Existing comment:
Shoes for a Manchu Noblewoman
Women of the Manchu ethnic group, which conquered China in 1644 and ruled as the Qing dynasty, were forbidden to bind their feet. This physical distinction became a principal differentiating marker between upper-class Manchu and Han women. During the nineteenth century, however, fashionable Manchu ladies began to wear shoes elevated on central pedestals. This forced them to walk with the small steps and swaying gait characteristic of women with bound feet. While the Manchu admired tallness, the elevation in height provided by platform shoes may also have held political connotations, as Manchu women literally looked down on their Chinese subjects who had bound feet. |