Footbinding for women on China was a curious, painful custom that deformed the foot and kept it from growing more than a few inches in length. This practice may have begun in the tenth century as a whim of the Imperial court; by the twelfth century, it had spread to many parts of China as a way of ensuring that women did not stray far from home. The binding became tighter and tighter as one moved up the social ladder, until women at the apex of society were so cripples that they had to be carried in sedan chairs or on the backs of servants.Until now, few outsiders have had an opportunity to examine this perplexing part of Chinese social life. In The Lotus Lovers, Dr. Howard Levy provides the first complete treatment of footbinding, and with it a clearer look into the position and role of traditional Chinese women. He examines the origins of this enigmatic practice, the reasons why Chinese men have allowed it to flourish, and the varied efforts by missionaries and liberal reformers to abolish it. Featured are interviews with women who recount how they had had their feet bound in childhood, and the sufferings it had caused. Also included are translations from Chinese erotic literature extolling the beauty of the “Golden Lotus”—a poetic metaphor for the tiny bound foot—and revealing the peculiar fascination that footbound women, with their “willow walk,” held for Chinese men. This book contains photos and drawings, as well as original material unavailable else where.It is difficult for the Western mind to comprehend a practice that involved such physical pain and deformity. The Lotus Lovers examines social and cultural forces at work behind the scenes to reveal how footbinding was thought both to add to a woman’s allure and enhance sexual performance; and how it worked effectively to keep women “in their place” and subservient to men. Our knowledge of Chinese society, old and new, is incomplete without a clearer picture of how Chinese men and women lived together and what they felt in the most intimate of human relations. Howard Levy has provided us with these crucial insights.Howard S. Levy (Yokohama, Japan) teaches English at the Odawara Women’s Junior College in Japan and is an authority on sexuality in Asian cultures.От автора файла: Данная книга представляет собой научную монографию. Моей задачей было не проведение научного исследования, а лишь ознакомление со страшным обычаем бинтования ног. Поэтому обширная библиография, приводимая Ховардом Леви в конце книги, из нее исключена. Те, кому требуется полный текст, могут приобрести печатную книгу, в частности, на Амазоне.