342 FASHION IN DEFORMITY xx 



may come off with the bandages, in which case the woman 

 afterwards feels repaid by the smallness and more delicate 

 appearance of her feet. Each time the bandage is taken off, 

 the foot is kneaded to make the joints more flexible, and is 

 then bound up again as quickly as possible with a fresh bandage, 

 which is drawn up more tightly. During the first year the 

 pain is so intense that the sufferer can do nothing but lie 

 and cry and moan. For about two years the foot aches 

 continually, and is subject to a constant pain like the pricking 

 of sharp needles. With continued rigorous binding it 



FIG. 27. Chinese woman's foot, from the inside. FIG. 28. Sole of 



A photograph by Dr. R. A. Jamieson. 1 Chinese woman's foot. 



ultimately loses its sensibility, the muscles, nerves, and vessels 

 are all wasted, the bones are altered in their relative position 

 to one another, and the whole limb is reduced permanently to 

 a stunted or atrophied condition. 



The alterations produced in the form of the foot are 

 1. Bending the four outer toes under the sole of the 

 foot, so that the first or great toe alone retains its normal 

 position, and a narrow point is produced in front ; 2. Com- 



1 Dr. Jamieson says, "The fashionable length for a Chinese lady's foot is 

 between 3^ and 4 inches, but comparatively few parents succeed in arresting 

 growth so completely. The above, taken from a woman in the middle station 

 of life, measures almost exactly 5 inches." 



