Why do women in history bind their feet?

There are different opinions about the origin of foot binding. Some say it began in the Sui Dynasty, some say it began in the Tang Dynasty, and some say it began in the Five Dynasties. Some people even say that Yu's wife and da ji in Xia and Shang Dynasties were both small feet. It can be said that there are different opinions and no one can agree. China ancient myths and legends do have such traces. Legend has it that Dayu married Tu Shanshi's daughter and gave birth to a child when he was in charge of water control. Tu Shan barren woman is a fox spirit with small feet; He also said that da ji, the concubine of the late Yin Dynasty, was also a fox, or a pheasant, but her feet didn't get better, so she wrapped them in cloth. Because of da ji's love, all the women in the palace followed her example and held back. Of course, these are just folk myths and legends, and more of them contain additional romantic elements, which is not enough to prove that women bound their feet at that time. Foot-binding began in Sui Dynasty and also originated from folklore. According to legend, when Yang Di went to Jiangdu, he recruited hundreds of beautiful women to pull fibers for him. A woman named Wu Yueniang was chosen. She hated Yang-ti's tyranny, so she asked her father, who was a blacksmith, to make a lotus petal knife three inches long and one inch wide, and wrap it under her feet with a long cloth, and at the same time, the smaller the foot, the better. Then carved a lotus on the sole, and printed a beautiful lotus in one step when walking. Emperor Yang Di was very happy when he saw the queen, so he called her to his side to admire her little feet. Wu Yueniang slowly untied the foot cloth, suddenly pulled out a lotus petal knife and stabbed Yang Di. Emperor Yang Di flashed by quickly, but his arm was stabbed. Wu Yueniang saw that the assassination failed, so he threw himself into the river. Later, Emperor Yang Di issued a decree: No matter how beautiful a woman is, "foot-binding women will not be selected" in future beauty contests. So in order not to be elected to the palace (another is to commemorate the mother of the moon), folk women have bound their feet. At this point, the wind of women's foot binding has intensified. Foot-binding began in the Five Dynasties and originated from concubines in Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty. They are beautiful and versatile, and are good at singing and dancing. Li Houzhu specially made a six-foot-tall golden lotus, decorated with jewels and ribbons, and ordered her to tie her feet with silk to make them slightly bend into crescent shapes. Then she put on plain socks and danced on the lotus stage to make the dance more beautiful. Editing this historical record, some scholars pointed out through research that China ancient women's foot-binding rose in the Northern Song Dynasty, and China women did not have foot-binding before the Five Dynasties. Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty, once wrote the word "Bodhisattva Man" and lamented foot binding. "Don't cherish step by step lotus, worry about wearing socks to Ling Bo; I saw the dance in the air without a trace. Stealing the palace is as stable as Mount Tai, and it is a double drop; It should be hard to say that it is wonderful. It must be seen from the palm of your hand. " It can also be called the first poem dedicated to foot binding in the history of China's poetry. It should be noted that the writing of foot-binding poems depends on the appearance of foot-binding customs, which shows that foot-binding customs did appear in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, women's foot-binding became more common. Even at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, "little feet" had become a general term for women. However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, women's foot-binding was not popular, and it was mainly confined to the upper class, and the social concept of foot-binding was not accepted by everyone. At the same time, the custom of foot-binding spread from the north to the south, about the time when the Song Dynasty moved south. Foot-binding in Song Dynasty is different from the three-inch golden lotus in later generations. According to historical records, foot binding in the Song Dynasty was to "straighten" your feet without bending, which was called "getting on the horse" at that time. The shoes used are called "Wrong in the End", and the soles are very sharp and consist of two colors. At present, this kind of foot-binding shoes has been found in archaeology. From the archaeological findings, it is speculated that the feet wrapped by these shoes are bigger than those later. Mongolian aristocrats did not bind their feet after they entered the Central Plains for Jianyuan, but they did not object to the habit of binding their feet by the Han people. On the contrary, they still hold an appreciation attitude. In this way, the wind of foot-binding continued to develop in the Yuan Dynasty, and even the concept of not being ashamed of foot-binding appeared at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, women's foot-binding continued to develop in a slender direction, but there were still many people who did not, especially in southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Lingnan areas. In the Ming dynasty, the wind of women's foot-binding entered a prosperous period and developed rapidly in various places. When Zhang invaded Sichuan in the late Ming Dynasty, women were small and piled up into mountains, which were called Jinlianfeng. This shows that Sichuan women's foot binding is flourishing. This period has certain requirements for the shape of foot binding. Women's feet should not only be small, but also shrink to three inches, and they should be bowed and wrapped in the shape of corn. "Eighteen Xiang Lian" In the Qing Dynasty, there was a Fang Xuan who called himself "Shi Huayu", also known as "Dr. Xiang Lian". This paper describes the foot-binding of ancient women from many angles and directions. His monograph "Five Views of Xiang Lian" on women's feet in China classified women's feet in detail according to their appearance, which is the infamous "Eighteen Children of Xiang Lian". For example, "ice lotus", the little feet with thumbs up; "Asahi Lotus", little feet walk in high heels; "Xiang Lian", a little foot with two legs turned outwards; "concentric lotus", a small foot with two feet turned inward; "Twisting Lotus", walking into a line of feet; Passion flower, a lotus flower that became a monk halfway, or a little foot that has never been entangled at all. Within one foot three inches is the "Golden Lotus". Some scholars believe that the reason why a foot is called Jinlian should be investigated from the aspect of lotus in Buddhist culture. Lotus is regarded as a symbol of purity in Buddhism, so it is a good name to name a woman's feet after lotus. Why is foot binding popular in China? There are roughly two reasons, one is the influence of the ruler's will on people all over the world, and the other is the appreciation and praise of intellectuals. Foot-binding has its origin and is related to rulers. It is said that foot-binding originated from Li Yu, queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who sang "When is the Spring Flower and the Autumn Moon". His concubines wrapped their feet in a crescent shape with cloth and danced on a lotus made of gold. Li Houzhu thought it was the most beautiful, so they began to bind their feet in the harem and later spread to the people. As long as the emperor likes something, it will be welcomed by the people The emperors of the Tang Dynasty liked Taoist culture, and Xuanzong even claimed to be the Taoist emperor. Therefore, Taoism reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Qianlong loved calligraphy and promoted its development. Li Houzhu likes women with small feet, and they all become very popular. There are several opinions about the origin of foot binding, some say it originated from Pan Yunv, the imperial concubine of the Southern Dynasties, some say it originated from the late Tang Dynasty, and some say it originated from Yang Di. But they all had relations with the rulers without exception, which also explained this reason. Apart from the will of the rulers, that is the influence of literati on social customs. In ancient times, women paid great attention to headdress, and then left it at their feet. The idioms "commenting" and "commenting" all have the meaning of discussing women's appearance and posture. Head and foot have become an important standard of female beauty in the eyes of cultural people. There are many words of praise for Feet by intellectuals, such as "Golden Lotus", "Three-inch Golden Lotus" and "Xianggou". Su Dongpo's "Bodhisattva Man" chants "It's hard to say exquisite, but you must look at it from the palm of your hand", and even sets seven standards for the beauty of small feet: thin, small, sharp, curved and so on. [2] Editing this paragraph After the Manchu rulers entered the Central Plains, they strongly opposed the custom of foot-binding of the Han nationality at first and repeatedly ordered women to ban foot-binding. But at this time, the wind of foot-binding was hard to stop, and it had to be banned in 1668 (the seventh year of Kangxi). This incident was once rendered as "men refusing women"-the Qing soldiers entered the customs and had a "haircut order". Under the pressure of force, Han Chinese men finally had to give in, so men's haircuts were regarded as a symbol of surrender to the Qing court. At the same time, although women's foot-binding was ordered by the Qing court to stop, it did not achieve the purpose of prohibition, so there is a saying that "men demote women and refuse to obey." This shows that the wind of foot binding is deeply rooted. Because of this, women's foot-binding reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, and women from all walks of life, rich and poor, bound their feet one after another. Even some ethnic minorities in the northwest and southwest are infected with the custom of foot binding. At the same time, women's feet have received unprecedented worship and attention. During this period, the shape and size of feet became an important criterion to judge the beauty and ugliness of women. As a woman, whether or not to bind her feet and how to bind her feet will directly affect her personal lifelong events. At that time, people from all walks of life were ashamed of women's big feet and proud of women's small feet when they got married. The theory of "three-inch golden lotus" is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and even it is less than three inches. As a result, a woman who had to be held by others because her feet were too small to move appeared. Such a woman was quite popular at that time. [3] Edit this paragraph. Objectively, the size of a woman's feet depends not only on men's likes and dislikes, but also on the rise and fall of culture and the fate of the country. Foot binding and foot release are no longer individual rights. In the eyes of modern people, China ancient women's foot-binding is a "historical mystery", which is still difficult to understand. When did foot binding come into being? Why has it been circulated for thousands of years? The mainstream view regards foot-binding as a morbid or abnormal behavior, and thinks that foot-binding reflects a "abnormal cultural phenomenon, abnormal aesthetic concept and abnormal psychology", and even ancient society for a long time is considered as a "abnormal society". But it is puzzling that foot-binding has been a common social custom for more than a thousand years, and it is an indisputable fact that foot-binding was a means to realize this beauty at that time. For more than a thousand years, most men of a nation like feet, and most women bind their feet. Can we simply say that they are sick? Obviously, it is meaningless for a nation to be "sick" for thousands of years. In fact, foot binding can not only reduce the blood circulation of the feet, but also concentrate more blood on the buttocks and chest, making women plump, sexy and ruddy. Increase sexual desire. Now some women wrap their feet with insurance film to achieve the effect of losing weight. Some modern studies show that ancient women lived longer than men. Among them, foot binding has a significant relationship with longevity. After foot binding, the toes bend on the soles of the feet, and the forefoot cannot touch the ground. When walking, the heel is mainly used, so as long as you walk, the kidney meridian points of the heel will be stimulated. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the main cause of human aging is the deficiency of kidney qi [4]. According to some hidden data in ancient times, one of the real purposes of ancient men binding women's feet is to make the muscles at the root of their thighs tighten when they walk, so as to keep the vagina tight and narrow.