Where did Chinese foot binding originate from?

Question

If I get any answers of 'China', I swear I will throw blunt knives at your face.

Answer 1

Once upon a time, the Chinese thought that small feet were extremely attractive in women, and they had to have small feet to get a good husband. So girls' parents would bind their feet so they wouldn't grow, increasing their ability to find a good husband to take care of them and take them off their family's hands.

Answer 2

If you want to know what part of China, the answer is northeast. Before the 13th century, that would just be north China since the western third of today's China was not China back then. In fact, most of western China (Tibet and oil-rich Xinjiang Province) was conquered after Mao came to power in 1949. On two occasions I saw old women with feet deformed from binding in Lanzhou, northwest China, in the last five years. Both were wheelchair bound.

Foot binding is not primarily for beauty. It has at least three other reasons according to an old man I knew in Kunming. Women with bound feet became home-bound as their ability to walk away from the home was very limited. The pelvic bones tend to spread more when the feet are bound thus increasing childbirth success. The pelvic muscles and nerve sensitivity are affected thus increasing sexual sensitivity.

Answer 3

Well women who worked in the fields often got course feet and worn which was considered big and a tell tale sign of being poor, or in the lower class. so women bound their feet, duaghters feet whatever to keep them small and dainty.

Answer 4

Its an interesting subject. I caught a special on it once. Try this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding