Footbinding has offered scholars a platform to explore the political, economic, social, and cultural landscape of China. A historical account might trace its origin to the Song dynasty (960–1279) and follow its spread to the literati, eventually trickling down to commoners. An ethnographic survey might analyze footbinding as a practice among the ethnic Chinese. A sociological perspective might explore the influence of footbinding on marriage patterns. An economic approach might link footbinding to particular household or agricultural economies. Shepherd’s study engages with all these approaches. Drawing from palace memorials, literati writings, census data, surveys of agriculture and handicrafts, missionary reports, and ethnographies, Shepherd questions some long-standing explanations for the persistence of footbinding, proposing instead an interpretation that emphasizes the role of social pressure.
The book is divided into eight main chapters, surrounded by an introduction and conclusion. Chapter 1 starts with the early decades of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Shepherd...