Chinese Woman's Shoes: "San Chun Jin Lian" - "Lotus Shoes"
Collection: Everyday Connections
These Chinese shoes were made for a woman whose feet had been bound as a child. Foot binding began around a thousand years ago as a custom that was practiced only by court dancers, followed by all the women in the emperor's court. Successive dynasties supported foot binding for all the women in China spreading from the royalty, to the wealthy and then to all classes of people. Poor people did so in hopes of improving their social status.
One folktale explaining the origin of the practice of foot binding involved a favorite concubine of a prince whose feet were only three-inches long. This prince so adored her feet he named them "san chun jin lian", literally three-inch golden lily. He had special silk shoes made for her, called lotus shoes. In honor of his concubine, this prince ordered that all noble women had to bind their feet. Lily feet, as they were called, were a symbol of gentility and high-class.
The process of foot binding began when a girl was between three and eleven years old, before her foot's arch developed. The mother who was the one to bind her daughter's feet would soak her daughter's feet in warm water or animal blood and herbs. She would cut the girl's toe nails as short as possible to prevent them from growing into the foot. The four smallest toes on each foot were broken. Then the child's toes were turned under and pressed against the bottom of her foot. The arches were broken as the foot was pulled straight with the leg, and a ten-foot long two-inch wide cotton bandage would be tightly wound around the foot from the toes to the ankle to hold the toes in place. Every two days, the binding was removed and rebound, resulting in feet that were three to four inches long. Constant pain and other health problems arose from this practice.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding
https://www.mymed.com/health-wellness/body-modifications/foot-binding/the-history-behind-foot-binding-in-china#:~:text=The tradition of foot binding,who belonged to wealthy families.