The role of women in imperial China

1
The role of women in imperial China

• To learn about the changing role of women in
  Imperial China
• To compare the role of women across time and space

2
Fashion!

• In your groups try and come up with some examples
  of fashion, from today or the past, that that
  either causes pain or is impractical.

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Foot binding

• Began in 10th Century and was practiced for 1000
  years!
• The perfectly bound foot is the Golden Lotus -
  a 3 inch foot (7.6 cm approx) or half a small
  ruler
• Should be begun between 3-6 years of age
• Origins are unclear, some legends of the emperor
  Li Yu in 920 AD ordering his favourite concubine
  to bind her feet with silk bands and dance on a
  golden lotus platform
• What is clear is that it began as a practice
  carried out by the rich and eventually spread to
  poorer sections of society

10
How to bind a foot

• The daughters' feet would first be soaked in warm
  water or animal blood and herbs
• The special potion that was used for this caused
  any dead flesh to fall off
• She would have her toe nails cut as short as
  possible therefore not allowing them to grow into
  the foot.
• The mother soaked silk or cotton bandages in the
  same liquid the girl's feet were soaked in.
• The bandages, which were ten feet long and two
  inches wide, were wrapped around the smallest
  toes and pulled tightly to the heel.
• Every two days, the binding was removed and
  rebound.
• This part of the process went on for two years.
• The constant tightening of the binds lead to the
  4 smaller toes breaking
• By this time her feet were three to four inches
  long. To assure the feet staying small, the
  ritual continued for at least ten more years.

11
(No Transcript)
12
Consequences of foot bindingThe Lotus Gait
13
Task

• Using the internet find a picture of foot binding
• Put the picture into Word, put the title Foot
  binding in Imperial China and then underneath it
  answer the following questions (full sentence
  answers, using the PEE method where appropriate)

14
Questions

• When was foot binding used in China?
• Briefly describe what foot binding is.
• What do you think the purpose of foot binding was
  (beyond the obvious objective of making a woman's
  feet small, ask yourself WHY?)
• What, if anything, does the practice of foot
  binding tell us about the status of women in
  imperial China?
• Once you have finished you need to save the word
  file and email/usb it to yourself and print
  stick before the next lesson.