Rating: 
Summary: One step closer to understanding
Review: Ah, fashion...all over the world and for centuries we ladies have influenced humanity with what we wear. This is the perfect starter book for anyone who wants a little clearer picture of the ancient practice of footbinding. A fine read with lovely pictures, this book doesn't belittle the ladies who designed and wore these slippers. Worth having by all means.
Rating:
Summary: Reply to reviewers who are of Chinese descent
Review: As author of SPLENDID SLIPPERS I was not surprised to read these two recent reviews by women of Chinese descent, which are factually absolutely incorrect. Sadly they have been badly misinformed by elder relatives who are needlessly ashamed of the custom of footbinding, or themselves were honestly ignorant of the actual facts. Or possibly the reviewers are of Manchu rather than Han Chinese descent. When the Manchu invaded China in 1644, the Emperor forbid Manchu women from binding their feet. Only the Han Chinese, and many of the Minority People, bound. So Manchu women may not know the true facts of footbinding.I spent almost seven years researching the subject of footbinding before writing my book. I have read hundreds of books with information on the subject, and traveled through China many times, with English-speaking Chinese guides, interviewing a tremendous number of older women with bound feet, and their husbands. Photos of several of them, which tell the story better than I can here, appear in the book. And may I say not one of these elderly women I interviewed with tiny lotus feet had ever seen more than a life of poverty in mountain huts or little villages, rising at before sunrise helping to care for her family, and after marriage her own children, husband and husband's parents, foraging for firewood, working in the rice fields,yam fields, or whatever poor little crops the families tried to raise, since they were little girls with newly bound feet. As I explain in my book, in the beginning period of footbinding (approximately 950 AD) only women in the palace bound their feet, then the custom spread to minor nobility. Eventually it spread to the newly rich merchant class. However, by the 17th century about 96% of all Han Chinese girls had their feet bound. Chinese experts estimate that more than four and one half BILLION Han Chinese, and some Minority People women, have bound their feet the past 1,000 years. In cities such as Peking, Canton and Shanghai, and other wealthy areas, there were of course affluent women and they did indeed have bound feet. But the majority of the women of China have always been the peasants who live at poverty, or almost poverty, level. And the majority of them for 1,000 years had bound feet.
Rating:
Summary: Reply to reviewers who are of Chinese descent
Review: As author of SPLENDID SLIPPERS I was not surprised to read these two recent reviews by women of Chinese descent, which are factually absolutely incorrect. Sadly they have been badly misinformed by elder relatives who are needlessly ashamed of the custom of footbinding, or themselves were honestly ignorant of the actual facts. Or possibly the reviewers are of Manchu rather than Han Chinese descent. When the Manchu invaded China in 1644, the Emperor forbid Manchu women from binding their feet. Only the Han Chinese, and many of the Minority People, bound. So Manchu women may not know the true facts of footbinding. I spent almost seven years researching the subject of footbinding before writing my book. I have read hundreds of books with information on the subject, and traveled through China many times, with English-speaking Chinese guides, interviewing a tremendous number of older women with bound feet, and their husbands. Photos of several of them, which tell the story better than I can here, appear in the book. And may I say not one of these elderly women I interviewed with tiny lotus feet had ever seen more than a life of poverty in mountain huts or little villages, rising at before sunrise helping to care for her family, and after marriage her own children, husband and husband's parents, foraging for firewood, working in the rice fields,yam fields, or whatever poor little crops the families tried to raise, since they were little girls with newly bound feet. As I explain in my book, in the beginning period of footbinding (approximately 950 AD) only women in the palace bound their feet, then the custom spread to minor nobility. Eventually it spread to the newly rich merchant class. However, by the 17th century about 96% of all Han Chinese girls had their feet bound. Chinese experts estimate that more than four and one half BILLION Han Chinese, and some Minority People women, have bound their feet the past 1,000 years. In cities such as Peking, Canton and Shanghai, and other wealthy areas, there were of course affluent women and they did indeed have bound feet. But the majority of the women of China have always been the peasants who live at poverty, or almost poverty, level. And the majority of them for 1,000 years had bound feet.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book.
Review: Gorgeous photographs in both color and archival B&W. This well-researched book covers the brutality of Chinese foot binding and its societal impact in very objective detail. No feminist rants or amateur anthropology. Definitely a worthwhile read for anyone who's interested in women's issues and the best book I've seen on this obscure subject.
Rating: 
Summary: personally grandmammy
Review: great pictures. my grandmother and great grandmother were golden lotus girls. and as far as i can remember, my grandmother told me that only very selected few people who were wealthy could afford to have their daughters crippled. she did mention that girls with golden lotus feet fetched a higher dowry.
Rating: 
Summary: Certain errors in the book
Review: I have a Chinese background. I believe there are some errors in the book. First of all, foot binding are only practiced by well to do (and upper classes) Han Chinese families. The lower classes (mainly the poorer peasants and tenant farmers) do not have the "luxury" to have such practices. Women with bind feet are a minority in ancient Chinese female population despite the notoriety. Hakka people are considered as Han. The basic reason they do not bind their feet is because they are considered as outcast, does not belong to the "respectable" classes.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting!
Review: I started looking at this book for a research paper I had to write, but as soon as I touched this book, I realized that I did not want to thumb through this book... I wanted to read the book, and I did. This book was great. It is very easy to read as well as very interesting. ( the pictures are great as well). I would strongly reccommand this book to anyone. I had to go out and get my own copy!
Rating:
Summary: It is a comprehensive overview of the subject.
Review: I started to read this book with some apprehension due to its subject matter, however, once I started, I couldn't put it down. Ms. Jackson's in-depth research is evident in each chapter, and it educated me as to a mysterious custom which is difficult for Occidentals to comprehend. What a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Bound to Please
Review: I think one needs to appreciate the philosophy and visual appeal of the art of foot binding and not focus on the pain which distracts from the goal of the binder afficiando. Small female feet--when in right proportion of heel, arch and toes--are indeed God's supreme work of erotic beauty. A woman's foot, if it is sculpted to near perfection naturally or artifically, is an object far more sexual than female genitalia or breasts. While time may has passed by this wise and ancient custom, as practiced by Asians, there are some very intelligent, cultured contemporary foot-fetish devotees who enjoy their fetish dominas binding their feet, albeit temporarily, for visual enjoyment. So please--we must not rush to judgement on this ancient and divinely inspired erotic art.
Rating: 
Summary: The following review appeared in CHOICE:
Review: The following review appeared in the September '98 issue of CHOICE: "Jackson's book is a wonderfully personal and aesthetic account of the Chinese tradition of footbinding, by an author who writes with verve, sympathy for her interest, and the journalist's ability to capture a reader's interest. There are ten chapters describing many aspects of shoe construction, usage and ornamentation, details concerning binding and traditions followed by Chinese ethnic groups, attitudes of men toward the footbinding practice, and in general virtually all the topics and questions that would come to a Western mind when presented with this subject. This is no psychological analysis or gender issue tract, but rather a presentation of the subject by a skilled writer..." --L.G. Kavaljian, California State University, Sacramento
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