Footbinding was a unique culture of China, which lasted for more than a thousand years. Perhaps it is a horrifying practice in the eye of most modern people, however, back in the time of the Imperial China, the footbinding custom was considered a symbol of beauty and class. Similar to breast binding and corsets fashion in the history of the western culture, footbinding should be considered as a physical improvement by performing procedures against nature as well. Whether it had improved anything at any level was difficult to justify, but the process one needed to go through was undeniably painful.
Originality
Now, it is widely believed that the footbinding custom all begins in China during the late Tang Dynasty. Although there are some literary records such as a folklore involving a fox disguising as the Shang Empress by binding its paws, however, no records can strongly supports whether footbinding exists before the Tang Dynasty.
Through out the history of China, women's feet has always been a symbol of sexuality and privacy. Chinese women also tend to develop small feet. Therefore, some girls who were born with big feet would somehow be criticized.
During the reign of the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu, there was a concubine of the emperor named Yao-Liang who had a slender-waist and terrific dancing skills. Emperor Li Yu granted her a six-foot high golden lotus for her beauty and talent. She was told to bind her feet so that it would look like the shape of a moon and allowed her to dance like a strand of cloud at the center of the golden lotus. This record is now considered the first sign of footbinding.
The custom began to rise in the Five Dynasties among dancers, and it took a dramatic change in the Sung Dynasty due to the shift in feminine liberty. Footbinding was then used to suppress women. Once the practice was accepted through out the Imperial Palace, the popularity was widening within the country immediately. During the Yuan Dynasty, footbinding became a clear distinction between the Mongolians and Chinese. The Yuan rulers encouraged the practice extensively so that they could benefit from the weakened Chinese women.
Though it was not until the Ming Dynasty that footbinding had reached its peak. It became an official practice. It was highly regarded as a proper training for girls, just as important as official examinations were for boys.
After the Manchurians conquered the Chinese, the Qing Dynastic officials had banned the practice for more than once in order to fully take over the country. However, the attempts failed one after another. Since the Manchurians did not practice footbinding, therefore Chinese people began to use it as an patriotic tool. It soon became a huge fashion during the Qing Dynasty where many other races such as the Manchurians, Mongolians, Tibetans, Miaos, and Hakkas were assimilated into such trend.