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The Delicate Brutality of Chinese Foot Binding | History For Sleep

Author
Drowsy Historian
Published
Thu 10 Jul 2025
Episode Link
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/drowsyhistorian/episodes/The-Delicate-Brutality-of-Chinese-Foot-Binding--History-For-Sleep-e34hl5v

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Tonight’s story is not about queens or conquests. It’s about the quiet agony wrapped in silk.
You are not a soldier. Not a king. Not even a man.
You are a daughter — born into a world that demands smallness.
Small voice. Small steps. Small feet.
And your body will be shaped, not by love, but by expectation passed down like heirlooms — soft cloth, sharp fingers, and a silence mistaken for grace.

This is the life of a bound-foot girl in late imperial China — not a symbol, not a metaphor, but a painfully lived reality.
From your first scream to your last breath, everything you are becomes a performance.

This is not horror. It’s tradition. And that’s the most terrifying part.


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#footbinding #chinesehistory #historicalsleepstory #drowsyhistorian #lotusfeet #qingdynasty #femininehistory #unspokenstories #painandbeauty #traditionandtrauma

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