Warm-upDec. 21

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Warm-up Dec. 21

1. What countries surround China?
2. How many died building the Great Wall of China?
3. What is the largest mountain in China?
4. Why do you think people alter their bodies in
   order to fit into society???

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Chinese Foot Binding
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Background

• Foot binding began at about age 4 to 7 on young
  Chinese girls. The foot was soaked in hot water
  and massaged then it was wrapped in a way in
  which the child's toes were turned under and
  pressed against the bottom of her foot. Her
  largest toe was left unturned in order to give
  the girl a sense of balance. The child's arches
  of her foot were broken as the foot was pulled
  straight with the leg. This caused the foot to
  actually shrink

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Why Foot Binding?

• One theory is that women who had their feet bound
  were less independent and more able to be
  controlled. In Chinese society it was said that
  women are ruled by their fathers, then their
  husbands and finally, by their sons. This was a
  way to ensure that women did not travel away from
  that control because literally the pain was too
  great
• Another theory is the smaller the feet the more
  desirable she would be to marry

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A Bound Foot

• The ultimate foot was to be between three and
  four inches (about 10 cm) long.
• Because foot binding made it virtually impossible
  for women to get around on their own, many
  peasant women did not bind their feet. They had
  to work in the rice fields, and later the tea
  factories, so they had to be able to use their
  feet.

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Fact

• Foot binding was seen as a sign of beauty and
  attractiveness.
• Once a girl was of marriageable age,
  mother-in-laws would pick a wife for her son
  based on the appearance of the girl's feet.

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A Chinese Girl with Bound Feet