In ancient China,The three-inch nasturtium is seen as a symbol of beauty, and countless women are forced to bind their feet to cater to this aesthetic trend.
Behind this seemingly beautiful custom lies deep pain and hurt. So,How did this custom come about?And what kind of harm does it do to people?
Three-inch golden lotusThis term has a profound influence on traditional Chinese culture. It is not only a praise for women's small feet, but also a pinning on the pursuit of female beauty;At the same time, it also highlights the oppression and constraints that women were subjected to in ancient societies.
About the origin of the three-inch golden lotus,Although there is no accurate record in history, it is the product of the interaction between ancient Chinese culture and social concepts.
The reputation of the three-inch golden lotus is inseparable from the lotus culture of China. Buddhism regards the lotus flower as a symbol of nobility and auspiciousness, so in Buddhism, the lotus flower is closely associated with the beauty and purity of the female character.
In particular, the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva is most famous, and she is often depicted standing barefoot on a lotus flower, expressing the nobility and purity of ancient legends. This also laid the foundation for the aesthetic standard of women's slender ankles and light toes, and women's small feet were described as "golden lotuses" to praise their beauty and nobility.
The meaning of the three-inch golden lotus is not limited to praise, but also conveys the constraints and oppression that women are subjected to. Since the Song Dynasty, women's foot binding has gradually become popular, and under the promotion of feudal etiquette and science, it has become a socially recognized behavior.
To meet the size requirements, women go through a painful process of foot binding that limits their mobility. This cultural perception of deliberately creating one's own weakness even reinforces the notion that men are inferior to women. As the popular proverb of the time said,"Boyfriends are all tiptoeing and only marry deep daughters".
With the process of history and the evolution of social concepts, and even the anti-formalism movement in the early 20th century, the attitude and aesthetic standards towards the three-inch golden lotus have also undergone certain changes。More and more intellectuals began to be skeptical of foot binding, and gradually formed a voice for the abolition of foot binding.
This change in perception reflects social progress and the awakening of women's rights. Eventually,In the context of the overthrow of the feudal dynasty by the republican revolution in 1912, China** announced the abolition of the custom of foot binding, marking the liberation of women.
In short, the formation and development of the three-inch golden lotus is the product of the transformation of traditional Chinese culture and historical system. Although it was originally intended to celebrate the beauty and nobility of women, it also reflected the limited rights and physical constraints of women in ancient times.
With the development of history and the progress of society, the perception of the three-inch golden lotus has gradually changed, and women have begun to create their own path of freedom and rights. Nowadays,The three-inch golden lotus has become a symbol of looking back at the situation of women in ancient times, and at the same time reminding us to cherish the realization of women's rights and interests in modern society.
Foot bindingIt is still inconclusive when and where this custom originated in Chinese history, which has lasted for thousands of years, and according to historical records and folklore, we can roughly understand the historical evolution of foot binding.
There are various theories about the origin of foot binding. One view is thatDayu's wife, Tu Shan, is a fox demon, and her feet are very small, which may be the earliest record of foot binding
Another view is that in the last years of the Shang Dynasty, the princess of the Shang Dynasty, Daji, was also a fox demon, and when she changed into a human form, her feet did not completely change well, so she wrapped her in cloth. These early accounts may only describe the phenomenon of small feet as beauty, and do not explicitly mention the deliberate wrapping of feet in the form of foot binding.
A clearer record of footbinding appeared in the Sui Dynasty. Legend has it that when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty traveled east to Jiangdu, he recruited 100 beauties to pull fibers for him. Wu Yueniang, a folk girl, hated Emperor Yang's **, and in order to assassinate Emperor Yang of Sui, she mixed in.
Prior to that,She also asked her father, who was a blacksmith, to make a lotus petal knife three inches long and one inch wide, wrapped under her feet with a long cloth, and also to wrap her feet as small as possible to make them more beautiful.
By the Tang Dynasty, there was a clearer record of foot binding. Yang Guifei was the forerunner of foot binding, and it is recorded that she wore arch-soled shoes during her lifetime and when she died, and foot binding is also mentioned in the poems of Du Mu and Bai Juyi. In the Tang Dynasty, foot binding may have been a fashion and did not become a common custom.
The custom of foot binding really arose in the Southern Tang Dynasty of the Five Dynasties. Li Yu, the queen lord, ordered the concubines in the palace to wrap their feet with silk, so that their feet were slender and curved like crescents and bows, and danced on the six-foot-high golden lotus platform, fluttering like a fairy Lingbo.
So the women in the palace followed suit, and took foot binding as beauty, preciousness, coquettishness, and elegance, and then slowly spread to the outside of the palace, so the custom of binding feet was finally formed, which was popular among the people.
By the Song Dynasty, the custom of foot binding became more and more popular. Su Shi once made a special song "Bodhisattva Man", lamenting the beauty of small feet after binding feet. This is also the first poem in the history of Chinese poetry dedicated to the binding of feet。By the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, women's foot binding had become more common, and "little feet" had become a common term for women.
The custom of foot binding may have originally been created to satisfy the aesthetic needs of men. However, with the passage of time, foot binding has gradually become a bad habit that restricts women's freedom and harms women's rights and interests. Foot binding leads to deformities of women's bones and muscles, limited mobility, and brings great physical and mental suffering to women.
Today, foot binding is a thing of the past, but in some regions and cultures, the quest for the beauty of small feet still remains. Looking back at the history of foot binding, we need to not only understand how this practice has evolved, but also reflect on its harm to women and how true gender equality can be achieved in modern society.
As a cruel traditional practice, foot binding brings endless pain and a heavy burden to women. From the age of five, the girls are forced to undergo the torture of twisting and deforming the bones of their feet. Years of entanglement, bending their front toes towards the soles of their feet, causing them to walk uneasily and in danger of falling, is still shocking.
Foot deformities caused by foot binding are not limited to the appearance, but involve the internal health of the bones. The toes are forced to bend, the movement is difficult, and the blood circulation is blocked. Over the years, women's feet have been plagued by pain, scars surrounded by blood poison or seps.
Wound infections often cause pus and blood to overflow, and the pungent smell makes people's hearts collapseAnd in the cold winter, the little feet, which restrict the flow of blood, become the object of cold torture. Endless pain and weakness are combined in the bodies of a new generation of suffering women, and behind this seemingly gorgeous appearance, there are unspeakable spiritual pains.
The restrictions that foot binding brings to women's lives restricts their social and mobile range together with the pain of walking. Because of foot binding, women are unable to move as freely as men, but are confined to the narrow space between family and society, and lose the opportunity to actively participate in society and pursue freedom and independence.
The fear of women in male society makes any unlucky woman go out to action, which will have a huge impact on social ethics, so women's choice of foot binding as a binding method also relieves the academic and moral labor on men's shoulders.
Such customary gender precepts and constraints will further trap women in a marginalized situation, indirectly reminding them of the unequal status of men and women, and the insurmountable gap between inferior and poor women.
Not only have they been deprived of their hearts and deeds, but they have also suffered indescribable trauma from their spiritual bodies. Foot binding is a kind of aesthetic pain that caters to meet men's needs, but it does not get real respect and status, but is more controlled by the patriarchal society.
Women are seen as ignorant, incompetent, and talentless, and are pestered like lice by a male-dominated society, and their limited space makes them live a very narrow life, and this narrow view of society is lamentable.
The history and memory of footbinding will continue to remind us of the mistakes of the past, especially the absolutes and falsehoods that tradition has been paid for. Although foot binding has disappeared, the consequences and torment of it will remain forever in the past years of women.
Times have changed, but the memory of this period of history and the responsibility for the future are still being tempered. It is important to remember the tragic legacy of foot binding and commit to advancing gender equality, so that women can be free and unfettered.
From being regarded as a symbol of beauty at first, to becoming a symbol of feudalism, the status of small feet in Chinese society has changed dramatically. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was expressly forbidden to bind small feet, and women achieved unprecedented status and rights in all fields of society.
Although the practice of binding small feet has been largely abolished, we still need to pay attention to the status and rights of women in society. In today's society, women still face various forms of discrimination and unequal treatment. Therefore,We need to continue to advocate for gender equality, respect women's autonomy in their body and beauty choices, and allow women to truly be free and equal in society.
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