Foot Emancipation Society

The Foot Emancipation Society, also known by the Chinese names Bù chánzú huì and Jiè chánzú huì, was a civil reform organization associated with the late-Qing campaign against foot binding. It was not a commercial brand but a social-movement organization whose principal objective was to persuade Chinese families to abandon the practice of binding girls’ feet and to prevent the custom from being passed to younger generations. Foot binding had been practiced in China for roughly a millennium. Bound feet were often treated as a sign of beauty, sexual desirability, family status, and refinement. The practice also restricted women’s movement and could reinforce their economic and domestic dependence. Opposition first developed in several overlapping settings. Christian missionaries and Chinese converts criticized foot binding as harmful and discriminatory, while women’s organizations and reformers promoted natural feet as compatible with education, health, social participation, and equality between the sexes. In 1875, Christian women in Xiamen formed the Natural Foot Society under the leadership of the missionary John MacGowan. Its example, and related missionary advocacy, helped create an intellectual environment in which Chinese reformers began to address the custom directly. Kang Youwei and Qu Eliang established an early Foot Emancipation Society in Nanhai, in the Foshan area, in 1887. That initial effort was abandoned after encountering public opposition. In 1895, Kang Youwei and his brother Kang Guangren established a Canton organization of the same general type. Kang used his own family as an example, asking his daughters Kang Tongwei and Kang Tongbi to release their bound feet. This combined public advocacy with a demonstration that reform could begin within elite households. The movement expanded during the political ferment surrounding the Hundred Days’ Reform of 1898. Branches and related associations appeared in Guangdong, Hunan, Shanghai, Changsha, and elsewhere. Liang Qichao wrote an account advocating anti-footbinding organization, while Tan Sitong and Tang Caichang became associated with the Hunan Foot Emancipation Society. The Shanghai society, established on June 30 during this period, influenced related initiatives in Fuzhou, Tianjin, and Macau. Contemporary claims that anti-footbinding societies had reached approximately 300,000 members indicate the scale supporters attributed to the movement, although such figures should be treated as historical claims rather than independently verified membership statistics. The movement was socially significant but uneven. Authorities in some districts restricted its activities, and participation was concentrated among educated and reform-minded groups. After the Hundred Days’ Reform failed, organized anti-footbinding activity weakened and the custom continued widely. A second phase began during the Qing government’s New Policies, often called the Gengzi Reform. Empress Dowager Cixi announced an anti-footbinding ban in 1902, partly in response to foreign pressure, but the measure was soon withdrawn. In 1905, the Natural Feet Society helped revive organized activism, while provincial officials including Cen Chunxuan and Duanfang publicly supported the cause. Some provinces outlawed foot binding, and officials encouraged their own families to adopt natural feet. After the Qing dynasty fell in 1912, the Republic of China formally prohibited foot binding and used public campaigns and family agreements to reinforce the policy. Later, the People’s Republic of China enforced the prohibition more strictly, including in rural areas where earlier Republican measures had been difficult to apply. The Foot Emancipation Society itself belongs to the historical phase of organized late-Qing and early Republican reform, but its advocacy contributed to a broader transformation in attitudes toward women’s bodily autonomy, education, mobility, and social status.

The Foot Emancipation Society emerged from the late nineteenth-century movement to end foot binding in China. Foot binding had a long history and was associated by its supporters with beauty, erotic appeal, status, and family respectability. In practice, binding the feet of girls could cause severe physical impairment and restrict women’s movement. Critics increasingly described the custom as incompatible with women’s health, education, independence, and participation in public life. Christian missionaries and Chinese Christian communities were among the early organized critics. After the opening of treaty ports following the First Opium War, missionary networks promoted the idea that women and men should possess equal moral and social value. John MacGowan presided over a meeting of Christian women in Xiamen in 1875 that produced the Natural Foot Society. Missionary writing later influenced reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who connected opposition to foot binding with national strengthening and social modernization. In 1887, Kang Youwei and Qu Eliang founded an early Foot Emancipation Society in Nanhai, near Foshan. That organization was abandoned because of public resistance. Kang Youwei and his brother Kang Guangren renewed the effort in Canton in 1895. Kang Youwei asked his daughters, Kang Tongwei and Kang Tongbi, to unbind their feet, making the family a visible example of the reform advocated by the society. The movement expanded rapidly during the reform atmosphere of the late 1890s. Anti-footbinding organizations appeared in Guangdong and Hunan, and a Shanghai Foot Emancipation Society was founded on June 30. Related activity reached Fuzhou, Tianjin, and Macau. Liang Qichao published an essay supporting anti-footbinding societies, while Tan Sitong and Tang Caichang were associated with the Hunan organization. Historical accounts report very large membership totals, but these figures represent contemporary claims and may include participants in associated organizations rather than a single centralized body. The movement’s first major phase was curtailed by political reaction. The failure of the Hundred Days’ Reform in 1898 weakened reform associations and allowed foot binding to remain common. The campaign resumed during the Qing New Policies, also known as the Gengzi Reform. Empress Dowager Cixi announced an anti-footbinding prohibition in 1902, reportedly to answer foreign criticism, but soon withdrew it. In 1905, the Natural Feet Society helped provide a new organizational center. Provincial officials, including Cen Chunxuan and Duanfang, publicly endorsed the cause, and some governments prohibited the practice within their jurisdictions. The 1912 establishment of the Republic of China brought a formal national prohibition. Enforcement relied on official orders, public persuasion, and family agreements designed to ensure that girls would not be bound and that marriage arrangements would not require the practice. Enforcement remained uneven, especially in remote areas. After 1949, the People’s Republic of China applied the prohibition more comprehensively, including in isolated rural communities. The Foot Emancipation Society did not survive as a contemporary commercial or institutional brand; its historical importance lies in helping develop organized Chinese opposition to foot binding and in linking bodily reform with women’s rights and broader feminist activism.

• 1949

  Prohibition receives stricter enforcement

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  After the Communist victory, the prohibition was enforced more strictly, including in remote rural areas.

• 1912

  Republican government prohibits foot binding

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Republic of China formally banned foot binding after the Qing dynasty fell.

• 1905

  Natural Feet Society renews organized activism

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A new Natural Feet Society and support from provincial officials helped restore momentum to the campaign.

• 1898

  Reform defeat interrupts the first campaign phase

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The defeat of the Hundred Days’ Reform weakened anti-footbinding associations and the practice continued widely.

• 1897

  Movement spreads to multiple Chinese regions

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Organizations and public meetings appeared in Guangdong, Shanghai, Hunan, and other areas, while reform writers publicized the anti-footbinding cause.

• 1895

  Canton society is established

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Kang Youwei and Kang Guangren established a Canton Foot Emancipation Society and promoted unbinding within their own family.

• 1887

  First reported Nanhai Foot Emancipation Society

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Kang Youwei and Qu Eliang established an early society in Nanhai, although public opposition soon caused the initiative to be abandoned.

• 1875

  Natural Foot Society is formed in Xiamen

  [1]Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Christian women in Xiamen formed the Natural Foot Society under missionary John MacGowan, creating an early organized platform against foot binding.

A reform and advocacy organization promoting the abandonment of foot binding, natural feet, women’s mobility, and greater gender equality.

• 1897Interregional anti-footbinding society campaign

  Guangdong · Shanghai · Hunan · Fuzhou · Tianjin · Macau

  Local societies, meetings, and reform publications connected anti-footbinding activism across several Chinese cities and provinces.

  Outcome. The movement expanded substantially but remained concentrated among educated reformers and was vulnerable to official restrictions.

  Source
• 1895Canton natural-feet advocacy

  Guangdong

  The Canton society promoted the release of bound feet and used the unbinding of Kang Youwei’s daughters as a public demonstration that reform could be practiced by elite families.

  Outcome. The initiative helped make anti-footbinding activity more visible in Guangdong, although the wider custom persisted.

  Source

• 1912

  Support formal prohibitionStrategy

  Background

  Years of voluntary campaigning and uneven provincial measures had not eliminated foot binding.

  Action taken

  The new Republic of China government prohibited foot binding and encouraged families to unwrap bound feet.

  Aftermath

  The legal ban created a national framework for abolition, although enforcement remained uneven until later governments applied it more strictly.

  Source

• 1895

  Use family example to promote natural feetStrategy

  Background

  Public advocacy required credible examples that families could adopt without abandoning social respectability.

  Action taken

  Kang Youwei asked his daughters to release their bound feet while he and Kang Guangren organized the Canton society.

  Aftermath

  The example increased the visibility of the movement in Guangdong and connected anti-footbinding activism with women’s education and reform.

  Source

• 1887

  Create a local anti-footbinding societyStrategy

  Background

  Kang Youwei and Qu Eliang sought to organize opposition to a deeply established social custom in Nanhai.

  Action taken

  They established a Foot Emancipation Society, but abandoned the effort after public opposition.

  Aftermath

  The setback demonstrated the resistance reformers faced and preceded the more visible Canton initiative of 1895.

  Source

1. 1Foot Emancipation Societyen.wikipedia.org