Lotus feet
I was surfing around, and found this photo. It’s a photo from old days China during Ching Dynasty. Two women on the photo, who both had foot binding. We call it “lotus feet”. It’s foot binding culture in the old days of China. It was the most uncivilised Chinese culture for Chinese women in the past centuries. It was very cruel way of thinking in Chinese society and was well practiced in rich families of China. Women were not allowed to leave houses, so the foot binding can limit their movement. According to legend, women were bound in this ways, who were regarded as elegant and beautiful as lotus.
My Great Grandma did have her feet bound. If I didn’t remember it wrong, I saw her in 1980, Guangzhou. It was my only and last time to see her. She moved to Guangzhou from Shanghai because of the war. She was almost 100 years old when I visited her. She died more than 20 years ago in Guangzhou. I can’t remember if she wore a pair of lotus slippers, as she was in bed during the time we were there. She couldn’t walk at all. I remember I did ask my Mum why she had her feet bound. My Mum said my Grandma was from a wealthy family, so Great Grandma needed to follow the common practice of upper class people in old days. I can’t imagine how women escaped from any danger with a pair of lotus feet during the war period. Just can’t imagine…
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