New-York tribune., 1900-02-26
8()Rly-&0'lANS~ >AGE@D
AGAINST FOOT BINDING.
EFFORTS OF MISSIONARIES IN CHINA TO
ABOLISH THE CUSTOM.
ALL SORTS OF NATURAL FEET SOCIETIES
sPRING1NG OBJECTIONABLE SHOE TWO
Nd A HALF INCHES LONG

IT no other reason could be advanced to prove
the value Of the Christian missions in China the
work accomplished by them in stopping foot binding
among the women would of itself be a sufficient
argument for the existence and continuance of the
work" said a recently returned missionary yester-
day.
How prevalent this custom is in China and how
iatal 10 the welfare OF the is but little
realized IN America, where If a woman cramps her
feet with tight shoes she Is the victim OF her own
vanity, and not forced to yield to the customs and
pretudices which hem In the Chinese women on
every side.
some Chinese girls are permitted to go with un-
bound feet until they about six years old when
the time arrives for the bandaging process to begin
and the golden lilies these deformed feet are
termed, must be moulded. The bandage used for
this purpose is made of substantial webbing two
and half inches wide. The process consists prac-
ucally of doubling the and heels together with
the toes except the big toe bent under The women
when the object has been accomplished and the
loot Is incased in the tiny shoe stand upon the
tip OF the heel and the tip of the big toe and TINS
hobbe around
This. Of course. cannot be accomplished At onoe
out is the product of a long and torturine ORDEAL
At flrst the bandages applied rather loosely
ouI periodically they drawn tighter and tighter
as the 1eet yield to the pressure of the webbing
Inc heel when the foot is ncased in the shoe rests
on a tiny platform OF wood fitted above ana habin1
the heel for that purpose
me suHerings endured by the victim during this
process are beyond description and il is NOT an
uncommon occurrence for outraged nature 70 NO
test, and such a diseased CONDITION os a. et =.
ehsue as to render necessary their annnu+o+Io,
oometnes the children will not submit to the onara
io, ana thelr obstinacy results in saving the feet
Feet are bound to a smaller size in Foocho.
'han IN any other part of China for the rasbio
aoie shoe Is only two and half inches lone ord
'he consequent hssure where the sole of the foot
should be is about three inches deep.
The feet of a Chinese woman yieId a., i
cio'heu the size of her feet must be ascertained
ior the suitor and great IS the disapDointnent ,T
tIe orloes feet prove larger than anticipated
"hen the wedding day arrives the bride draws the
bandages as snugly as possible
The soles OF the tiny shoes are nurcba.oa r,,.h
hoIes ready made in the wood near the border in
oroer that the wearer may embroider the shoes and
sutch them to the wooden soles. for the women
MADE their own shoes. They occupy their leisure
time embrotdering elaborate patterns upon the
SILK that forms the upper part of the shoe and
upon the silken bandages above the shoe tons COW
ering the distorted ankles. These bandages ara
finished with fancy ends
This is the time nonored custom that the mis-
sions are doing effective work in uprooting Chill
dren are not admitted into the mission school unless
the parents will promise 10 unblnd the feet When
the process of binding has only just begun his ca
be be aSsomplished I. much more readily than later for
painful one and the feet always remain
At Al the girls boarding school in Tien-Tsn, North
China considerable work is accomplished A
palmetto instance recently quoted that of
most promising pupil who intended devotIng her
life to mission work. 1t soon became evident that
her health was breaking, and when she realized
that death was near her last thought was of the
poor. manned feet that her mother had promised
should be unbound. few hours before her death
She with her mothers consent, unbound tho
bandages with her own hands
I'm Tung-Cho North China. the missionaries
have had hard fight against foot binding. and the
battle has been won. They report that there are
ninety-fve women and children with unbound feet
thirty being married women and sixty five girls In
Kalgan there is 'anti-foot binding school
where no new girls are admitted with bound feet
and thirteen out of seventeen have unbound
feet. A Natural Foot Society has been Organized
Society IS tiourishing In North China the preJu-
dice against unbound feet is decidedly strong One
objection voiced by girl that people would
not know whether she a a woman tho
feet being a mark of femininity where the men and
women dress much alike.
From Pao-Tlng-Fu Miss Morrill, writes
a. The against foot binding has been so sue