The fore
part of the foot had been so swathed and compressed by tight bandages,
that, instead of expanding in length and breadth, it had shot upwards, so
as to form a large lump at the instep, where it became, so to speak, a
portion of the leg; the lower part of the foot was scarcely five inches
long, and an inch and a half broad. The feet are always encased in white
linen or silk, with silk bandages over all, and are then stuffed into
pretty little shoes with very high heels. "To my astonishment," says
Madame Pfeiffer, "these deformed beings tripped about, as if in defiance
of us broad-footed creatures, with tolerable ease, the only difference in
their gait being that they waddled like geese; they even ran up and down
stairs without a stick." She adds, that the value of a bride is reckoned
by the smallness of her feet.
It was characteristic of Madame Pfeiffer that she found means to see much
which no European woman had ever seen before. She obtained access even
to a Buddhist temple,--that of Houan, reputed to be one of the finest in
China. The sacred enclosure is surrounded by a high wall. The visitor
enters first a large outer court, at the extremity of which a huge
gateway opens upon an inner court. Beneath the arch stand two statues of
war-gods, each eighteen feet high, with terribly distorted faces and the
most menacing attitudes; these are supposed to prevent the approach of
evil genii.
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