Foot Binding or popularly known as
"Lotus feet" was a Chinese tradition wherein young females used a
very painful and tight binding to their feet to prevent it from growing
further. The ideal length was 3 Chinese inches which is around 4 inches in
Western measurement. This custom was believed to have originated among
upper-class dancers during the 10th or 11th century. The
practice of foot binding became popular among the social classes and it
portrays the status of women from wealthy
families who did not need their feet
to work and can afford to have them bound.
When I asked two of my close friends
regarding foot binding, the first thing that popped
their minds was
the movie Feng Shui wherein Ms. Kris Aquino played a major role. In the movie,
the ghost was a female Chinese who wears a very tight shoe. According to the
plot, she died because she was trapped inside the house that was burning down.
She wasn't able to escape and run after her life due to her lotus feet. She
can't even walk faster because of the tightness of the shoe. So there I posed a
question to my friends, "What do you think is the reason why Chinese
followed such tradition?" One of my two friends said that perhaps Chinese
netizens considered it as a form of art, the other one said that since it was
only done by rich young females, then maybe it was because of having strict
parents that they have to prevent their feet from growing to maintain an
elegant look.
Before I read informations about foot
binding on the internet, I see foot binding as a representation of beauty and
poise. Aside from the belief of most women that hair is our crowning glory,
having beautiful shapes of feet is also something to be considered. Like in the
movie entitled "Meteor Garden", the ex of Watchi Lei said that
"Good shoes takes you to good places." Our choices represent our
personality. Different types of shoes lead us to diverse paths in life.
In my own observation,
the type of shoe that we have right now which is close to the features of the
shoe wore by young female Chinese during ancestral times is the commonly known
as "doll shoes."
I also wear this kind of shoe
especially during lazy days since it is easy to wear and to remove. But some
doll shoes are not that comfortable to wear depending on its shape,
particularly this one. This type of shoe can be paired with
pants or dress and I guess this is one of the reasons why most women love to collect doll shoes.
After writing this blog, I was able to find
answers to my own curiosity regarding the reason why most people are really
into following almost everything that is on trend. It is because fashion is one
of the effective and obvious demonstration or portrayal of the economic status
of an individual. If you are able to buy something that is popular or new in
the present market, people would be amazed thinking that you can afford such
stuff and thus look at you as someone that is wealthy and high-class.
