Classic Chinese Erotica
Footbinding
Footbinding was practiced in China from about the 11th century to the founding
of the Chinese republic in 1911. Initially, it was a luxury practiced only by
the royal women and rich families but eventually became a common practice even
in the peasantry. The ideal foot size was only three-inches long. To achieve
this impossibly small "lotus" feet, girls would have their feet tightly bound
by a long piece of cloth from about age five. The smaller the feet, the better
her ability to attract more desirable suitors. It was also believed that
walking with bound feet caused the women to have the "permanent muscle tone of
a virgin". Though often reviled by modern Chinese and Westerners alike, the
practice was equivalent to the current practice of plastic surgery or body
modification. In fact, the ideal of the sexy feet lives on as the present day
high-heel shoes.
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Title
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Mini Review
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Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China
Written by Ping Wang
Anchor Books, 2002
208 pages
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A thorough history of footbinding including the literature
surrounding it. |
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Every Step a Lotus: Shoes for
Bound Feet
Written by Dorothy Ko
University of California Press, 2001
200 pages
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An examination of the footbinding tradition through the shoes
because as the author points out, "most of the bodies are gone; only the shoes
remain". These weren't just any shoes, of course. They were made of silk and
decorated with fancy embroidery. |
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Splendid Slippers: A Thousand
Years of an Erotic Tradition
Written by Beverley Jackson
Ten Speed Press, 1998
192 pages
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Another history of footbinding with a lot of pictures of the
slippers worn. |
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The Three-Inch Golden Lotus
Written by Feng Jicai (1942-)
Translated by David Wakefield
University of Hawaii Press, 1994
248 pages
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The title of this novel, written in 1985, refers to the
ideal size of female feet. The pursuit of the "Golden Lotus" involved
constant and painful foot-binding starting at childhood. Fragrant Lotus is
young girl from a poor household whose feet have been bound from age six.
With her perfectly proportioned feet, she is married to a wealthy
family and eventually becomes its matriarch, staunchly defending the practice
against the anti food-binding forces that arose in the early 1900s. |
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