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History The bound feet shoes or bound feet practice was originally introduced in China, allegedly by a concubine of an emperor but began to disappear around 1915 as it was banned in 1911. In feudal China, during the Ming dynasty, only the women of high breeding had bound feet. It was a beauty that few women could boast of. Only the rich could have bound feet. They were wives and daughters of the aristocracy. Beauty during that era was often measured by a lady’s small feet, sometimes measuring only four inches. (7.5 cm) 
Here comes the real reason for the “beauty“ of lotus feet. Can you believe that the sight of women tottering about with the tiny bound feet shoes had an erotic effect on men? I guess it may be true during the feudal China as women of high breeding were literary “jailed“ within the walls of their houses. The only time when they were temporally released will be during their wedding day. As the bride was fully covered with elaborated bridal costumes which included the head and face; her feet will be the only body part that is occasionally visible! That is provided you are standing in the front row! Therefore, I guess that’s the only “hot topic“that you could boast or talk of regarding the beauty of the bride. With the passing of time, the trend later became popular and it was spread to other parts of the world brought by the Chinese traders. It was believed that during the early 1920s there were about 1,000 women with bound feet in Melaka. The traditional pride and glory of bound feet is still strongly rooted among the rich and powerful family in Melaka. It was a beauty that few women could boast of as only the rich could have bound feet. During the olden days, the ticket to rich and glory (married to well off family) will be the cute lotus feet. Can you believe that the 1st thing the bridegroom’s family would do was to examine the bride’s feet during the wedding day? The mother-in-law would lift the hem of the bridge’s gown. If the feet were more than 4 inches, she would throw down the skirt to show contempt. Then, she will just walk off in front of the wedding guest and the red-faced-in-laws! The reason for this behaviour is mainly to maintain the status quo among the rich and powerful family in Melaka. It was understood that the wives of the rich are ladies of leisure and they were not expected to do any menial task in the house. Therefore, large feet (normal feet) were considered to bring shame to the husband’s household as only the maids/servants will have large feet! Process of binding the feet The process will start when the toddler is around three to four year old. Parents will bind their little toddler’s feet with a piece of cloth about 20 feet (6 meters) in length. All the toes will be bent inward, except for the big toe. Then, come the horrifying and painful part. Imagine this, a large stone would be placed on top the toddler’s feet to crush the arch! I can’t imagine how the toddler could endure the pain. I hope that some sort of “painkiller“ was given beforehand. The process will last for several years. Even after the bones had been broken, the feet had to be bound day and night in thick cloth. This is to prevent the feet from growing again. The bandages were only unwrapped when the feet were washed with “min fan“ a Chinese medicine. After that they will be wrapped again. The Shoemaker Melaka shoemaker Raymond Yeo Kheng Chuan is rigidly holding to the traditions of his family and ancestors. He is the third generation in his family practicing this ancient bound feet shoes shoemaking process. During the heyday, there were more than 100 loyal customers from rich family. They were mostly from Hokkien and Cantonesse Clan. The women wore sizes between three (7.5cm) to five inches (12.5 cm). As this traditional practice has vanished along with its wearers who have aged and died. Raymond Yeo set his creativity to work. He brilliantly modified the usual three-inch black coloured bound feet shoes into colourful silk shoes in red, pink, green & blue. The outer parts of the shoes are covered with silk, the inner layer are laced with velvet while the soles are made of leather. Thus, giving three inch bound feet shoes a future by selling them to souvenir-hungry tourist. How to make the shoes First, you need to trace the shape of the shoe on cardboard. Then, place the cardboard on the cloth and cut it according to its outline. Later, the cloth is then carefully pasted on the soles of the shoes using his family “Special glue“ made by his grandfather to cover the mould with Chinese silk. The whole process is done by hand. The essential touch will be the “special glue“ which is made from potato base with some other secret ingredients to give a smooth finishing. The whole process of making a pair of cute bound feet shoes takes around 3 days. Go to the Top of Bound Feet Shoes Page Return to City Turtle Home Page
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