The Cairo bulletin., 1907-07-01

FAST DISAPPEARING THROUGH
AMERICAN INVASION.
To the Practice Is Attributed the
Extreme Nervousness from Which
Chinese Women Suffer--Varions
Methods In Force.


the standard of excellence Is a club
shaped foot with the big toe extend
Ing something like the index finger
from clenched fist.
To attain this ideal, the -four
smaller toes are bent back diagon.
. ally under the sole. the big toe pro
truding. The foot Is then crushed
from the front backward until tho
ball touches the heel and the instep
bulges up and out, the effect OF the
whole being Il club-like thing resem-
bling cows hoof more closely
than the delicate, graceful lines Of u
human foot
A bandage or heavy, unbleached
muslin about an inch and half
wide and from yard and half TO
two yards long is bound snugly
around and over the foot to hold the
strained and twisted muscles firmly
In place. Gradually the outraged foot
adopts the new form thus forced
upon 1t. but the process Is slow aud
overwhelmingly painful During the
process about 10 per cent OF tho
victims die, it Is said.
One of the first results of the tre-
mendous pressure of the bandages is
to check the circulation. The feet be-
come numb and lifeless, as If FROST
bitten. In fact, Chinese women often
do freeze their feet and never know
It.. because there is no difference In
the feeling
Bound feet are not only misshap-
en- feetthey are very small feet.
Binding first retards, then stops the
growth. A grown woman of thirty
will have the feet of child OF five.
AS result OF generations of dwarf
ed feet on the mothers side, Chi
nese women have by inheritance
small feet. even when allowed to
grow normally.
Where the parents are very ambi-
tious that their daughter shall con-
tract a grand alliance when she
grows up. binding begins as soon as
the child has learned to walk with
confidence. III 1t Is begun before she
can balance herself she will probably
never learn to walk at all If very
much later, the feet will have grown
too large ever to be brought down to
the desired size.
Sometimes the mother, remem-
bering the agonies she herself en-
dured, and fiinchipg from the idea OF |
inficting them upon her beloved
baby--for binding usually begins |
between two and three years of age |
will weakly put OFF the evil hour.
She knows she ought to do it; she
knows 1t has to be done; but her
tender mother heart revolts from the
pain entaiied and spring lapses into
and autumn into winter, and
the child's feet are still unbound
The process of foot binding begun,
say, from two to four, is generally
till the girl has attained
her full growth. Every day the
bandages are removed, the feet
washed, lotions, powders and scents
are freely applied to keep down pers-
piration and swelling, then fresh
bandages are bound on. Little by lit [
lie the bandages are frightened I
Not infrequently II viii happen, t
when the ambition of the parents is {
If the ruthless sky-vauiting type, +
hat the terrible pressure OF the 9
ightened bandages becomes too he
'oic for flesh sand blood to bear. +
INen the feet suppurate and the
lesh drops off. leaving only the
zones. Women may be seen hob
ling about on skeletons of feet, and
theirs whose feet could best be de-
cribed as stumps. Sometimes gan
rene sets in and the pathetic little
ictim to family pride and race ira
ition dies. Short of all these hor-
ors there are plenty of feet that II
ave been bound so tightly, a crease p
r cleft two inches high will be Il
,rmed between the toes and the b
eel b,
Even where binding is a complete
access the pain and discomfort en-
'iled by IL are something awful In
ot weather bound feet ache intol-
ably. To them is attributed the y
itreme nervousness and irritability A
ON which many Chinese women A
Iffer, not to speak of other grave u
aladies.
With the very young all that is ne
ssary is to remove the bindings
ID the toes will straighten, out of
eir own accord. In the case of full
own women a trifiing surgical &C
'eration Is necessary, followed by IN
sorous massage and manipulation
ID the strapping of the feet to fiat -
ards until they regain their nor -
al shape. 4.
No sooner had the American mis- a
'naries In China convinced them Ia
ives that unbiading was entirely Sc
ssible than they proceeded to form
anti-binding crusade by making op
obligatory on an women sci
d girls who attended or desired to
end any of their groups of
lools. The movement was later :
enlightened by a body of native
sachers who passed a resolution tn vi
bind the feet OF their wives and
to betroth their sons to gifIs -
h bound feet. a