Bones Stunted by Foot Binding, China, 1883

Bones Stunted by Foot Binding, China, 1883

Foot binding (also known as "Lotus feet") was the custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. The practice possibly originated among upper-class court dancers during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Imperial China (10th or 11th century), but spread in the Song Dynasty and eventually became common among all but the lowest of classes. Foot binding became popular as a means of displaying status (women from wealthy families who did not need them to work could afford to have their feet bound) and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. Entitled: "Appearance of the bones of a foot when compressed." Image taken from page 821 of The Middle Kingdom: A survey of the Chinese Empire and its inhabitants by Samuel Wells Williams, 1883.

Album / Science Source / British Library

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3600 x 2899 px | 29.9 MB

30.5 x 24.5 cm | 12.0 x 9.7 in (300 dpi)