Only a few of the women whose feet were bound as children to prevent further...

Only a few of the women whose feet were bound as children to prevent further growth remain to describe the process.... Only a few of the women whose feet were bound as children to prevent further growth remain to describe the process. Banned in 1912, the custom was once the only way for young women of lesser means to marry into wealthy families in China. Though he didn’t specifically refer to the process of binding feet, Marco Polo did note the unusual mincing gait of Chinese women — “one hair’s breadth in front of the other.” Yunnan, China Photo by Michael Yamashita