Lotus Shoes for Lily Feet

Frailty was the mark of femininity.

For a thousand years it was a mother's duty to wrap her daughter's feet to keep them small, to fold four toes underneath, and change the bone structure which raised the instep. Initially, only women of means had their feet bound. However, towards the end of the Qing Dynasty (1911), the custom was practiced at all class levels. Beautifully bound feet were of utmost importance and made a girl more marriageable. Increased awareness of its shortcomings came from liberal Chinese critics and Western missionaries, and added to the decline of the custom. In 1928, the Ministry of Domestic Affairs announced regulations against footbinding and ordered enforcement. This was successful in large cities and towns, but difficult in outlying areas where women remained hidden and inaccessible in women's quarters. After enduring the pain of footbinding as children, women were expected to loosen their bindings and let out their feet, which was equally excruciating.

My paternal grandmother had tiny feet. By the time I knew her, she no longer wore her bindings but her feet remained bowed. Grandma's instep was high and her gait was swayed. Her black leather lace-up shoes were custom-made in the U.S. My interest in bound feet came from wanting to learn about the construction of lotus shoes, an essential part of the enhancing the beauty and keeping the mystique of the deformed foot. Grandma passed away long before I could ask about her history and the shoes she undoubtedly learned to make when she was a girl.

Further reading:
Cinderella's Sisters, by Dorothy Ko
Chinese Footbinding, The History of a Curious Erotic Custom, by Howard S. Levy

We traveled to Tonghai County where I met Mrs. Zhang, 95 years old and matriarch of five generations, many of whom crowded around when we visited her in Sanyi Village. She is the grandmother of the restaurant owner where we had lunch, and the eldest in her village with bound feet. The most recent pair of unworn shoes were made by her ten years ago. The soles were cleverly crafted from tire rubber. Aging and cataracts keep Mrs. Zhang from sewing now, but she smiled when I gave her colorful embroidery floss. Her feet bound when she was seven.

One of Mrs. Zhang's granddaughters

In Liuyi Village, we met Mrs. Wang who is 80 years old. Her two sisters had bound feet and they learned to make shoes from their mother. Mrs. Wang doesn't sew anymore, but her mind is still clear. Mrs. Wang's feet were also bound when she age seven. She holds her grandson in her arms.

Many of these old brick houses in Liuyi Village have been replaced by new structures.