Until the twentieth century, in China it was a symbol of wealth and beauty to bind the feet of girls six years old or younger. This tortuous habit, called "foot binding" , was carried out for a thousand years, from about the tenth to the twentieth century, by older women to younger women to reach the parameters of beauty that prevailed in this Asian country.
This foot binding was usually practiced by the richest girls in China, but it became so popular that almost all women did it; only the poorest and those who worked in the fields could not, for the social class some and for the type of work the others, since this fastening of feet returned the simple fact of walking a difficult task .
The history of the feet of Chinese women
"Small feet, beautiful woman"
The procedure was quite painful, they wrapped the feet of the small ones with tight bandages so that they did not grow and to stop their normal development ; the bones fractured and that part of the foot completely deformed, reaching only 10 or 15 centimeters .
When they were adults the feet remained tiny and were considered of great beauty and sensuality, but in return they suffered from paralysis and muscular atrophy, as the leg muscles did not develop because they did not walk correctly and very many times the infections were terrible.
These women reached the maximum beauty, enjoying attractiveness and mystery in Chinese society. His feet also indicated his wealthy origin , because women with this physical deformity could not do any work.
The beautiful must remain hidden
For men having a woman like that was a symbol of status . It was, of course, a trophy wife and as such, the woman should behave.
One of the customs was that the feet should never show : they were beautiful while wearing their shoes, but showing their deformity was undesirable.
Fortunately for Chinese women, this practice ended in the twentieth century, when more and more women began to resist such torture, taking off their bandages forever.