Today's subject: footbinding! Or more specifically, the myth about the dumbass that started it!
For those who don't know, footbinding is the old Chinese practice of taking young girls and physically restraining their feet in their growth period to keep them small and 'delicate.' It is a very painful process that causes severe complications with mobility that only get worse as you get older. Thankfully, footbinding has been banned in China since 1912, but centuries of girls and women had to suffer through it.
So what kind of psychotic bastard would go out and create it?
Our story begins with the goddess Lu O, cited as having helped keep the world up when it was still forming and becoming a patron of women with shrines to her being built by ladies seeking her aid. This is where Chow-sin, the last king of the Yin dynasty and a real piece of work. You see, he takes one look at Lu O's statue and decides that this ancient and powerful goddess obviously has nothing better to do than become one of his wives. Lu O takes offense to this, obviously, and starts thinking about how to punish him.
One of her attendants, a fox, steps up and says "No worries boss, I got this!"
He does not got this.
Back on earth, the king's officials are trying really hard to convince him that trying to marry a goddess maybe isn't such a good idea, when one of them steps up and volunteers the daughter of a viceroy he doesn't like, saying she's the most beautiful woman ever. The king takes the bait and sends his 'proposal' over.
The viceroy, Su-nan, is understandably reluctant to send his sweet baby girl to this asshat. So reluctant, in fact that they go to war over it for several years. Eventually his daughter, Ta-ki, says she can't stand the suffering for her sake to go on any longer and begs her father to surrender. He eventually does, and Ta-ki is sent to marry Chow-sin.
Now, remember that fox I talked about 2 paragraphs ago? He decides NOW is the best time to show up. Not any time in the past 5 years where there was war and suffering, but now.
😑
Anyways, just before Ta-ki is sent off to marry the king, the fox comes into her room and is all like
"Hey, can I borrow your body? I promise to screw over Chow-sin with it!"
"Will you be responsible with it?"
" ..... yes?"
"........... Then I guess so?"
So he possesses her and because he sucks at his job, his feet turn into itty bitty fox feet. Deciding no one would care and nothing he did would impact generations of women to come, he decides to leave them.
(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
So he marries Chow-sin and not only becomes his favorite wife and convinces him to do all kinds of horrible, tyrannical things, he also wows the entire court with Ta-ki's beauty. However, no matter what they did they could never be as pretty as her. The only thing they could hope to imitate was her tiny feet by mutilating themselves and their daughters for the next few centuries.
I swear to God I'm gonna skin him.
Eventually the people have it with the evil king nonsense, rebel and execute Chow-sin. The fox leaves Ta-ki's body and goes back to Lu O for praise ona job well done.
Lu O, the protector of women.
I like to think their conversation went something like this:
Lu O: So, you waited around for five years.
Fox: Yep.
Lu O: Let a war wage on that cost hundreds of men their lives and just as many women their brothers, fathers, or husbands.
Fox: Correct.
Lu O: Possessed an innocent young girl.
Fox: Uh-huh.
Lu O: Used her body to convince the king to commit atrocities- which almost got her executed with him-
Fox: Keyword being 'almost!'
Lu O: Started a painful and debilitating practice that has already caused untold pain for countless girls and women-
