The last of China’s ‘lotus feet’ women: Madam Zhao, 92, could be the only surviving victim of cruel foot-binding tradition aimed at making women look ‘more beautiful’
- The pensioner from a village on the outskirts of Beijing uncovered her deformed feet in front of the camera
- In the past, women with tiny feet were thought to be attractive and were more likely to find a good husband
- The 1,000-year-old custom was largely abolished in 1912, but carried on for another 30 years in rural areas
- A best pair of bound feet, called ‘golden lotus feet’, should measure three Chinese cun (four inches) in length
In China’s super-modern capital city of Beijing, Madam Zhao is a rare sight. The 92-year-old has a pair of tiny ‘lotus feet’, a symbol of beauty from the by-gone, feudal era.
Like hundreds of thousands of girls before her time, Madam Zhao would have had layer upon layer of bandage wrapped over her toes every day from the age of five – for up to a decade – to achieve the extremely deformed, yet highly desirable feature.
The cruel tradition lasted for about 1,000 years in China and was largely abolished in 1912 when the imperial family was overthrown.
Cruel tradition: Madam Zhao, a 92-year-old woman living in Beijing, showcases her deformed bound feet in front of camera
Madam Zhao would have had layer after layer of bandage wrapped over her toes every day as a child to achieve the feature
The pensioner is also one of the last handful of elderly women in China who experienced the savage foot-binding custom
Madam Zhao holds a pair of beautifully embroidered shoes designed for women with bound feet known as ‘golden lotus feet’
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Madam Zhao lives in a village in Shunyi District on the outskirts of Beijing. She enjoys smoking tobacco with a traditional Chinese long stem pipe and a ride in the neighbourhood on her tricycle.
But she is also one of the last handful of elderly women in the country who experienced the savage foot-binding custom and now have palm-size feet.
As the pensioner gently took off her socks, her ‘lotus feet’ were uncovered in front of the camera: the toes were squashed, the sole was folded inwards and the side of the foot was unnaturally tall.
But they used to be something millions of women dreamt to have. A pair of tiny feet no longer than four inches could not only secure ancient Chinese women a good marriage, but also respect from her family and society.
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A pair of tiny feet no longer than four inches could not win ancient Chinese women a good marriage and societal respect
Women who didn’t have their feet down-sized would be considered ‘too manly’, ‘too strong’ and ‘not delicate enough’
The ancient Chinese people believed that tiny feet could help satisfy men in the bedroom in the feudal era.
Li Yun, a 17th century Chinese author, wrote in his lifestyle guide ‘Sketches of Idle Pleasure’ that palm-size feet on a woman were ‘extremely sexy’ and ‘irresistible’, and a man could get ‘mind-blowing’ experience by just touching them.
On the other hand, women who didn’t have their feet down-sized would be considered ‘too manly’, ‘too strong’ and ‘not delicate enough’, as an ancient Chinese saying goes.
A best pair of bound feet, called ‘golden lotus feet’, should measure three cun (four inches) in length by Chinese measurement; while the next in the rank, ‘silver lotus feet’, should be four cun (5.2 inches). Women with such feat would wear beautiful embroidered shoes to show off their tiny feet.
Madam Zhao shows her ‘lotus feet’: the toes were squashed, the sole was folded and the side of the foot was unnaturally tall
A best pair of bound feet should measure three cun (four inches) long by Chinese measurement so they can fit in the shoes
There are a few theories on why the bound feet are called ‘lotus feet’ in China. According to a popular one, a perfectly bound foot should resemble the shape of a closed lotus blossom – with the woman’s toe pointing forwards and the rest of her toes firmly folded underneath the sole.
To achieve this, young girls would have to have their four toes bent under their sole and the front part of the sole bent towards the heel by force. They would have to wear the bandage way into their teenage years to make sure their ‘lotus feet’ would stay in shape.
Apart from the supposed aesthetic purpose, a pair of ‘lotus feet’ could prove a woman faithfulness to her husband. The belief was that because she wouldn’t be able to run quickly with her tiny feet, it’d be hard for her to have an affair or escape from her husband’s family.
An athletic elderly woman, Madam Zhao enjoys riding her tricycle in the rural neighbourhood when the weather is nice
With a pair of tiny feet, the 92-year-old is a rare right in the city when new things replace tradition an eye-opening speeds
She also likes smoking tobacco using a traditional Chinese long stem pipe, which is hard to see in the modern city of Beijing
The controversial custom dates back over 1,000 years to China’s Tang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty which lasted from the 17th to the early 20th century.
It was largely abolished – together with feudalism – after the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. However in rural areas, the custom carried on existing until 1940s.
This explains why Madam Zhao, who was born in 1927, was still forced to go through foot-binding.
In the past, Chinese women were only allowed to show their bound feet bare to their husbands. But in recent years, more and more elderly women have displayed the unusual physical feature of theirs to journalists and photographers.
China’s foot-binding tradition dates back over 1,000 years to Tang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty
It was largely abolished after the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, carried on existing until 1940s in rural villages
Since 2005, Jo Farrell, a British photographer based in Hong Kong, has photographed and interviewed dozens of such women in the provinces of Shandong, Yunnan and Shanxi.
‘It’s hard to imagine women had to subject themselves to such a painful process just to be accepted by the society and to be loved,’ said Jo Farrell to MailOnline during a previous interview.
‘But it was the standard of beauty at the time, just like some women prefer being skinny or having tattoos nowadays,’ added London-born Ms Farrell.
Today, there are very few women in China who have had their feet bound. Most of them are in their 90s and live in remote villages.
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