U nbound: China’s last ‘lotus feet’ – in pictures

Unboun d: China ’s las t ‘l otus fee t’ – in pic tures

103 Years after foot bind ing was bann ed , a few women still live with the severe deformity it caused. Jo Farrell tracked down 50 of them, all in old age, and photographed some for her book Living History: Bound Feet Women of China. The last women in China with bound feet: ‘They thought it would give them a better life’

Joe Farrell Mon 15 Jun 2015 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/jun/15/unbound-chinas-last-lotus-feet-in-pictures

Pue Hui Ying, 76 Years old in 2011, Yunnan province

Si Yin Zhin, 90 years old in 2011

Pue’s feet were bound at seven and were briefly unbound at 12 (in 1949), as was required at that time. Unbinding hurt as it forced the women to readjust the way they stood, and walk with broken toes. Because of this, Pue has kept her feet bound to this day. An avid bowler, she told me she travelled to Kunming once a month to take part in a tournament.

Her sister taught her how to bind her feet when she

was six years old, and they remained bound until 2010. When I asked her why she had decided to unbind her feet after so long, she said that it was because she now needs help with the binding and no one does it correctly. Si Yin’s feet were the most distorted that I have seen. To me, they no longer look like feet - they have taken the shape of the shoes. Her feet had never been unbound, and she had managed to keep them hidden.

In the Classroom

DISCUSSION: Foot-binding was a mark of beauty and high social class. How have beauty standards changed in our society over the last 180 years? How has access to technology influenced our perceptions of beauty? What are some dramatic lengths we go to as a society to be considered beautiful?

GOING FURTHER: Have the class create a list that defines what beauty means to them. Examine the list and determine which of the things they have referenced are superficial, otherwise physical traits. Challenge them to reassess their preconceived notions of beauty (which are heavily dictated by society’s perceptions) and create a new list that exemplifies true, authentic beauty that is more than skin deep. What characteristics must a person possess to be sincerely beautiful (i.e. kindness, fairness, empathy)