Culture Insider: 'Three inch lotus' of Chinese women

Su Xi Rong (born 1933-) in 2008, by British photographer Jo Farrell. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Three inch lotus" was a term used for women's bound feet or the extremely small shoes they wore. Foot binding was the custom of tightly binding a young girl's feet into a distorted shape to prevent further growth.

Foot binding is thought to have originated during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in imperial China in the 10th or 11th century as a trend among upper-class court dancers, and prevailed in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127). The practice was outlawed several times beginning in the 13th century and was finally banned after the Communists came to power in 1949. Although considered a cruel and barbaric practice, it took years to die out and some of its victims, 70 and older, can be found today.

"Three inch lotus" was first a status symbol to indicate high social rank of upper-class women, for they did not have to do manual labor. The long fingernails of the concubines of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was another example of high status. Through the 11th and 12th centuries, foot binding became widespread and popular even in the poorest families, and was taken as an indispensable quality of beauty.