Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-18
fspeeIal Correspondencel


n YANKING, Decccmer. l9O9.-Thc
IN new woman promises to bc a
" live figure In the future of CHI
ma. Today she is practically Il
slave in the hands of her husband or
father. with few rights that men are
hound 10 respect. She is cripple. hob
lltrg about on bound feet. IF she IS
r5th and high class. she is not allowed
tn g, on the streets, and IL p7ov she
works in the fields and does all sorts
q drudZcry. Tho average Chinese girl
- un"du"ated Ano not one woman IN
G hundred can read and write. The new
China Is to be su.I oil girls schools, It's
girls feet are to he allowed their nntur-
al growth and Its women are TO take
their part In the work of the world
Girls are already employed In the tclc-
phone Offices of Hongkolg and Shang-
hal. They arc teaching everywhere In
the kIndergartens and primary schools,
and medical colleges have been cstab-
llshed to At thcm for trained nurses and
doctors. The viceroy of WuchanG has
a school in which the boys and girls
Tuan Fang. tho viccroy of Marking.
There are several large girls schools
in Pckin. and one of the Manchu prin
ccSscs. a member of the imperial family,
has established a girls scnool In Mon
eolia. All the missionary establish
mcnts are now teaching girls and lie
demand for educated women as wives
Is far greater than the supply.
TILE ANTI I-FOoTBINDING MOVE
MENT.
The sentiment against binding the
feet Is very rapidly growing The great
cypress dowager sent out an edict
shortly before her death dcnouncinS
the custom, and advising all the girls
and women of the empire to do away
with it, Chang Chi Tung has wIlttol
an article on the subject. and before
he died Ii Hung Chang advised that
the custom to discontinued. Many of
tho viceroys and governors have sent
out proclamations favoring the ab)li-
tlon of footbndng, and a number of
societies have been started in the differ
ent provinces in favor of the natural
foot for all women. In all the girls
schools the government regulations
provide that the pupils must come with
their feet unbound and system OF
gymnastic exercises has been Instituted
which are impossible for crippled-foo
pupil In talking last night with ono
of the high officials of Nanking, I was
told that the foot-binding would soon
disappear, and that the sentiment
against 1t is rapidly growing The
man l refer to was educated In the
United States. Said he:
IT have two daughters. and one is 1e
years old. Mother have bound feet.
Tho same is true of many well-to-do
girls In my city. and especially so with
the children of high officials all over
the empire. The edict of the empress
dowagcr had a wonderful effect. 1t has
made the big foot respectable, and the |
ordinary Chinese parent will give up
the custom as soon as he finds his
daughters can get husbands without |
It"
I talked last night with a Chinese
official who is worth S10.000,000 or more.
He tells me that none of his women
are binding their feet and believes
that the practise Will gradually disap-
pear. -
THE BIG FOOTED MANCHU.
AS it Is now footbinding Is confined
to the Chinese, The Manchus. who |
are the reignlng family of this en-
pire, have never bound their feet. !
and tho great empress dowager and all
the court ladies of Pekln have feet
which are less pinched than those Oh
the average American belle. They ,
wear shoes Of silk and satin beautiful
~ embroidered. and when they go visit
ing. have gorgeous slippers with heels |
In the center of the sole about two |
inches high. The average Chinese i,
woman has naturally beautiful foot,
and the same is true of the Manchu.
Jt Is smaller than that of the Cauca-
sian, and the instep is usually such
that water could run under 1t without
touching the skin. So far l have seen
none which corresponds with the old
darkey song about his sweetheart;
"And de hollow OBJ her foot makes n
holc'-in de groun."
The Chinese women were binding
their feet when the Manchus came In.
and the men then wore long hair all
over their heads The Manchus COM
PEELED them to shave their heads. ex-
cepting the pigtail. as a sign Of serv-
itude. and before long the practise be-
came so popular that they adopted
II themselves. 1t was different with
the binding of the feet. The Tartars
have always denounced 1t, and sew