The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-01-24
EVILOF FOOTBINDING
FAST DISAPPEARING THROUGH
AMERICAN INVASION.
To the Practice Is Attributed the
Extreme Nervousness from Which
Chinese Women Suifer--Various
Methods in Force.


footbinding, just as there are differ
ent styles in small feet. 1t all de-
pends on the section of the country.
In the northern part, around Pekin,
the standard of excellence is club
shaped foot with the big toe extend
Ing something like the index finger
from a 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 the
ball touches the heel and the instep
bulges up and out, the effect of the
whole being a club-llke thing resem-
bling cows hoof more closely
than the delicate, graceful lines of
human foot.
A bandage of heavy, unbleached
muslin about an inch and a half
wide and from a yard and half to
two yards long is bound snugly
around and over the foot to hold tho
strained and twisted muscles firmly
in place. Gradually the outraged foot
adopts the new form thus forced
upon 1t, but the process is slow and
excruciatingly painful. During the
process about 10 per cent. of the
victims die, 1t 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 freezee their feet and never know
1t, because there is no difference in
the feeling
Bound feet are not only misshap-
en- feet--they are very small feet.
Binding first retards, then stops the
growth. A grown woman of thirty
will have the feet of a child of Ave.
As a result of generations of dwarf
cd 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 grand alliance when she
grows up, binding begins as soon as
the child has learned to walk with
confidence. If 1t is begun before she
can balance herself she will probably
never learn to walk at all. II very
much later, the feet will have grown
too large ever to be brought down to
the desired size.
Sometimes the mother, remem-
4, he toe Oh,
dured, and fiinching from the idea of
inflicting 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 1t; she
knows it has to be done; but her
tender mother heart revolts from the
pain entailed and spring lapses into
summer 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
maintained 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
tie the bandages are tightened.
Not infrequently it will happen,
when the ambition of the parents Is
of the ruthless sky-vaulting type,
that the terrible pressure of the
frightened bandages becomes too he
roic for flesh and blood to bear.
Then the feet suppurate and the
flesh drops off, leaving only the
bones. Women may be seen hob
bling about on skeletons Of feet, and
others whose feet could best be de-
scribed as stumps. Sometimes gan
creme sets In and the pathetic little
victim to family pride and race ira
dition dies. Short Of all these hor-
have been bound SO tightly, crease
or cleft two inches high will be
formed between the toes and the
heel
Even where binding is a complete
success the pain and discomfort en-
tailed by 1t are something awful. In
hot weather bound feet ache intol-
erably. To them is attributed the
extreme nervousness and irritability
from which many Chinese women
suffer, not to speak Of other grave
maladies.
With the very young all that is ne
cessary is to remove the bindings
and the toes will straighten out Of
their own accord. In the case of full
grown women trifling surgical
operation is necessary, followed by
vigorous massage and manipulation
and the strapping of the feet to fiat
boards until they regain their nor
nal shape.
No sooner had the American mis-
sionaries In China convinced them
selves that unbinding was entirely
feasible than they proceeded to form
an anti-binding crusade by making
unbinding obligatory on all women
and girls who attended or desired 10
attend any of their groups OF
N hn