Insight in Footbinding

In the Sung Dynasty, about 1100 AD, a fashion started at the emperor's court for women to bind their feet. Women thought that to be beautiful they needed little tiny feet, only about three inches long. They got these tiny feet by wrapping tight bandages around the feet of little girls, about five or six years old. The bandages were so tight they broke the girls’ toes and bent them underneath their feet and then they had to walk on them like that. The girls spent most of their time crying for two or three years and then the feet stopped hurting so much. Women with bound feet couldn’t walk very well at all, and when they had to work in the fields often they would crawl. The earliest versions of the story of Cinderella come from Sung Dynasty China. In these versions, the point of the story is that the Prince loves Cinderella because she has the smallest feet of any girl in the kingdom, so the slipper will only fit her. (http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/clothing/index.htm)

Heres a link to a video of someone walking with bound feet

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

This will be the second book I'm going to be reading. Here's a book review so that you have an idea of what it's about.

A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.
This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.
An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship. (http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower.htm)

I am...

I am the peony blushing red, the swaying tree, the whispering wind
I am the steep path leading pilgrims to the gates of heaven
I am in words, in protests, in tears
I am a burn which purifies, a pain with the power to transform
I am traveling through the season, I shine like a star
I am Man's melancholy smile
I am the Mountain's indulgent smile
I am the enigmatic smile of He who turns the Wheel of Eternity

This is a poem that was written by Empress Wu that the author decided to put at the end of the book. In the story, Empres Wu eventually has the throne taken away by her heirs. All the greed for power and the fight for survival she encounters since her succession in becoming a concubine occurs all time and again, like an unending cycle. When she died, she had this poem engraved to live out her legacy.

Woman's Purity

“The moon waxed and waned in vain. The crimson tide had run dry. In this lowly world, women are the ocean's pearls, their brilliance derived from the stain of their flesh. The blood had been the thread linking me to an underground world where a grim labyrinth twisted around a perpetual furnace. It had been the source of all my energy....After a brief examination the doctor prostrated herself and congratulated me: My divine body had returned to its original state." The serenity accorded me by my resting senses would allow me to achieve immortality at last...Stripped of my womanly barbarity, it was as if I were dead." (209-210)

During the beginning of menopause, Empress Wu reflects how and why women are viewed. It is evident that the society the Empress lives in only view women as baby machines. She mentions that "the blood" had been her link to a perpetual furnace and was what gave her power. This is true to what happens in the book because those who give birth to a prince for the Sovereign automatically gains his favor and gets promoted. She refers to her menstrual cycle as Woman barbarity. According to Dictionary.com barbarity is defined as being "crudity of style, taste, expression". In our society today we may not talk about such things in the open, but we also do not view it as something lowly.

Woman Leader

“During the morning audience, ministers and soothsayers deciphered the oracle and translated these characters: “DIVINE MOTHER ON THIS EARTH, THROUGH HER, THE EMPEROR’S REIGN SHALL BE PROSPEROUS AND EVERLASTING.” For the first time since the world sprang forth from Chaos, the gods were identifying a woman as the human sovereign! The news spread throughout the Empire, and letters of congratulation fell around me like snowflakes: “Your Majesty has pursued the former Sovereign’s unfinished work. Her endeavor and her humility have touched the gods. That is why this divine writing has been sent to the world for the third time since civilization began…as a representative of the female element in us, Your Majesty is invested with male strength, The union of these two opposites has produced the great harmony now enjoyed by our ten thousand kingdoms. That is why Heaven has appointed her Mistress of all people.”” (236)

This passage summarizes Empress Wu's justification in creating a new dynasty under her, a woman's, rule. In the last post I mentioned how women were only seen as baby machines. But as the story progresses it is amazing how Empress Wu gains more and more power. Many people in the court are very traditional, and as tradition goes, only men can be come the supreme ruler. In this case, what is believed to be a message from the gods makes it so all those who follow tradition can't help but allow a great change like this occur? This reminds me of the current presidential election that we have right now. Hillary Clinton has a shot at being president, which would be history in the makings, because she would be the first female President. Some people, both men and women, doubt her ability to be president because she is a woman. How do you feel about having a woman leader? Do you think that their "emotions" would get the best of them?

Character Foil

XishiXishi (497 BC) was a legendary beauty of ancient China. She has been described as “equally charming in both heavy and light makeup”, “as appealing when she frowns as when she smiles”. Of her figure it has been said that “were she plump, you would admire her plumpness, were she thin you would admire her for being slender”. She is celebrated as a woman of extraordinary natural beauty with a universal appeal. Although many have praised Xishi’s looks, there is but little mention of her notable virtue - she had a great love for her country and her people.Xishi was the daughter of a tea trader from Ningluo Mountain village in the Zhuji county in Zhejiang Province. This comprised a part of the ancient state of Yue.When the state of Yue was vanquished by the state of Wu, the King of Yue, Gou Jian was forced to serve the Prince of Wu for three years. On his release, King Gou Jian slept on brushwood and drank gall before each meal to remind himself of the humiliation his country had suffered. He commissioned men to search far and wide for a woman whom he could send as a tribute to Prince Fuchai of Wu. Xishi, whose beauty was much talked of even from early childhood, was selected for this task and sent to the capital.King Gou Jian approved of the choice and had Xishi dressed in fine robes. He had her trained in royal court etiquette. Gou Jian ordered his minister Fan Li to take Xishi to the Prince of Wu as a tribute gift from Yue. During the journey, Xishi fell deeply in love with the wise minister. Fan Li also grew to admire this courageous lady who was willing to give her life for her country. Consequently, before they parted, they made a secret pledge of undying love.They arrived at the capital of Wu and the prince welcomed Xishi with open arms. He was enchanted by her appearance and doted on her. Gradually he began to neglect his political duties, preferring to idle away his time with Xishi. He frequently took her out on carriage rides to the noisy and prosperous sections of the city. On these rides, he liked to boast to those around him that he had won the heart of the most beautiful woman in the world. He would add: “If you want to look at her, you’ll have to present me with some gold coins!” In this way, he also managed to enrich his coffers.Xishi, however, never lost sight of her mission. Her aim was to bewitch the Prince of Wu so that his subjects would grow restless and his friends would desert him. The political chaos that ensued would enable the King of Yue to invade the state of Wu, recompensing him for his former humiliation.Heaven grants the wishes of men. The King of Yue finally annexed the state of Wu. Following the death of Prince Fuchai of Wu, Xishi disappeared from public life. She lived in relative obscurity with Fan Li who became a successful trader.This story is unique in the history of feudal China as no one has ever found fault with Xishi, even though she had caused the downfall of the state of Wu. (http://www.chinatouching.com/2007/10/31/the-top-four-beautiful-women-in-the-ancient-china/)

After finding the poem about Li Xi, I decided to Google her up and found that she was a real person. After reading about her life, I compared and contrast her life with Empress Wu's. Both women were married into royalty, but they chose different routes of life. Empress Wu seized power for her own greed and with that power, gained the ability to rule all of China. Li xi sacrificed herself in a marriage for her people. After Empress Wu's death many have embellished false tales to hurt her legacy, while others praise Li Xi and remember her for her beauty.

Out With the Old and In With the New

THE BEAUTIFUL XI SHI

written by Wang Wei


Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire,
How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? --
Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake --
And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north:
Lowly one day, no different from the others,
The next day exalted, everyone praising her.
No more would her own hands powder her face
Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.
And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked,
Blinding him away from wisdom.
...Girls who had once washed silk beside her
Were kept at a distance from her chariot.
And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses
By pursing their brows could copy her beauty. (http://dps.holtof.com/chinese/chin_1a.html)

I was online trying to find some poems that were written by Empress Wu, but failed to find any. But, I came across this poem about a woman named Li Xi. When I read the poem it reminded me of Empress Wu's misery. Although the title "Empress" gives it's holder great power and prestige, it can also cause the holder of that title to live a miserably lonely life. Throughout an Empress's marriage to her husband, she is constantly opposed by younger and more beautiful women. The type of women this poem talks about seems to represent most of the new concubines the Emperor receives each year.

People Need Other People

In her fight to maintain her power and status, the Empress loses her sister, Purity, to suicide, her niece, Harmony, to poisoned wine from her cousins, mother to old age, and then her nephew, Intelligence, to suicide. She had once cherished her family in her days of innocence, but her greed for power and fear of losing it, inevitably changed her views of family. She selfishly used her sister as the Emperor’s personal slave in the bedroom, just to keep his “favor” in her direction. When she found out Harmony developed an affair with the Emperor, she allowed her to continue the affair, but refused to give her any title and forbade her to have children (if Harmony gave birth to a son, she would gain enough favor to oppose the Empress). The Empress used her family to her advantage but once they were gone, she figures out the importance of a family bond.

“My family had been built and dismantled to suit me. I had given everyone of them wealth and position, but Elder Sister's renunciation had been the first betrayal, which had invited others. Instead of following my rise, they had chosen to fall. My childhood was dead; there were no longer and faces around to remind me of the distant landscape of innocence. Father and Mother had slipped away and my sisters had followed them. i had to carry on, accompanied by my regrets. I called my nephews from my father's clan back from banishment to fill this void. I conferred the title of father's heir and head of the clan on Piety, the eldest. One family had been destroyed, and a new once would be built.” (155)


The Empress handled her family affairs very chaotically. It was bad enough that she arranged the incest relationship between the Emperor and her sister, but to allow her niece to take part in this sinful type of relationship just beats the bucket. Her mother was furious and heartbroken. But, all she did to try and console her was spoil her with wealth, which she did not desire. It was good that she was able to realize how important her family was to her, but it’s a little too late. Now she wants to build a new family with her cousins. This will probably lead to another bad ending. Her cousins were the ones who took all her father's fortune away from them. They were also the ones who poisoned her niece. She should be able to tell that their "loyalty" is only a facade. Shouldn't she realize that her cousins would have resentment for being banished?