• Facets (new session)
• Description
• Metadata
• Settings
  • owl:sameAs
  • Inference Rule: asEquivalentb3sb3sifpfacetshttp://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#ldpoplwebskos-transvirtrdf-labelvirtrdf-urlNone
    

"Womenfolk of the ruling Manchus did not bind their feet, instead those in high-ranking families wore a special shoe, exaggeratedly elevated, with a concave heel in the centre of the instep. As well as imitating the swaying gait caused by bound feet it also made them tower over the diminutive Chinese: "…the shoes stand upon a sole of four or six inches (10-15cm) in height or even more. These soles, which consist of a wooden frame upon which white cotton cloth is stretched, are quite thin from the toe and heel to about the centre of the foot, when they curve abruptly downwards, forming a base of 2 or 3 inches square (5-8cm). In use they are exceedingly inconvenient, but….they show the well-to-do position of the wearer. The Manchus are…a taller…race than the Chinese, and the artificial increase to the height afforded by these shoes gives them at time almost startling proportions." (Garrett, 135-137) According to Garrett, the exaggeratedly elevated shoe with a concave heel in the centre of the instep and how only the toe is showed when worn is meant to give the illusion of smallness but without the pain and discomfort associated with bound feet. According to a reference from Musee Guimet on Manchu women's shoes: Manchu official dress included boots for both men and women. However, within the informality of the home, upper class Manchu women wore silk slippers. Some of these slippers were fitted to a wooden platform that significantly increased the wearer's height. Many of these platform shoes balanced on a very small base, imposing a mincing gait on their wearer, possibly in imitation of the bound feet of Han Chinese women. Although forbidden by edict to bind their feet, Manchu women were greatly influenced by the Han Chinese custom. Whereas Han Chinese women practiced foot binding that forced the toes under the arch and compressed the width; from time to time Manchu women practiced a form of foot binding that compressed the width of the foot, resulting in a so-called "knife-shaped foot". (Levy, Howard, 1967, p67) On display in the V&A exhibition, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain between 13 June 2015 – 31 January 2016.