Binding the feet to a small size caused the private parts to become tight and narrow because of the pain which was felt. The buttocks became full and large, and immeasurable wondrousness was added to bodily beauty. Because it was difficult for her to walk long distances, the tiny-footed woman lived an uncomplicated existence in the inner boudoir, with sexual desire developed to a fullness unattainable by the natural-footed woman.
If there were no footbinding, then her foot would merely be the same as the man’s. Grasping a natural foot during sex play may excite, but only to the extent that grasping the hand does. It cannot compare to the wondrousness of grasping a golden lotus. Styles in dress change every ten or several tens of years, but the bound foot remained unchanged for a millennium. Its beauty goes without saying, and its wondrousness has become increasingly apparent. It has been unaffected by the importation of European customs and the increased variety of sex play.
Those who reject it often say:
The tiny foot is very smelly. What is so wonderful about it? Those who crave it are addicted to its odor and are of the lowest and most common class. The fact that famous men like Ku Hung-ming and his followers advocated this was really shameful.
These critics are unaware that the special craving of Ku Hung-ming and the others was similar to the lustful tastes of the ancients. The objective was to inhale its natural aroma. If the foot had no odor, they were unwilling to smell it even if it were tiny. Those who describe this interest state that they became disaffected if the feet were washed. Those who oppose footbinding take the strange cravings of a few and make a sweeping generality to cover everyone. How can we submit to their sarcastic verse?
That the foot has odor comes about not from its being small but from a failure to wash it. Any foot, bound or not, will smell if it is not washed. This includes both sexes. If a man delights in the tiny feet of his wives and concubines, how can they bear to let them smell? They must frequently wash them and change shoes, stockings, and bindings. It is as if one is making up her face and is just as clean. If she is meticulous, she washes the foot in fragrant, heated water and spreads a perfumed powder over it. She extracts the juice of flowers and immerses her toenails in it. The term Fragrant Lotus was no exaggeration. This was a treasure women were proud of, for with it they could get a man’s love and protection. When they were about to go to sleep or wake up, or were idly drinking wine, the man might want to unravel the bindings for them. Even a lazy woman had to wash. How could a woman who naturally liked cleanliness and beauty fail to have paid attention to this?
If a natural-footed woman fails to keep her feet clean because they are not objects to be played with, her feet are worse than small feet, which have bindings to cover the odor. The binding was rarely removed, out of fear that the foot might grow larger. The defect of undue perspiration was overcome by wearing sleeping shoes in bed. These not only suppressed odor, but fascinated men with their beautiful embroidery and hidden fragrance of perfume. Men loved to go to bed with women wearing red sleeping shoes. If a natural-footed woman tried to imitate this by wearing high heel leather shoes or flat brocaded shoes in bed, she would only be laughed at. So the woman whose feet smelled was lucky to be small-footed. The fact that certain men love bound feet does not mean that they are indiscriminate. The tiny and narrow lotus is vastly preferred. Those with the best specimens walked lightly; I always found this to be true. Conversely, poorly bound feet were associated with ugly posture and walking difficulties. For example, the woman who walked on her heels stuck her head forward, raised her shoulders, stiffly shook her breasts, and swung her hips with heavy steps. Women in certain areas of Anhwei, Kwangtung, and Fukien always walked like this. But in cities where footbinding was famed, women walked lightly with toes first touching the ground. How soft their bodies looked! Footbinding opponents often unfairly criticize the worst examples. Besides, the benefit of binding was not in the walk but in the way it increased desire. And desire was a matter for the bed, not the street.
Someone said that small feet were unnatural looking. This was only true of those poorly bound. The best examples not only preserved nature but through artificial means added beauty to it. The standards for praiseworthy tiny and natural feet were the same, namely that they be thin, small, pointed, curved, soft, and balanced. Only fragrance was additionally expected of the three-inch lotus. If we inspect modern high-heeled leather shoes and pictures of the feet of Western women, it becomes obvious that they have the same aesthetic standards as ours. If one says that small feet are ugly, then natural feet are ugly too. So looking at the matter fairly, there is nothing about a bound foot that one can oppose. Critics examine the tiny-footed failures, not realizing that lotus lovers dislike these also. A country woman’s foot, for example, because of constant exposure, looks and feels like a cactus. But is that any reason to like natural feet?
My frank opinion about the three-inch lotus is that it is precious, beautiful, civilized, and not in any way barbaric. There are men in this world who, afraid to look for charming beauties, prefer instead to embrace their ugly bare-footed wives. Others choose the plain country type rather than the delicate beauty. They either want to be praised as virtuous or are resigned to their situations. But this doesn’t mean that they are insensitive to beauty or fail to realize that what they have is ugly.
My aesthetic and sexual points of view are frank, unlike those whose words never reflect their true thinking. I am getting old and have seen much. Southern lotus; northern lilies; I have tasted them all and know well their charms. Now I often hear the talk of novices, based on pure imagination. To appreciate the wonders of the lotus, one must first understand its beauty.
People like to follow fashion. When bound feet were fashionable, every woman bound her feet and every man esteemed them. Now changing fashions have caused people to change too. But if the medical world can invent a medicine which will reduce the foot in three days and later return it to its original shape, then the golden lotus will become popular again, not only in China but throughout the world.
Chapter Six
Secret Chronicle of the Lotus Interest
The anonymous writer of this essay, who signs himself Lotus Knower, addresses his remarks to lotus-loving gentlemen and describes in detail eighteen positions of sexual intercourse in which the tiny foot is manipulated. While the writer recognizes the inhumanity of footbinding and its incongruity in the modern age, his essay preserves for posterity insights into the sexual attractions of the lotus as a thing-in-itself.
It is human nature to eat and to desire. While sex is universal, its desires cannot be unrestrained nor its pleasures without limitation. The ancients clearly directed that sexual indulgence be limited to bedroom intimacies enjoyed by husband and wife. These bedroom delights were achieved through sexual stimulation by both sexes and were the antithesis of the satisfaction derived by profligates from every chance pursuit and encounter. True lovers of beauty delight without lewd indulgence and do the ordinary things without losing their aesthetic sense.