Status

I am reading a wondefrul book ,"Snow Flower and The Secret Fan", by Lisa See. It tells of the tale of a woman in early China, her life , and what what she had to endure. I have only begun the story but was completely oblivious to the way Chinese women obtained status, in their communities. I always knew of foot binding, but reading how it was done, made my stomach turn. The process was excrutiating, and one in 10 girls died, from infection. From the time a girl was born the mother would prepare for the foot binding, which usually occurred at the age of 6-8. The younger the better. The whole process took 2 years! I wont go into details, but I can assure you , I doubt I would have survived it. The woman with the smallest and most dainty feet, were the prized possessions. Even if you were from a lower social family, if your feet were binded correctly and the end result was perfection, then your families status would rise, because you would be married to someone important. Even before the girls are bound, they are looked over, by a Diviner, to see if their feet will be worthy. If they are then the family must prepare for this, by saving for the dowry, remember the girls are 6.

The girls are taught basic principals to Live by ." WHEN A GIRL OBEY YOUR FATHER; WHEN A WIFE, OBEY YOUR HUSBAND; WHEN A WIDOW OBEY YOUR SON. BE CHASTE, AND YEILDING, CALM AND UPRIGHT IN ATTITUDE; BE QUIET AND AGGREEABLE IN WORDS; BE RESTRAINED AND EXQUISTITE IN MOVEMENT; BE PERFECT In HANDIWORK AND EMBROIDERY.. Live by these principals and you will grow to be a virtuous woman.



The book has made me realize how far women have come , but also made me sensitive to how woman have achieved independence. It is because of all the suffering from the woman before us, we are able to stand on our own two feet.

This book is very good and I recommend it to anyone who likes history, and a good story of friendship, and hardships......