Bound Feet, a photographic report on these Chinese women with bound feet
Bound Feet is a photographic report by English photographer Jo Farrell, documenting the last Chinese women with bound feet. A closer look at this ancestral practice!
Bound Feet is a photographic report by English photographer Jo Farrell, documenting the last Chinese women with bound feet. A closer look at this ancestral practice!
This report aims to shed light on the last Chinese women with bound feet. Prisoners of this ancient Chine custom, these women still carry the burden that has shaped how they live.
Jo Farrell funded this project entirely out of her own pocket. For several years, the photographer traveled to remote villages in Chine to meet the last Chinese women with bound feet. She sought to understand the reasons that prompted young women of that era to follow this "fashion," and to capture them in moving photographs.
The custom of bound feet was instituted under the Song Dynasty. It consisted of wrapping the feet of young girls with bandages so they could retain their childhood foot size. The emperor of the time allegedly required one of his concubines to bind her feet to perform the famous Lotus Dance. Following this, the wealthier women took up the practice, and gradually all of Chine, even in remote countryside areas, adhered to this new tradition. A symbol of grace and wealth, bound feet naturally became essential for all women in a family.
The practice was banned in 1911, but persisted in rural areas until around 1949. Through her encounters with these last women with bound feet, Jo Farrell came to understand this custom not as a mutilation, but as an ancient fashion that promoted self-respect and family honor. Having bound feet was indeed synonymous with beauty and testified to a woman's role as a devoted wife.
The women documented for this report are now between 80 and 90 years old. Some of them still work in the fields, far from major cities. Urban areas no longer know these practices and beauty standards have evolved considerably. Bound feet remain nonetheless an integral part of their lives and continue to represent, for them, a sign of beauty. They have no regrets and proudly display in these photographs their small feet that one might describe here as deformed. I invite you to discover the photos of these women still full of life, which Jo Farrell has so skillfully brought to the fore.
Discover and follow this photographer's project on her website Living History or on her personal site Jo Farrell.
Frequently asked questions
The practice of bound feet consisted of wrapping the feet of young girls with bandages to prevent their growth, instituted under the Song Dynasty. It was considered a symbol of beauty, grace, and wealth in Chine.
The practice of bound feet was officially banned in 1911, upon the proclamation of the Republic of Chine. However, it persisted in certain rural areas until around 1949.
Jo Farrell is an English photographer who spent several years documenting the last Chinese women with bound feet in remote villages of Chine. Her 'Living History' project aims to capture these unique testimonies before they disappear.
Yes, but they are very rare. The women met by Jo Farrell for her report are between 80 and 90 years old and live primarily in remote rural areas. The practice has completely disappeared from Chine's cities.
According to tradition, the practice was allegedly initiated by an imperial concubine who bound her feet to perform the Lotus Dance. It then spread as a symbol of beauty, social status, and female virtue, before eventually touching all levels of Chine society.
