2:02 a.m. - 2007-03-16
Snow Flower and Lily
Thursday, March 15, 2007
SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN: A Novel
By Lisa See
I am reading a very interesting book. It is about the Chinese culture and their tradition of foot binding. The story is set in 1823 and the main character is Lily. Her family is not of a high class in their society but her family does do foot binding. In this story, because of her class and because of her high arch in her feet, it is believed that she will attain the highest level of "golden lilies"....(her feet) once the binding is complete.
The smaller the bound foot, the better chance the girl had to marry into a better class. This would provide money and status for her family.
Girls were not highly regarded but the girls who could marry into a higher class were given a bit more status. This foot binding custom was carried out for many years and it was only recently that the last shoes were manufactured. There are still some women living in China who have bound feet. They can not walk for very long periods of time and must be carried or stay in the upper Women's chamber of their homes.
"Foot binding"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Foot binding (Simplified Chinese: ����; Traditional Chinese: �p��; pinyin: ch��nz��, literally "bound feet")
also known as kack put, was a custom practiced on females for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the early 20th century. In Chinese foot binding, young girls' feet, usually at age 6 but often earlier, were wrapped in tight bandages so that they could not grow and develop normally; they would, instead, break and become highly deformed, not growing past 4-6 inches. As the girl reached adulthood, her feet would remain small and dysfunctional, prone to infection, paralysis, and muscular atrophy. It should be noted that this was initially a common practice only in the wealthiest parts of China, particularly in north China. However, by the late Qing Dynasty, foot binding had become popular among people of all social classes, including the poor. Today, it is a prominent cause of disability among elderly Chinese women."
" Origins"
"The practice of foot binding started during the Tang Dynasty (618�C907). According to legend, women were bound in this way to replicate an imperial concubine who danced with her feet wrapped in silk; the other concubines were envious and they all started binding their feet in order to impress the emperor. By the 12th century, the practice had become widespread among the upper classes.
However, earlier forms of foot binding were not nearly as debilitating as those used during the later Qing Dynasty (1636-1911). During the Qing period, girls' feet were bound so tightly and so early in life that, as adults, they were unable to walk significant distances. They were essentially crippled and deprived of autonomy. Foot binding of this kind was a status symbol, since only the wealthy could afford to keep women unproductive. The Hongwu Emperor's consort, born of humble origin, had normal feet (considered unattractive by the standards of the culture). Emperor Hongwu killed the neighbours of those who mocked her.
If a girl's feet were bound in this manner, sometimes beginning as early as age five, four toes on each foot would break within a year; the first ("big toe") remained intact. The arch had to be well-developed for the perfect "lotus foot" to be formed, so some women would bind their girls' feet at a later age; the ideal was a 3-in. foot, and no longer than 10 cm (4 in). Bound feet would bend, becoming so concave they were sometimes described as "lotus hooks". The binding process resulted in intense pain and caused phalanges to fracture easily.
The earliest recorded opponent to footbinding was a writer from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) called Ch'e Jo-shui. The Manchus who conquered China in the 17th century tried without success to abolish the practice. Manchu women were forbidden from binding their feet or the feet of their daughters.
Instead they wore 'flower bowl' shoes which gave the illusion of tiny feet. Bound feet became an important differentiating marker between manchu and Han.
One of the objectives of the Taiping Rebellion was to establish gender equality by ending footbinding.
In 1911, the Republic of China government banned foot binding; women were told to unwrap their feet lest they be killed. Some women's feet grew 1/2 - 1 inch after the unwrapping, though some found the new growth process extremely painful and emotionally and culturally devastating.
According to a study conducted by the University of California at San Francisco,"As the practice waned,some girls' feet were released after initial binding, leaving less severe deformities." Some effects of foot binding are permanent, and today, some elderly Chinese women still suffer from disabilities related to
bound feet.
Foot binding is rarely, if ever, practiced today. Many people would treat the behavior as child abuse and punish it accordingly. It is commonly cited by sociologists and anthropologists as an example where an extreme deformity (by the standards of both modern societies and from a medical viewpoint)can be viewed as beauty, and also where immense human suffering can be inflicted in the pursuit of a beauty standard."
"While bound feet were considered desirable by some men, a misconception is that men found the deformed foot, in the flesh, erotic. In general, men never saw a woman's bound feet, as they were always concealed within tiny "lotus shoes". Feng Xun is recorded as stating, "If you remove the shoes and bindings, the aesthetic feeling will be destroyed. "
Also in the book I am reading, one of the little sisters of the main character, died as a result of the binding because she developed infection and was not treated. These children were forced to walk on their bound feet as the bindings got tight to help cause the other toes to break and bend backward. The bindings were soaked off in hot water every 4 days and then rebound tighter to continue to force the foot into the cramped and unusual position.
Another custom was for the women to have a 'Secret written language". They were not permitted to read writings that the men wrote so they communicated using an adapted version and wrote it on fans which they sent back and forth to each other. This was called "nu shu". If they were considered very special, they had a lifelong friend called "laotongs" which means old sames. These were girls who were matched up according to their birth date, birth order in their families, same number of siblings,other coincidental similarites. These "laotongs" could be the only life long person they would trust, including their own families.
Nu Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China
"In feudal China, women, usually with bound feet, were denied educational opportunities and condemned to social isolation. But in Jian-yong county in Hunan province, peasant women miraculously developed a separate written language, called Nu Shu, meaning "female writing." Believing women to be inferior, men disregarded this new script, and it remained unknown for centuries. It wasn't until the 1960s that Nu Shu caught the attention of Chinese authorities, who suspected that this peculiar writing was a secret code."
There are only a handful of women who can still read and write in this script. In essence it is a dying language. However, no official programs exist to preserve this incredible cultural heritage, and it would be a shame that such a symbol of women's resilience in an oppressive environment will be lost to future
generations. "
In the book I am reading, Nu Shu is taught by the women who have learned it from their mother, aunt,or grandmother. Not all women were able to read or write; so this was an art that only the lucky ones learned. In more recent years,Red China tried to erase all traces of this secret language but there are about 10 people still living who can write the entire 1500 word language. Some women in the countryside are still trying to teach it to their daughters.
When the woman died, all her treasures, including the nu shu were burned to tell the gods about the woman who had died so it is rare to find any of these writings today....
IT IS INFORMATION LIKE THIS ABOUT OTHER CULTURES THAT SHOW JUST HOW FAR WE STILL NEED TO GO TO GIVE WOMEN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES...
