The practise of Foot Binding...

Foot Binding was a custom practiced on young girls or females for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the early 20th century. It was considered to be a sign of beauty and of wealth. Only the wealthy could afford to bind the feet of their daughters, the poorer families needed their daughters to be able to help with the labor. It was hard to picture just what a bound foot looks like, until I recieved an email with these pictures today.











For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding