Beauty in ChineseEvery country has its own concept of beauty. For a long time, small "lotus" feet were considered the canon of female beauty in China. Their appearance was as shocking to Europeans as the ways in which the foot was achieved.
The dressing of the feet began at about the age of five. Mothers wrapped narrow strips of cloth around their children's feet. For the next five years, girls wore the strips all day and night without taking them off. As the child grew, the shape of her feet slowly changed. In doing so, they had to endure physical, terrible pain.
This crippling tradition lasted for ten centuries, and did not disappear until the 20th century.
