The Lotus footwear is one of the oldest styles of footwear recorded that were specifically designed for females use. Now, the manufacturing of this footwear nowadays is virtually not happening and the few lotus footwear still existing have become maintained in museums or personal collections a lot like antiques and artifacts. Whilst the footwear were manufactured for females of all ages, any single woman today who is older than the age of 10 would probably find it not possible to use this footwear. This is because this kind of footwear had came from traditional China and was made for females back when foot binding was still used. For the people unaware of the process, foot binding actually means the tight binding of the foot using wraps. The significance of this practice is such that it’s practiced by girls between the ages of two and five.
The procedure for foot binding would certainly almost definitely be seen as being a brutal act of pride simply because it required the act of intentionally breaking the arch and toes of each foot before being wrapped up. On top of that, this procedure was performed with no form of pain relief. The aim of this binding was such that people at that time thought that narrow and tiny feet were accepted as attractive along with making the person’s gait more feminine. Quite a few myths revolve around the original source of the technique of foot binding as well as the Lotus shoe. The most prominent of these misconceptions centered around the 10th Century period, when Prince Li Yu who ruled within the 10 kingdoms. The Prince acquired a concubine in his entourage who had extremely small feet and was a superb dancer that had one of the earliest versons of the Lotus footwear.
The foot binding process then began among the women of higher classes and royals in order to imitate his concubine. As such, foot binding had been clearly linked with prosperity and status in that period. The following centuries found to the commonplace use with the practice throughout China. The process grew to become to ensure that females who didn’t have smaller feet ended up simply not marriage suitable. At that time, this was the most unfortunate possible destiny for a Chinese female. The process aside however, the Lotus footwear is actually a sight to see and the modern world may possibly be taken back with the considerable injuries this process inflicts on the feet. Certainly, when the foot binding grew to become used by everybody, versions came along. The foot binding was eventually stopped.
In the beginning, this unique delicately created footwear were created with cotton and silk textiles even though there is evidence of variants crafted working with many other materials which include animal skins. Different versions often had unique characteristics such as high heels as well as soles which resemble those of the present day wedge shoes. Nonetheless, probably the most distinctive feature with the lotus shoe are the intricate designs and patterns seen in the footwear. Apart from that, a great number of these shoes were embroidered with intricate designs featuring animal as well as flower designs in addition to patterns. This is particularly when you go through the unusual and expensive footwear made out of the optimum materials that decorated the feet of people in roles of influence who suffered the foot binding process.
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The Brutality of Chinese Foot Binding | Curation of Knowledge
Apr 11, 2022
[…] or provided to fix the disability. Those with bound feet had ongoing pain and constrained mobility. Chinese foot binding can often be seen by feminists as an oppressive technique towards females who were victims of a […]