Chapter 64 Foot Binding 2
Madam Zhou stepped forward and asked, "Can you use the socks and pointed cloth shoes we prepared? These are specially prepared by our wife for the Sixth and Seventh Misses. They are made of the finest fabrics, soft and comfortable, and can reduce the girls' pain."
The foot-binding nanny looked at the luxurious pointed cloth shoes and could not help but exclaimed: "One bead on this pink pointed cloth shoe is probably worth a year's worth of food and clothing for an ordinary family! You are worthy of being the Yin family of Jiangnan."
Afterwards, the foot-binding nanny took the things from Nanny Zhou's hand and quickly put them on Yin Zijin, explaining as she bound them: "Nanny Zhou, today is just the first step of trial binding, so that the girl's feet can slowly get used to the restraint, from loose to tight. This step will probably take about two months.
The second step is to test tightening. This process takes about half a year. I will try to wrap the foot binding as tight as possible. It is removed every three days. After disinfection, the four bent toes are pressed hard inwards of the sole, and the girl is required to get out of bed and walk around. When walking, the weight of the whole body is on the eight inward-bent toes. During the day, the pain is so severe that she can hardly move. At night, her feet are stuffy in the quilt, which makes her feel painful and hot and very uncomfortable.
Sometimes, if you accidentally scratch the skin during disinfection, it will cause blood and flesh to become blurred, and it is easy to develop corns, fever, redness and swelling. This period of time continues until the swelling subsides, the toes are almost naturally bent towards the sole of the foot, and the foot is wrapped before proceeding to the next step. This step requires the nanny and maidservant who serve the girl to pay more attention. They should urge the girl to get out of bed and walk around, pay attention to ventilation and hygiene. The girl comes from a prominent family, so she doesn't need me to remind her of these things.
The third step is to wrap yourself up to lose weight, which is the cruelest and most painful step. The entire foot bone is twisted and bent into a bow shape, with the four toes bent toward the center of the foot pressed tightly against the lower half of the sole. Because it is wrapped so tightly and densely, blood circulation is poor and the weight of the body is completely applied to the smaller area of the sole, causing both feet to become unable to move due to pain. Ulceration, fever, redness and swelling are commonplace, and there are even cases of erosion and shedding of the little toe. Only when the toes can be touched on the side of the foot can it be said to have passed the acceptance inspection.
This is also the most important link, and Nanny Zhou should pay special attention to it. Many girls fail because of this. Because of the unbearable pain in their feet, they are unwilling to get out of bed and walk. In the end, they are paralyzed in bed forever and cannot walk. It is okay for them in wealthy families because they have maids and nannies to serve them. In poor families, those girls are doomed. They can't walk well and are basically disabled. No family would marry them.
As time went by, because she was a girl and could not create any value, her parents no longer liked her and left her to fend for herself. Just like in the Great Sheng Dynasty, filial piety was emphasized so much that children would get annoyed and lose their temper after taking care of the elderly who had been paralyzed in bed for a long time.
oh! That's right. The fourth step is to wrap and bend the feet. After the feet become thin and pointed, the soles of the feet should be bent into an arch shape. The front part of the sole of the foot should be close to the back part of the heel, and the curve should be straight and concave into a horseshoe shape to meet the standard.
It is good-looking if the sole of the foot is bent and the instep is raised and arched. If it is bent like a banana, it is not good. In this way, the length of the foot is shortened and, relatively speaking, the foot becomes smaller. The pain is relatively relieved during this stage, and it is also the key to whether the three-inch golden lotus can be bound successfully.
In our Dasheng Dynasty, feet were bound. Some women could have their feet bound into three-inch golden lotus, four-inch golden lotus, five-inch golden lotus... Of course, the smaller the better, so that they could marry into a good family and gain more respect from their husband's family, so three-inch golden lotus was the best.
Then, there is one last step, which is maintenance. It is certain that foot binding will cause the entire sole of the foot to become ulcerated, hot, red and swollen. The foot bindings must be removed regularly, especially where they come into contact with flesh and blood, as they may stick to the area and be extremely difficult and painful to remove.
In order to prevent the feet from growing bigger after untying the foot bindings, some people would wrap the feet in cloth and soak them in water while washing. The hotter the water, the better it will improve blood circulation. In order to maintain the fragrance and prevent it from stinking, spices are added to the water, or alum powder is sprinkled directly between the feet to keep them dry, or scented powder is added to increase the fragrance. And try on new shoes, but sometimes the shoes are too small, and it often takes some effort to put your slender feet into them.
Madam Zhou, this is a very detailed process of foot binding. Let me tell you, the Yin family is a wealthy family, and they attach great importance to the foot binding of their daughters. Just follow my instructions, and I guarantee that the girls will have the three-inch golden lotus feet that men like..."
Madam Zhou listened very seriously and was also shocked. After all, she had only bound her feet briefly and there was no detailed explanation. Now, after hearing what the foot-binding madam said, she had an idea in her mind and said politely with a smile: "Auntie Wang, from now on, our Sixth and Seventh Miss's three-inch golden lotus will all depend on you.
After you have bound the seventh girl's feet, please stay. Our lady would like to thank you very much. We hope that Aunt Wang will do her best for the girls. ”
Aunt Wang stood up and said with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. I will do my best."
After that, Ruhe took her to the Seventh Miss's residence. After Aunt Wang left, Madam Zhou was afraid that Yin Zijin would wake up and make a scene because she couldn't accept that her feet were bound. So she untied her own feet by herself. She took out two pieces of soft cloth, lifted Yin Zijin's hands above her head, and tied them to the bed...
After Yin Zijin drank the medicine in the morning, she fell into a deep sleep. She only felt a severe pain in her feet, but because of the medicine, she continued to sleep in a deep sleep. At this moment, she was awakened by the noisy noise of Yin Ziniu, the seventh girl next door.
Yin Zijin woke up slowly. The pain in her feet was unbearable. Her hands were tied. Yin Zijin didn't react for a while and asked weakly: "What's going on? Why do my feet hurt so much? My hands..."
Madam Zhou held her body, which was already unable to get up, and patiently explained: "Sixth Miss, don't worry. This is because your feet are bound. Madam said that you are going to Fu'an Temple this time, and it is unknown when you will be back. So yesterday, Madam decided to invite the best foot-binding nanny in Shangjing City to bind your feet and those of Seventh Miss. Originally, the nanny in the palace..."
Before Nanny Zhou finished speaking, Yin Zijin was very excited and wanted to get up and unbind her feet, but she was weak, her hands were tied, and her body was held down by Nanny Zhou, so she could only lie on the bed unable to move. With tears in her eyes, she said weakly: "Impossible, how could feet be bound? Is it really unavoidable?"
Then he started to struggle again, and Madam Zhou said sternly, "Ruhe, go and bring the medicine over."
Then he turned to Yin Zijin and said sternly: "Since the Sixth Miss won't listen to my advice, then I will tell her that she has to have her feet bound today, whether she wants to or not. If the Sixth Miss still resists, then I will have to inform my wife and have her tied to the bed all the time.
Sixth Miss, you should know that people with bound feet will become paralyzed if they don’t move around from time to time. If you want to be paralyzed in bed, then this old slave will grant your wish. You should think about it carefully..."
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