Aim : How did the cultural traditions of China impact young boys and girls?

Foot binding is a tradition that evolved in the concept of "ideal image" including beauty, marriage and sex. It was considered charming, showed a sense of class, and was the symbol of chastity in most Chinese cultures. It was believed to promote health and fertility, although in the reality the tradition was virtually crippling. It was a way to keep women in seclusion from the rest of the world, which made them more dependent on others, especially their fathers and husbands, and less useful around the house. Slide 1: What is Foot binding?

When asked about the purpose of footbinding the overwhelming majority of women responded very plainly that without bound feet it was impossible to find a husband. A normal footed woman was commonly viewed as a freak of nature, and with unbound feet “her pain overflowed into not 1,000, but 5,000 buckets of tears”. She was considered lewd and unrefined, often subject to mockery and the brunt of village ridicule. At times in certain areas such women were so rare and unbelievable they were thought to exist only in myth. Women of the upper classes could never have imagined finding a husband of equal status without binding their feet, and if a normal footed woman of a lower class could not find a suitable mate among her economic peers, she could hope for no more than to be sold into slavery or service to those who did bind. Slide 2: What is the purpose of Foot binding? "If a girls’ feet are not bound, they will associate with the wrong kind of people" stated a17 th century writer. The women of the wealthy villages are more involved with foot binding than the poor. It began in the late T’ang Dynasty ( ) and gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty ( ). It lasted approximately one thousand years.

Why? A girl's beauty and desirability were counted more by the size of her feet than by the beauty of her face. Matchmakers were not asked, 'Is she beautiful?' but 'How small are her feet?' A plain face is given by heaven but poorly bound feet are a sign of laziness. How? Girls as young as three or four would have their feet bound tightly with bandages, folding all the toes except the big one under the sole to make the foot slender and pointed. After a couple of years, the big toe and heel were brought together, bending the arch, causing constant pain and hindering free movement. The ideal length was three inches. When reformers campaigned to end the custom, few realized that the pain of release would match what had been endured when the growing feet were first bound. Slide 3: Chinese Footbinding

"They did not begin to bind my feet until I was seven because I loved so much to run and play. Then I became very ill and they had to take the bindings off my feet again. I had the 'heavenly blossoms' and was ill for two years and my face is very pockmarked. In my childhood everyone had the illness and few escaped some marking. Slide 4: Chinese Foot binding When I was nine they started to bind my feet again and they had to draw the bindings tighter than usual. My feet hurt so much that for two years I had to crawl on my hands and knees. Sometimes at night they hurt so much I could not sleep. I stuck my feet under my mother and she lay on them so they hurt less and I could sleep. But by the time I was eleven my feet did not hurt and by the time I was thirteen they were finished. The toes were turned under so that I could see them on the inner and under side of the foot. They had come up around. Two fingers could be inserted in the cleft between the front of the foot and the heel. My feet were very small indeed.“

The most popular and stylish type of foot binding shoes were known as "golden lotus“ or "lotus shoes". The term "golden lotus" emerged in the southern T’ang dynasty around 920 AD where the emperor Li Yu ordered his favorite concubine, Fragrant Girl, to bind her feet with silk bands and dance on a golden lotus platform decorated with pearls and gems. Also this term is a synonym for bound feet. Most lotus shoes were beautifully embroidered and about three inches long ("lotus shoes"). The lotus shoes are known to be lovely and alluring to the male population in China. Slide 5: The Shoes… Oh, no wait…that’s us…

The concept of a state ruled by men of ability and virtue was an outgrowth of Confucian philosophy. The examination system was an attempt to recruit men on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of family or political connection. (MERITOCRACY) Because success in the examination system was the basis of social status and because education was the key to success in the system, education was highly regarded in traditional China. If a person passed the provincial examination, his entire family was raised in status to that of scholar gentry, thereby receiving prestige and privilege. Slide 6: The Civil Service Examination The texts studied for the examination were the Confucian classics. Although only a small percentage of students could achieve office, students spent 20 to 30 years memorizing the orthodox commentaries in preparation for a series of up to eight examinations for the highest degree. Exam candidates gather around the wall where the results had been posted. (c. 1540)

Slide 7: The Civil Service Examination Process In its most common and stable form, the Keju exams consisted of three progressive levels. First, a candidate took the local district/prefectural exams. These exams were given once every two years. A person passing these exams was awarded the title of a Shengyuan 生 or Xiucai ( budding scholar ) and was eligible to take the next level of the exams and was also exempted from certain military drafts, public works duties and some taxes. The next level was the provincial exams, which were given once every three years at the provincial capital. A Shengyuan who passed these exams was awarded the title of a Juren ( elevated scholar ) and was eligible to take the third set of exams. This third set of exams took place in the national capital and was given the spring after the provincial exams. This third level consisted of two steps: The “joint” exams, to be followed by the palace exams. Those who passed the joint exams were given the title of a Gongsheng ( tributary scholar ) and those who passed the final step of the palace exams were given the much coveted title and privileges of a Jinshi (advanced scholar) and were eligible for official appointments. These exams were open to all and a person could take these exams as many times as desired, provided that person had already passed the previous level of exams.

Both the district and the palace exams were one-day long. For the provincial and the joint exams, however, each was a long (9-days and 9 nights) and harsh experience that took place in large prison-like examination compounds. Candidates were tested on knowledge, which was demonstrated through written essays, of the contents of nine classic texts of Confucian philosophy and history called the Four Books and Five Classics ; on poetry; on the writing of official documents; and on national policy issues. The essays on the Confucian classics were to be written in a very restrictive writing style called Baguwen(eight-legged essays), which is generally considered pedantic and trite by modern-day scholars. Slide 8: The Civil Service Examination – How Rigorous?

Emperors and ministers were aware of the problem of cheating. Many measures were taken with new ones added continuously over time to prevent cheating. Severe punishments were meted out for people caught cheating, including caning or being placed in stocks for a month. There were occasional cases where cheaters were executed. By the Song dynasty, large prison-like exam compounds that could accommodate up to 20,000+ examinees with armed guards and with thorny bushes planted around the outer walls were built. Slide 9: The Civil Service Examination – Cheating? During the exams, very strict personal search (including body searches) procedures and very strict exam procedures were followed. Candidates were grouped into small groups responsible for each other’s behaviors. Watchtowers were built around the exam compounds. Other measures include strict and precise rules and specifications regarding clothing and very detailed specifications of what could be brought to the exam compounds; close constant proctoring; anonymity in scoring through concealed names and the use of copyists to hide the test takers identity to paid-off test examiners.