Foot Binding Model

Foot binding (also known as "Lotus” or “Lily” feet) was the custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. The practice possibly originated among upper-class court dancers during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Imperial China (10th or 11th century), but spread in the Song Dynasty and eventually became common among all but the lowest of classes, ethnic minorities and the fishing people of southern China. Foot binding was a symbol of sexual attractiveness and beauty and a prerequisite for contracting a suitable marriage. Although attempts were made to ban the practice over the centuries and was outlawed in 1912, the custom was difficult to eradicate.
As shown in the model and the x-rays, foot binding led to marked distortion of the architecture of the bones in the feet resulting in lifelong disabilities which were aggravated by frequent infections. Few elderly Chinese women still survive today with bound feet.