A Study Of The Qing Dynasty’s Bans Of Foot-binding(1636 To 1840)

There was foot-binding for near ten centuries in ancient Chinese society. There is a view that food-binding comes from the oppression of autocratic. To find out whether this view is true or not, this paper combs Qing dynasty’s bans of foot-binding from 1636 to 1840 and analyses the significances of the bans in different periods by checking the relevant literatures, with the spirit of seek truth from facts, using the historical analytical method.Chapter one of this paper combs policies and attitudes of dynasties before Qing Dynasty towards foot-binding. Governors of the Five dynasties, Song dynasty, Jin dynasty and Yuan dynasty did not promulgate policy about foot-binding and were neither for nor against the custom of foot-binding in the folk. Governors of Ming dynasty banned foot-binding of the dalit, which promoted the popularity of foot-binding in the folk objectively. Nevertheless, governors of Ming dynasty have never banned or forced people to bind feet except the dalit in the folk.Chapter two of this paper combs bans of foot-binding in the period of Chongde dynasty and Shunzhi dynasty. In these periods, Qing dynasty continued to expand and had the unstable political power. Qing government promulgated bans of foot-binding in the third year of Chongde dynasty, in the first year of Shunzhi dynasty, in the second year of Shunzhi dynasty, and in the seventeenth year of Shunzhi dynasty. The Significances of bans in these period are identifying ruling boundary on the one hand and realizing the visualization of conquest on the other hand.Chapter three of this paper combs the ban of foot-binding in the period of Kangxi dynasty and the adjustment of the foot-binding ban by Qing government. Qing dynasty entered the period of stability. In the early years of Kangxi dynasty, the government followed the laws and the institutions of Nur Ha Che dynasty and Hong Taiji dynasty, and changed many laws and institutions according to the conditions. Consequently, in the third year of Kangxi dynasty, Qing government changed that females had not been forbidden to blind feet at the end of Shunzhi dynasty into that femames born after the first year of Kangxi dynasty are forbidden binding feet. Because of this too strict ban, people frame others and there were many innocent victims. Therefore, in the seventh year of Kangxi dynasty, the government allowed WangXi’s request that there would be no ban of foot-blinding in the folk. From then on, the custom of foot-binding was developing day by day.Chapter four of this paper combs the bans of foot-binding in the period of Qianlong dynasty, Jiaqing dynasty and Daoguang dynasty. In Qianlong Dynasty, in the ninth and the eleventh years of Jiaqing dynasty, in the eighteenth and the nineteenth years of Daoguang dynasty, Qing government promulgated bans of foot-binding for the females of the eight banners. The Significances of the bans in these periods are protecting Manchuria clothing system from first to last. The bans always be promulgated in the years of selecting Xiunvs, because the government want to protect Manchuria royal descent from the damage of the Han nationality’s foot-binding.Throughout Qing Dynasty’s bans of foot-binding, the seventh year of Kangxi dynasty made a turning point. Before the seventh year of Kangxi dynasty, all females within the jurisdiction were forbidding binding feet. After the seventh year of Kangxi dynasty, only the females of the eight banners were forbidding binding feet. Qing dynasty’s attitude towards foot-binding was not appreciated. Qing dynasty’s bans of foot-binding were effective, because females of the Manchu eight banners and the Mongolian eight banners were escaped from the hurt by foot-binding.