Chinese "lotus leg" - the standard of beauty or a wild remnant of the past?

Every nation has its own ideas about the ideal of beauty, which depend on the traditions and psychology of people. The concept of female beauty is different: while some people admire it, the beauty of others can cause horror and shock. As, for example, the tradition of foot bandaging girls in ancient China, which is called "lotus leg."

This unique custom appeared in the Middle Ages. According to the Chinese legend, one dancer, known for her elegance and beauty, decided to make shoes in the size of a pair of tops, bandaging her feet with a silk cloth to fit them. So the tradition of foot banding originated, which became a kind of canon of elegance and the main virtue of Chinese girls.

For such a procedure, there were special methods in which the foot was deformed in special ways. Swaying figure and legs, like a lotus, is the standard of female beauty in Ancient China. The process of bandaging the feet, in which the deformed foot was obtained, was very long and stretched for many years. Initially, bandages were applied that bent the toes, then tight bands for pulling the foot. This process was carried out by girls from the age of four, since infants could not endure pain and pain from tight bandages. By the time they were ten, they had a "lotus leg" measuring ten centimeters.

Previously, in ancient China, it was believed that the main advantage of the girl is a small foot, not a face. Therefore, the groom's parents were mainly interested in the bride's foot, and only then with the rest of the appearance. Thus, the presence of the "lotus leg" in the girl was the main condition during the marriage. It was assumed that the "lotus leg" is a symbol of female weakness and male power.

This beauty cost a lot of torment and physical suffering to the owners of such legs, because because of the severe injuries the girls could not walk and stand normally, constantly limped or leaned on a stick. Chinese "lotus feet" led to a stop of blood circulation, calluses and the formation of ingrown nails. The girls had to move on the outside of the toes, which were bent to the foot. As a result of deformation of the inner arch of the foot, the "lotus leg" resembled shoes with a heel. She impeded the movement of women, which affected the significant restriction of her personal freedom.

However, despite the unbearable suffering, Chinese women felt pride in such legs, because it was believed that they are the subject of sexual lusts of the stronger sex. While the "lotus leg" was considered the standard of feminine beauty and grace, her absence significantly worsened the girl's life. They were humiliated and insulted, for they resembled women from the common people who did not have enough money to bandage their feet.

Such a customary custom lasted about 1000 years, during this period more than a billion Chinese women passed the ritual of bandaging. Only by 1911 the tradition of foot bandaging ceased to exist in connection with the Xinhai Revolution. To date, there have been only a few already elderly women who have "lotus feet."