Friday, September 26, 2008

Chinese shoes


Way back in 1897, my husband's Grandfather went to China to teach them modern farming techniques. How that worked out is another story but he brought back some things as souvenirs. It may seem strange, but (at least for my husband's generation) many of the items have been in storage in various places, like a trunk of his brother's barn for a long time. Anyhow, he got together with his siblings this summer and we took pictures of them. Here is one that just amazes me.
This is a picture of the Chinese shoes his Grandfather brought home. The size difference shows just how small the Chinese women's feet were when bound. The large shoe was that of a farm worker. We put a ruler in the picture to show how small but for me it is very meaningful to know that the size is about the same as my 3 1/2 year old Grandson. Fortunately, that tradition is no longer practiced.
B

4 comments:

  1. Wow - those are amazing shoes! FYI - I finally got to your new blog site and it looks really amazing!

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  2. Thanks for sharing these amazing shoes!! It's hard to believe how small the feet were bound - the contrast is astounding.

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  3. I have seen pictures of the feet that have been in those shoes! Eeeewwww! The toes are ruined and everything! Eeeewww! hee hee hee!

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