Lotus shoes worn by Chinese women with bound feet represent an intriguing, beautiful and yet at the same time a hideous and deforming aspect of many women’s lives for nearly 1000 years. The examples now in the TRC Collection formed part of an exhibition about the history of footwear, which was staged at the TRC Leiden in 2012.

These tiny shoes (sometimes as small as 6 cm) and related items form part of a larger study concerning dress and identity and how people (both men and women) use their bodies to stress their gender,, marital, social, economic and indeed political status. Lotus shoes encompass all of these subjects and many more.

The following titles provide a good introduction to the fascinating subject of lotus shoes and foot binding. You will find references to other publications in the titles below.

• Beverley Jackson (1997). Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.
• Susanna Goho-Quek (2004). Kecantikan : Bengkung Kaki: The Allure of the Bound Foot, Kuala Lumpur: Department of Museum and Antiquities.
• Dorothy Ko (2001). Every Step a Luts: Shoes for Bound Feet, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, The Bata Shoe Museum.
• Glenn Roberts and Valerie Steele (1997). "The three-inch golden lotus: A collection of Chinese bound foot shoes", Arts of Asia, 27, no. 2, pp. 69-85.
• Ping Wang (2000). Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• Linda Wrigglesworth (1996). The Sway of the Golden Lotus: An Exhibition of Manchu and Bound Feet Shoes worn by Chinese Children and Women in Imperial China. Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London: Linda Wrigglesworth, Ltd.

For this online exhibition:

• Author: Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood
• Web-design: Joost Koopman
• Exhibition design: Willem Vogelsang
• Publisher: TRC Leiden.
• Year of publication: 2018
• Copyright: All illustrations of objects housed in the TRC collection can be used free of charge, but please add to the caption: "Courtesy Textile Research Centre, Leiden" and the pertinent accession number of the object.

From the latter half of the 19th century onwards there were more and more movements to ban foot binding. Chinese groups included the Natural Feet Society and the Anti-Foot Binding Society. At first they had little effect, but gradually pressure came from more directions. At the same time various Christian missionary groups, for example, started to actively work against foot binding. One of the most well-known was the Heavenly Foot Society established by the Rev. John MacGowan in the southern port of Amony. Yet, and ironically, a number of Christian institutes practiced foot binding (albeit with reluctance), notably in orphanages. The practice was carried out in order to ensure that girls would attract husbands. Some mosques in international cities such as Singapore also protested against foot binding on the grounds that it went against Koranic texts that forbid the mutilation of the human body.

By the end of the 19th century more and more groups, of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, were active in fighting against foot binding, but this led to various unexpected consequences. In particular, many bound women were abandoned by their husbands who wished to be perceived as modern. Some men, especially young students, for example, would only marry women with a modern education and natural (tianzu) feet. Women with bound feet started to feel ashamed of their appearance and at times were publicly ridiculed. In a relatively short time foot binding had gone from a deeply established and time honoured tradition to one against which public hostility was increasing.

At the same time more and more bound women started to unbind or ‘let out’ (fangzu) their feet. In some cases this process was as painful as the original binding process. Few fangzu women ever walked in a ’normal’ manner again. As the 20th century progressed more and more women had natural feet (tianzu). When the Communist government came to power in 1949 they were vehemently anti-foot binding regarding it as being archaic and preventing women from taking a more active role in the economic life of the country. The government had inspectors who went around the country recording who was bound and who was being unbound, and to prevent any further binding.

The ladies of Liu Yi

In the southern Chinese province of Yunnan lies the village of Liu Yi. In the 1980s it was discovered that there were five to six hundred women with bound feet, most of whom were between 70 and 90 in age. They soon became a tourist attraction with people coming from around the world to see them. What these women proved is that having bound feet did not automatically mean that you were constantly in pain and unable to walk, dance or work. Some of their most well-known achievements included their active dance troupe and to beat an unbound team at croquet! But their presence also means that only when they have all died will the tradition of foot binding and all its consequence have truly ceased.

As there was more and more Western influence in Chinese life in the early 20th century, so the shape of lotus shoes had also changed. Instead of a cotton base covered in silk for the uppers, many were made in leather with a cloth covering. Some were still embroidered, but others were made out of woven brocade materials that were purchased from outside sources.

A group of peasant women with lightly bound feet (early 20th century; courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ggbain-08997).Shoes from the 1910 – 1930 period often included instep straps, sometimes fastened with buttons at the ankle, following contemporary Western fashions. In addition, other types of heels were used such as the low kitten heel and the Louis heel made from stacked leather rather than the traditional wood or cotton forms. The leather versions were often nailed onto the shoes rather than sewn. Another difference was that instead of cotton outer soles leather forms were more and more often used.

A pair of plain leather ‘Mao’ lotus shoes (mid-20th century; TRC 2013.0055a-b). With the coming of Communism in 1949 the use of colourful silk lotus shoes was forbidden and as a result many women wore plain leather shoes in public. These shoes had the advantage of not drawing attention to the tiny feet of the wearer. A very different attitude from that of the previous century. These continued to be produced in a small number of special factories until the 1990s.

In addition to the lotus shoes themselves, there were various accessories that were regarded as essential elements in the complete ‘look.’ They were so important that many women would feel ‘naked’ if their ankles and feet were not properly dressed. The accessories included socks, sashes or wrappings, leggings and anklets. They were used to emphasise the lower part of the legs and in particular the tiny size of the feet.

Chinese woman with small bound feet and leggings that are worn under her main, baggy trousers (c. 1905; courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-80735).Lotus socks

The shoes were sometimes worn with embroidered socks, which were worn during the day. They were usually made from either silk or white cotton and decorated with simple embroidery, usually with a simple floral or geometric design. The importance of socks can be seen by the fact that sixteen pairs of socks with raised and pointed toes and six pairs of shoes were found in the tomb of Huang Sheng (1227-1243) in Fuzhous, Fujian. Madame Zhou (1240-1274) had six pairs of shoes and six pairs of socks in her tomb at De’an Jiangxi.

Lotus bandages or bindings

Lotus bandages or bindings were worn over the top of the foot and up the leg. They were made of either silk or cotton and varied in size depending on their origin, but between about 300 x 5 cm in size was not uncommon. These were often woven to size on the loom. The bandages were wrapped around the legs in various ways. But basically, the foot and leg were wrapped between five and seven times.

Lotus sashes (jiaodai)

Over the bandages were wrapped lengths of silk cloth in various colours. Their colours were chosen to compliment that of the shoes. They were also used to define the lower part of the leg and to help support the foot.

Lotus leggings and anklets (outfu, ziku)

Leggings were used among some women to cover their leg bandages. They also made sure that only the tip of the lotus shoes could be seen. These leggings consisted of an open ended sheath made from silk lined with cotton. They were normally up to 10 cm wide and as long as 30 cm in length. They were usually made up of bands of coloured silk decorated with embroidery or woven braids and with a cotton lining.

Pair of leggings worn with a pair of lotus shoes (late 19th century; TRC 2013.0063c-d).

Women from the northern regions would often tuck the leg of their trousers into the top of the leggings and then secure the two items with a long sash. The aim was to accentuate the slenderness of the lower leg and ankles. In contrast, southern women tended to wear the leggings underneath the loose trouser legs or they would wrap their ankle with a long strip of dark coloured cloth rather than wear a legging of some form. Sometimes the leggings were sewn to the top of a lotus shoe, turning it into a boot.

An early photograph of a Han woman wearing leggings and lotus shoes (c. 1865; courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-stereo-1s05251).

Separate heels

Sometimes round heels sewn onto a piece of cloth, were worn. It is not exactly clear exactly how the heels were worn and there are various theories, such as they were bound to the outside of a pair of lotus shoes to give extra height, or that they were worn inside a pair of lotus shoes for the same purpose. Another suggestion is that when a woman got out of bed she might wear these heels until she got dressed.