Laurel Boussen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This book examines the once widespread practice of footbinding from the perspective of China’s gendered labor system. In contrast to the common belief that footbinding was motivated by the quest for ...
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This book examines the once widespread practice of footbinding from the perspective of China’s gendered labor system. In contrast to the common belief that footbinding was motivated by the quest for beauty and was practiced primarily to attract a husband, this book emphasizes that footbinding was extremely widespread, not limited to the elite, and must be understood in the context of girls’ and women’s labor. In preindustrial China, rural women and girls produced vast amounts of cloth and other handcraft goods at home for local use and for market networks with a global reach. Up to the early twentieth century, footbinding coincided with and corresponded to a household labor regime in which small girls were required to help their mothers by performing tedious sedentary work with their hands. Drawing on interviews and surveys with thousands of rural women who grew up in the era when footbinding was being abandoned, this book reconnects footbinding to the intensive hand labor expected of young girls and women. Examining the decline of footbinding in early twentieth-century China, the book argues that in the aggregate, industrialization and the disruption of traditional handcraft occupations that used the labor of young girls, particularly in textiles, hastened the demise of footbinding.Less
This book examines the once widespread practice of footbinding from the perspective of China’s gendered labor system. In contrast to the common belief that footbinding was motivated by the quest for beauty and was practiced primarily to attract a husband, this book emphasizes that footbinding was extremely widespread, not limited to the elite, and must be understood in the context of girls’ and women’s labor. In preindustrial China, rural women and girls produced vast amounts of cloth and other handcraft goods at home for local use and for market networks with a global reach. Up to the early twentieth century, footbinding coincided with and corresponded to a household labor regime in which small girls were required to help their mothers by performing tedious sedentary work with their hands. Drawing on interviews and surveys with thousands of rural women who grew up in the era when footbinding was being abandoned, this book reconnects footbinding to the intensive hand labor expected of young girls and women. Examining the decline of footbinding in early twentieth-century China, the book argues that in the aggregate, industrialization and the disruption of traditional handcraft occupations that used the labor of young girls, particularly in textiles, hastened the demise of footbinding.
Paul S. Ropp
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520064409
- eISBN:
- 9780520908932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520064409.003.0009
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter provides an overview of how the early Chinese family system was linked to the social, political, and economic systems of the Chou through Han periods. The key changes that occurred from ...
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This chapter provides an overview of how the early Chinese family system was linked to the social, political, and economic systems of the Chou through Han periods. The key changes that occurred from T'ang times on and their links to other historical changes are then explored. The early development of the Chinese family may be traced using three sets of ideas and practices: those concerned with descent (patrilineality), with ethics (filial piety), and with authority and property (patriarchy). The development of marriage institutions in China was closely tied to the development of patrilineality, filial piety, and patriarchy. Footbinding appears to have steadily spread during Sung times, and explanations for it should be sought in Sung circumstances, but widow chastity had very little specific connection to the Sung, the idea predating the Sung and the exaggerated emphasis on it developing much later.Less
This chapter provides an overview of how the early Chinese family system was linked to the social, political, and economic systems of the Chou through Han periods. The key changes that occurred from T'ang times on and their links to other historical changes are then explored. The early development of the Chinese family may be traced using three sets of ideas and practices: those concerned with descent (patrilineality), with ethics (filial piety), and with authority and property (patriarchy). The development of marriage institutions in China was closely tied to the development of patrilineality, filial piety, and patriarchy. Footbinding appears to have steadily spread during Sung times, and explanations for it should be sought in Sung circumstances, but widow chastity had very little specific connection to the Sung, the idea predating the Sung and the exaggerated emphasis on it developing much later.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter challenges assumptions that footbinding was confined to the urban elite and that women with bound feet were unproductive. On the contrary, footbinding was very common among poor ...
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This chapter challenges assumptions that footbinding was confined to the urban elite and that women with bound feet were unproductive. On the contrary, footbinding was very common among poor villagers who could not afford to support unproductive members. Examining the enormous historical importance of women’s work in China’s handcraft textile production, this chapter argues for the importance of handwork performed by footbound daughters. Emphasizing the work girls performed before marriage, this chapter also considers the misdirections and omissions that have sidetracked queries about a practice that debilitated hundreds of millions of Chinese girls and women. Feminist historians and economic historians alike have underestimated the significance of hand labor by young girls and failed to examine its links to footbinding.Less
This chapter challenges assumptions that footbinding was confined to the urban elite and that women with bound feet were unproductive. On the contrary, footbinding was very common among poor villagers who could not afford to support unproductive members. Examining the enormous historical importance of women’s work in China’s handcraft textile production, this chapter argues for the importance of handwork performed by footbound daughters. Emphasizing the work girls performed before marriage, this chapter also considers the misdirections and omissions that have sidetracked queries about a practice that debilitated hundreds of millions of Chinese girls and women. Feminist historians and economic historians alike have underestimated the significance of hand labor by young girls and failed to examine its links to footbinding.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter describes how data on girls’ hand labor and footbinding was collected in order to examine the possible links between them. It describes the method of inquiry and the selection of village ...
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This chapter describes how data on girls’ hand labor and footbinding was collected in order to examine the possible links between them. It describes the method of inquiry and the selection of village research sites in eight provinces. Interviews and surveys with elderly women asked about their experiences as young girls before marriage. These interviews supplied first-hand information of both qualitative and quantitative value concerning their household economy, their hand labor as girls and footbinding experiences, and indirect data on the footbinding of their senior kinswomen. Assembling the responses first by region and then in the aggregate can reveal whether girls who were required to do handcrafts were also those who were likely to have had their feet bound. The chapter outlines the general characteristics of the village locations, sample size, and women’s birth years and education levels.Less
This chapter describes how data on girls’ hand labor and footbinding was collected in order to examine the possible links between them. It describes the method of inquiry and the selection of village research sites in eight provinces. Interviews and surveys with elderly women asked about their experiences as young girls before marriage. These interviews supplied first-hand information of both qualitative and quantitative value concerning their household economy, their hand labor as girls and footbinding experiences, and indirect data on the footbinding of their senior kinswomen. Assembling the responses first by region and then in the aggregate can reveal whether girls who were required to do handcrafts were also those who were likely to have had their feet bound. The chapter outlines the general characteristics of the village locations, sample size, and women’s birth years and education levels.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter demonstrates how pervasive footbinding was among the mothers and grandmothers of women we interviewed in northern China. It begins by outlining political and economic background to the ...
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This chapter demonstrates how pervasive footbinding was among the mothers and grandmothers of women we interviewed in northern China. It begins by outlining political and economic background to the region and the development of the preindustrial cotton industry. Hebei province, surrounding Beijing, is the starting point. Heavily influenced by political changes and new developments in transportation and trade, Ding County, was the site of a landmark study of rural China in the 1920s and 1930s. Complementing the early research with new village material provides different perspectives on Ding County's decline in footbinding. Research in villages in Shandong, Henan, and Anhui Provinces provides additional information on the interplay of local environment, trade, girls’ hand labor, the pattern of footbinding and the pace of its decline.Less
This chapter demonstrates how pervasive footbinding was among the mothers and grandmothers of women we interviewed in northern China. It begins by outlining political and economic background to the region and the development of the preindustrial cotton industry. Hebei province, surrounding Beijing, is the starting point. Heavily influenced by political changes and new developments in transportation and trade, Ding County, was the site of a landmark study of rural China in the 1920s and 1930s. Complementing the early research with new village material provides different perspectives on Ding County's decline in footbinding. Research in villages in Shandong, Henan, and Anhui Provinces provides additional information on the interplay of local environment, trade, girls’ hand labor, the pattern of footbinding and the pace of its decline.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter continues the inquiry at the western edges of the North China Plain in Shanxi and Shaanxi. Here the four village sites present differences in cotton production, political influence, ...
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This chapter continues the inquiry at the western edges of the North China Plain in Shanxi and Shaanxi. Here the four village sites present differences in cotton production, political influence, proximity to urban trade centers, and to the railroad. One northern site in Shanxi experienced the direct effects of the nearby Communist base in the 1930s. One village in Shaanxi lay in the heart of a rich cotton-growing region while the other in Shaanbei lacked locally grown cotton. The chapter focuses on the political and economic changes affecting women’s and girls’ hand work as well as the timing of footbinding’s decline at each site.Less
This chapter continues the inquiry at the western edges of the North China Plain in Shanxi and Shaanxi. Here the four village sites present differences in cotton production, political influence, proximity to urban trade centers, and to the railroad. One northern site in Shanxi experienced the direct effects of the nearby Communist base in the 1930s. One village in Shaanxi lay in the heart of a rich cotton-growing region while the other in Shaanbei lacked locally grown cotton. The chapter focuses on the political and economic changes affecting women’s and girls’ hand work as well as the timing of footbinding’s decline at each site.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
China’s Southwest, lacking locally grown cotton, had imported raw cotton, cotton yarn, and cotton cloth. Among our five village sites in mountainous Yunnan and Guizhou, differences in the distance ...
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China’s Southwest, lacking locally grown cotton, had imported raw cotton, cotton yarn, and cotton cloth. Among our five village sites in mountainous Yunnan and Guizhou, differences in the distance from industrial centers and the railway allowed some villages to specialize in hand woven textiles and other commercial crafts while other villages relied less on women’s handcraft labor. With milder winters, the work of cultivating double-cropped rice and opium left less time for handwork, and generated income used to buy textiles. The variations in Han women’s work and footbinding provide fertile ground for testing the relationship between girls’ labor and footbinding. The examination of Southwest China concludes with comparison to Gates’ earlier survey data on footbinding among nearly 5,000 Sichuan women.Less
China’s Southwest, lacking locally grown cotton, had imported raw cotton, cotton yarn, and cotton cloth. Among our five village sites in mountainous Yunnan and Guizhou, differences in the distance from industrial centers and the railway allowed some villages to specialize in hand woven textiles and other commercial crafts while other villages relied less on women’s handcraft labor. With milder winters, the work of cultivating double-cropped rice and opium left less time for handwork, and generated income used to buy textiles. The variations in Han women’s work and footbinding provide fertile ground for testing the relationship between girls’ labor and footbinding. The examination of Southwest China concludes with comparison to Gates’ earlier survey data on footbinding among nearly 5,000 Sichuan women.
Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804799553
- eISBN:
- 9781503601079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804799553.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
The final chapter tests the general hypothesis that continued handwork by girls and women was instrumental in the persistence of footbinding. Aggregating quantitative data from our individual village ...
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The final chapter tests the general hypothesis that continued handwork by girls and women was instrumental in the persistence of footbinding. Aggregating quantitative data from our individual village sites across China and using logistic regressions, we show that when girls performed handwork for income, the likelihood that they were footbound was significantly greater than when they did not do handwork for income. Footbinding declined earlier when girls were not involved in commercial handwork. These findings are placed in the context of China’s industrialization, the spread of textile mills, and widespread displacement of girls’ hand labor in cotton textiles. The study provides solid evidence for a radically different interpretation of China’s tradition of footbinding and its deleterious, life-long effects on millions of girls and women. A major force in its eradication was the expansion of commerce and industry.Less
The final chapter tests the general hypothesis that continued handwork by girls and women was instrumental in the persistence of footbinding. Aggregating quantitative data from our individual village sites across China and using logistic regressions, we show that when girls performed handwork for income, the likelihood that they were footbound was significantly greater than when they did not do handwork for income. Footbinding declined earlier when girls were not involved in commercial handwork. These findings are placed in the context of China’s industrialization, the spread of textile mills, and widespread displacement of girls’ hand labor in cotton textiles. The study provides solid evidence for a radically different interpretation of China’s tradition of footbinding and its deleterious, life-long effects on millions of girls and women. A major force in its eradication was the expansion of commerce and industry.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804760218
- eISBN:
- 9780804771221
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804760218.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Using the Chinese practice of footbinding as a start, this chapter introduces the concept of social sanctioning and norm enforcement, asking why the practice of footbinding was so widespread even ...
More
Using the Chinese practice of footbinding as a start, this chapter introduces the concept of social sanctioning and norm enforcement, asking why the practice of footbinding was so widespread even with its damaging effects and efforts to stop it. It defines norms as rules, about which there is some degree of consensus, that are socially enforced, and takes the position that social sanctions distinguish norms from other related concepts. Sanctions are an essential element of norms. The chapter links a characteristic of social relations (the interdependence of individuals) to sanctioning, and also introduces a theory that explains how a specific characteristic of social relations affects norm enforcement. The resulting relational theory of norm enforcement sheds light on a number of theoretical puzzles.Less
Using the Chinese practice of footbinding as a start, this chapter introduces the concept of social sanctioning and norm enforcement, asking why the practice of footbinding was so widespread even with its damaging effects and efforts to stop it. It defines norms as rules, about which there is some degree of consensus, that are socially enforced, and takes the position that social sanctions distinguish norms from other related concepts. Sanctions are an essential element of norms. The chapter links a characteristic of social relations (the interdependence of individuals) to sanctioning, and also introduces a theory that explains how a specific characteristic of social relations affects norm enforcement. The resulting relational theory of norm enforcement sheds light on a number of theoretical puzzles.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804760218
- eISBN:
- 9780804771221
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804760218.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
This chapter, which concludes the book by summarizing the key findings, comes back to the enforcement puzzles raised at the start and discusses the solutions suggested by the theory. It describes ...
More
This chapter, which concludes the book by summarizing the key findings, comes back to the enforcement puzzles raised at the start and discusses the solutions suggested by the theory. It describes what the theory does and suggests an approach to integrating the diverse literature on norms and enforcement. The relational theory of norm enforcement highlights people's concerns about their relationships and how others perceive them. The footbinding example provides a clear illustration of the power of social pressure—of how concerns with the reactions of others can lead people both to engage in harmful behavior and to compel others to do so. As dominant theories suggest, the characteristics of behavior affect norms, and do so in conjunction with social relations and the expectations of social reactions.Less
This chapter, which concludes the book by summarizing the key findings, comes back to the enforcement puzzles raised at the start and discusses the solutions suggested by the theory. It describes what the theory does and suggests an approach to integrating the diverse literature on norms and enforcement. The relational theory of norm enforcement highlights people's concerns about their relationships and how others perceive them. The footbinding example provides a clear illustration of the power of social pressure—of how concerns with the reactions of others can lead people both to engage in harmful behavior and to compel others to do so. As dominant theories suggest, the characteristics of behavior affect norms, and do so in conjunction with social relations and the expectations of social reactions.
