Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-01-09
THE TIME OF TEARS
SOCIETY ORGANIZED TO OVER
THROW THE FOOT BINDERS.
FOR DRAGONS DAUGHTER
How the Cruel Custom is Said to Have
Originated Eleven Centuries Age
and the Awful Torture II Has
caused-PitifuI Distress Of Chill
dren.

The Anti-Foot Binding society has
been organized in San Francisco in an
effort to overthrow Chinese custom
of binding the feet of their high-born
women, a custom that has prevailed
for eleven centuries. The members of
the society are Americans, Europeans
and Chinese, and women are leading
in the work The educated admit the
terrible mistake which has been made
by their people for eleven centuries.
Consul General Ho Vow of that city,
distinguished scholar and diplomat,
is opposed to the custom and in
hearty sympathy with the movement
to abolish it.
Here, from a purely Chinese stand
point, is an interesting article on the
subject written for the San Francisco
Examiner by PAX Cav Wun, who
graphically describes the cruelties of
footbinding and pleads for Christian
aid in uprooting the evils of the super
stition which has fostered the custom:
with regard to this foolish practice
on the part of my countrywomen," she
writes, "our folklore abounds with
legends purporting to explain its orr
gin and the reason of it's continuance.
The most popular one relates that
many hundreds of years before the
Christian era there was young and
beautiful Empress of China, who, in
order to save the life of hr husband
the emperor, consented to become the
food of cruel old dragon which had
taken the emperor prisoner. 1t was
stipulated that the beast should eat
her piecemeal, beginning with her feet,
and that her husband be allowed to
| visit and condole with her.
I'm the meantime the emperor set
out on a swift-fiying phoenix-bird to a
| distant corner of the world, where
| dwelt witch or sorceress who was
the daughter f a dragon by an en-
press wife. Her dragon father kept
her shut up in dark cavern day and
night. This witch possessed a pow
erful poison a portion of which she
gave to the emperor, and he fastened
back } find that the dragon had not
yet awakened from profound slum-
Der into which he had fallen imme-
diately Otter devouring the empress
left foot. He accordingly anointed the
other foot with the poison. The
dragon awoke at dusk, and, approach
ing the empress, bit off her foot. In
| less than five nj b1
empress was free and joyfully depart
ed with her husband; but, alas with
out her feet, which she willingly sac
rificed to save her beloved husbands
life.
Then the spirits of the earth and
air caused golden lilies, or lotus flow
ers, to spring up In her footsteps
whenever she walked abroad; and all
the well-born women of China. desir-
ing to emulate their great and vir-
tuous empress, and as a tender mark
of respect and sympathy for her, at
once adopted the practice of footbind-
ing. that their feet might resemble
her sticklike extremities. The custom
has continued to this day, and the
awful deformities resulting from bind
ing are still called golden lilies and
bound-foot women are called dragons
daughters
1T matters little just how the custom
originated. But it is of moment to
know if there be any real reasons
and if so, what they are-for its con-
tinuance in this enlightened age.
There is absolutely nothing to be
urged in it's defense. 1t is responsible
eietty or indirectly, for almost half
q hundred diseases, according to the
eminent Drs. Mccartney, of Chung
king; Macklin, of Nankin, and Mrs.
Reifsnyder head of the Margaret Will
hanson Hospital at Shanghai and
many others.
Feet are 'part-bOund,' 'half-bound,'
'well-bound' and 'full-bound as to size.
ranging in length land corresponding
width-or, rather, narrowness) from
two inches less than normal down to
two and one-half inches or less in
length"
ahNAS a. thitt hlNisiDuS VI Iut
period of torture, known as the mar
rowing time the shortening time and
the keeping time The first period
usually begins with the third year Of
the child's life, and is devoted to wrap
ping the foot so as to force the sides
together. This is the least painful
period and usually lasts only about
three years, though some
times as much as 10
or IL years are required. IL the
bones are firm and strong. The next
period. also called the time OF tears
and the 'sorrowful season., because Of
the awful torment endured, makes the
poor victims so sad and sorrowful
looking during the time that a glance
often enables one to tell II she has yet
entered on this time OF torture. II
often results in the death OF the child
in about one-sixth Of the cases.
THE shortening Is done by bandag-
ing in such manner as to force the
heelbone downward and forward. and
the toes and forepart of the foot down.
ward and backward SO as to as nearly