Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-13
To Put Stop to Foot Binding Among
Chinese Women.
Why THE CUSTOM STILL PREVAILS
How Men Who Marry Foreigners
Treat Their Wives.
CRUEL MOT II f r ST MI A W
Copyright. 1900 by Frank G. Carpenter)
;r-aciaI CORRESPONDENCE of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.
SHANGHAI September l. 1900.
Shanghai Is the headquarters of the Tien
Tsu Hui. or the ant-foot binding society
This society. founded in 1895, has now Its
branches all over the empire. 1t is com
posed chiefly of missionary women but 1t
has also many prominent Chinese members
and as soon as the war is over it will be
able to push its work as 1t has not done be-
fore.
The head Of the society is Mrs Archibald
Little an English resident of China, who
is noted as an authoress of books OF Chi
nese travel. The society is now scattering
tracts written IN Chinese, picturing the evils
OF foot binding It offers prizes to Chinese
scholars for essays upon the subject, and
Il has lecturers going about denounctng the
practice. Among its most influential sup
porters has been the great v!ceroy, Chang
Chi Tuug a man who is second only TO Ii
Hung Chang in influence in China. Chang
Chi Tung has aided In the organization OF
'b.g-fO0t clubs In the upper part or the
YauEtse valley, and written a number or
tracts de>ouncing the custom In his es-
says he writes that he fears the Hl0o0,po
women Of China may through il degener-
ate and the race IN this way become weak
and small and finally extinct
= Golden Lily Under the N-Ray.
The Chinese call these small feet golden
lilies one IF the recent acts Of the society
was making a photograph of q golden lily
by the N-ray process. y print from the
negative lies before me. It represents the
bones OF tha foot of a living Chinese We
man. and shows how horribly they are
deflrmed b. the compression. The foot has
been crushed out of shape. The tnstep IS
over the heel and the sole has been bent
up 50 that the foot IS in the form Of a bowl.
In order 10 learn just how the tees are
bound l went the other day 10 one Of the
hospitals, and through an acquaintance
with missionary doctor was able 10 see
enc Of the smallest Of ~le Chinese feet
This is by no means easy Of accom-
pli=tment The Chinese women are eX-
CeedingIy modest They viii not take the
bandages of in the presence OF their
husbands, and ! am told that husband
rarely sees his wtfe'S feet bare. she Keeps
the baudages on at night and does not re
move them except at intervals Of three or
four days for cleansing and foot washing
The girls foot had a small sore on the
ankle. and the doctor brought me IN 10 see
il on the plea that | was a consulting ply
stefan. | cannot adequately describe its
uglineSS. 1t looked more Ike club man
foot. The four small toes had been bound
under the sole so tightly that they had al
most grown into the flesh. The heel and
sole were bent together, leaving crack
about three inches deep, and so wide that
you could have slipped silver dollar into
il and it would have been hidden. The big
toe stuck straight out. 1t was abnOrmaIly
developed and this because the woman
walked upon it and not upon the sole
The skin was as rough as though IT were
chafeJ with the cold. II was cracked and
sore This was the condition Of al the
leg that exposed. The leg was bare
half way 10 the knee but l could see no
sign of the swelling Of the calf; and 1t IS
$50 tTa+ The small footed women do NOT
have any calves to speak Of. The un-
natural way Of walking throws into dis
Use such muscles. and the average Chinese
ladys Leg from foot L. knee is not much
larger around than golf club.
Horrors Of Foot binding.
From members of the society and the re-
ports which they have received from diff
ferent sections l have learned some Of the
horrors IF foot binding. There is a branch
Of the organization about 1000 miles up the
Yangtse river at Chung King. AT a meet
ing there DR.. Mccartney recently told how
he had been compelled to amputate the TWO
feet OF a child d short time ago. the mother
OF the child was opium smoker, and she
had not paid much attention to her little
girl The result was the feet were un-
washed, gaugreue had set in, and when she
was brought to the hospital the little ones
feet were hanging on by the cendons only.
In other cases DR.. Mccartney found women
paralyZed by foot binding. and IN others
half foot had sloughcd off.
The mother superior Of the convent at
Hankow says that IN her district girl
in every ten dies Of foot binding. One Of
the female physicians in charge of the hos
pital at Canton told me of woman who
had lost her feet by freezing. They We're
hound su tight that there was no cirCula-
ton. They froze and dropped off. and the
woman walked Into the hospital the
stumps with her feet in her hand.
II is not uncommon for foot 10 be 50
tightly bound that II breaks in two In the
I2i4lle and the bones come through the
flesh. The pain at the beginning IS intense,
and it continues throughout life the
baudages not being left OF until death
How the Feet Are Hound
no in
different parts of China. In the north and
IA the Yangtse valley it is first done at
three or four years Of age. and in the south
at five or six. There are professional foot
binders. who put on the first wrappings.
The child sits on the lap of her mother
and a servant holds foot while
the other IS free for the foot binder
To work upon. The first binding is with
long piece Of tape about half an inch wide.
The binder presses the four small toes down
under the sole ana then takes turn with
the tape about the big toe at the Joint.
She fastens this and then draws the tape
back around the heel, pressing II down
ward materially increasing the height of
the iastep. The tape is next carried to the
front OF the foot, and the four small toes
are bound in 50 that they are almost sunkeu
In the flesh. Next piece of stiff cloth is
WRAPPED about the foot and fastened with
heavy thread So tightly that the foot can
not possibly grow. The feet are now
squeezed into stiff shoes or slippers and
over them more binding is put until they
are perfectly rigid.
The Children Are Tortured
The pain increases "a the child grows
and at times ii is so great that mothers
give their children opium to relieve it
In walking the little ones must walk
upon their toes They are unable TO stand
STILL and are continually taking steps or
swaying about. This sway has even be-
come a feature OF Chinese beauty, and is
considered graceful by the men.
AT a recent meeting of the Tien Tsu
HUI DIR. Elizabeth Reifsnyder, one OF the