t know what happened to the little shoes my
father brought home. In a sense I’m glad they disappeared. They were so pretty
but yet were a symbol of such pain and repression.
Beverley
Jackson (1928-2020) was an American
writer who gave lectures across the world on Chinese culture and fashion. Her book,
‘Splendid Slippers’, gives a comprehensive account of the practice and history of
foot- binding and the creation of exquisitely embroidered shoes.
