This phenomenon was severely criticized by Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren until the May 4th New Culture Movement.
Foot-binding is a bad habit in ancient China, that is, wrapping a woman's feet with cloth and silk, making it a small and sharp "three-inch golden lotus". "Three-inch golden lotus" once became an important aesthetic condition for ancient women in China. However, when did ancient women's foot-binding begin? Why is the foot-binding called "Golden Lotus"? But it remains a mystery.
First, the legend of the origin of foot binding:
There are different opinions about the origin of foot binding. Some say it began in the Sui Dynasty, some say it began in the Tang Dynasty, and some say it began in the Five Dynasties. Some people even say that Yu's wife and da ji in Xia and Shang Dynasties were both small feet. It can be said that there are different opinions and no one can agree.
China ancient myths and legends do have such traces. Legend has it that Dayu married Tu Shanshi's daughter and gave birth to a child when he was in charge of water control. Tu Shan barren woman is a fox spirit with small feet; He also said that da ji, the concubine of the late Yin Dynasty, was also a fox, or a pheasant, but her feet didn't get better, so she wrapped them in cloth. Because of da ji's love, all the women in the palace followed her example and held back. Of course, these are just folk myths and legends, and more of them contain additional romantic elements, which is not enough to prove that women bound their feet at that time.
Foot-binding began in Sui Dynasty and also originated from folklore. According to legend, when Yang Di went to Jiangdu, he recruited hundreds of beautiful women to pull fibers for him. A woman named Wu Yueniang was chosen. She hated Yang-ti's tyranny, so she asked her father, who was a blacksmith, to make a lotus petal knife three inches long and one inch wide, and wrap it under her feet with a long cloth, and at the same time, the smaller the foot, the better. Then carved a lotus on the sole, and printed a beautiful lotus in one step when walking. Emperor Yang Di was very happy when he saw the queen, so he called her to his side to admire her little feet. Wu Yueniang slowly untied the foot cloth, suddenly pulled out a lotus petal knife and stabbed Yang Di. Emperor Yang Di flashed by quickly, but his arm was stabbed. Wu Yueniang saw that the assassination failed, so he threw himself into the river. Later, Emperor Yang Di issued a decree: No matter how beautiful a woman is, "foot-binding women will not be selected" in future beauty contests. However, in order to commemorate the mother of the moon, folk women have bound their feet. At this point, the wind of women's foot binding has intensified.
Foot-binding began in the Five Dynasties and originated from concubines in Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty. She is beautiful and versatile. She is good at singing and dancing. Li Houzhu specially made a six-foot-tall golden lotus, decorated with jewels and ribbons, and ordered her to tie her feet with silk to make them slightly bend into crescent shapes. Then she put on plain socks and danced on the lotus stage to make the dance more beautiful.
Second, there are records of foot binding in the Song Dynasty:
However, some scholars have pointed out through research that foot-binding of ancient women in China rose in the Northern Song Dynasty, and women in China did not do it before the Five Dynasties. Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty, once wrote the word "Bodhisattva Man" and lamented foot binding. "Don't cherish step by step lotus, worry about wearing socks to Ling Bo; I saw the dance in the air without a trace. Stealing the palace is as stable as Mount Tai, and it is a double drop; It should be hard to say that it is wonderful. It must be seen from the palm of your hand. " It can also be called the first poem dedicated to foot binding in the history of China's poetry. It should be noted that the writing of foot-binding poems depends on the appearance of foot-binding customs, which shows that foot-binding customs did appear in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, women's foot-binding became more common. Even at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, "little feet" had become a general term for women. However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, women's foot-binding was not popular, and it was mainly confined to the upper class, and the social concept of foot-binding was not accepted by everyone. At the same time, the custom of foot-binding spread from the north to the south, about the time when the Song Dynasty moved south.
Foot-binding in Song Dynasty is different from the three-inch golden lotus in later generations. According to historical records, foot binding in the Song Dynasty was to "straighten" your feet without bending, which was called "getting on the horse" at that time. The shoes used are called "Wrong in the End", and the soles are very sharp and consist of two colors. At present, this kind of foot-binding shoes has been found in archaeology. From the archaeological findings, it is speculated that the feet wrapped by these shoes are bigger than those later.
Mongolian aristocrats did not bind their feet after they entered the Central Plains for Jianyuan, but they did not object to the habit of binding their feet by the Han people. On the contrary, they still hold an appreciation attitude. In this way, the wind of foot-binding continued to develop in the Yuan Dynasty, and even the concept of not being ashamed of foot-binding appeared at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, women's foot-binding continued to develop in a slender direction, but there were still many people who did not, especially in southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Lingnan areas. In the Ming dynasty, the wind of women's foot-binding entered a prosperous period and developed rapidly in various places. When Zhang invaded Sichuan in the late Ming Dynasty, women were small and piled up into mountains, which were called Jinlianfeng. This shows that Sichuan women's foot binding is flourishing. This period has certain requirements for the shape of foot binding. Women's feet should not only be small, but also shrink to three inches, and they should be bowed and wrapped in the shape of corn.
After the Manchu rulers entered the Central Plains, they strongly opposed the custom of foot-binding of Han people at first, and repeatedly ordered women to ban foot-binding. But at this time, the wind of foot-binding was hard to stop, and it had to be banned in the seventh year of Kangxi (1668). This incident was once rendered as "men refusing women"-the Qing soldiers entered the customs and had a "haircut order". Under the pressure of force, Han Chinese men finally had to give in, so men's haircuts were regarded as a symbol of surrender to the Qing court. At the same time, although women's foot-binding was ordered by the Qing court to stop, it did not achieve the purpose of prohibition, so there is a saying that "men drop women." This shows that the wind of foot binding is deeply rooted. Because of this, women's foot-binding reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, and women from all walks of life, rich and poor, bound their feet one after another. Even some ethnic minorities in the northwest and southwest are infected with the custom of foot binding. At the same time, women's feet are positively affected? B style='color: black; Background color: # 99ff99'> Emperor forced the wizard to bury the wizard from the beginning, which seemed like a flash of credit. B style='color: black; Background color: # A0FFFF'> Whether and how a woman binds her feet will directly affect her personal life. At that time, people from all walks of life were ashamed of women's big feet and proud of women's small feet when they got married. The theory of "three-inch golden lotus" is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and even it is less than three inches. As a result, a woman who had to be held by others because her feet were too small to move appeared. Such a woman was quite popular at that time.
Third, why is the little foot called "Golden Lotus":
Speaking of "three-inch golden lotus", people can't help asking why women's little feet are called "golden lotus" and how is "golden lotus" associated with little feet? For a long time, people have been interested in this question, but there has been no satisfactory answer.
There is a saying that "Jin Ping Mei" is named after the story that Pan Fei, who was in a daze in the eastern part of Qi State in the Southern Dynasties, opened lotus flowers step by step. Dong Hunhou cut it into the shape of a lotus with gold foil, spread it on the ground, and let Pan Fei walk barefoot on it, thus forming a wonderful scene of "Lotus Walking Step by Step". But the "golden lotus" here does not refer to Pan Fei's feet. There is also a saying that Jin Ping Mei is named after the story of five generations of mothers dancing on the lotus platform. But the golden lotus here refers to the shape of the stage, not Niang's feet.
In this regard, some scholars believe that Jiao Jiao is called Jinlian, which should be investigated from the aspect of lotus in Buddhist culture. Lotus emerges from the mud without being stained, which is regarded as a symbol of purity in Buddhism. After Buddhism was introduced into China, the lotus flower, as a symbol of beauty, purity, preciousness and auspiciousness, was also introduced into China and accepted by China people. In the auspicious words and patterns of China people, the lotus occupies a considerable position, which also illustrates this point. Therefore, there is no doubt that it is a good name to call women's football lotus. In addition, in Buddhist art, bodhisattvas mostly stand barefoot on the lotus, which may also be an important reason for linking the lotus with women's feet. Why do you want to add a word "gold" before "lotus"? This is because of the traditional language habits of China people. China people like to decorate precious or beautiful things with "gold", such as "golden mouth", "golden eye" and "golden hall". In the era of foot-binding, adding the word "gold" beside the word "lotus" became "golden lotus", which is also a kind of laudatory name to express preciousness. Therefore, later football fans often subdivide the noble, the cheap, the beautiful and the ugly according to their size. The golden lotus is within three inches, the silver lotus is within four inches, and the iron lotus is above four inches. So when it comes to the golden lotus, it must be a three-inch golden tongue, which is the so-called three-inch golden lotus. Later, Jinlian was also used to refer to foot-binding shoes, and Jinlian became synonymous with feet.
References:
Quote Sina. com