Within the dramatization of the tale of Mulan by Xu Wei, a Ming Dynasty intellectual, I found the emphasis on Mulan’s bound feet interesting due to the cultural symbols associated with foot-binding. By drawing attention to Mulan unbinding her feet, Xu Wei places Mulan at the centre of the male gaze. The cultural symbolism behind the sensuality of the bound foot is important to comprehend when understanding the references and motives behind Wei’s inclusion of Mulan’s bound feet into the play. Through an analysis of Xu Wei’s play ‘Female Mulan joins the Army in the Place of Her Father’ we can reflect on its focus on Mulan’s femininity, and on why the inclusion of bound feet is noteworthy within the play.
“Just-removed, the half-folded Tiny Ripple-Riding Socks bindings… My family has a method for shrinking golden lotuses”
‘Female Mulan joins the Army in the Place of Her Father’1
Within China in the Song Dynasty foot-binding became popular amongst the elite class, and by the Qing Dynasty the custom had been more widely adopted. The bound foot became the focus of female sensuality and a key cultural symbol. The play ‘Female Mulan joins the Army in the Place of Her Father’ includes a scene where Mulan is seen unbinding her feet, and discussing her apprehension concerning the impact of her unbound feet upon her marriage prospects. The text is full of common metaphors, which are utilised to both mystify and eroticise Mulan’s bound feet. ‘Golden lotuses’ is a central metaphor for feet that have been through the process of foot-binding, as it is meant to evoke the idea of “dancing on floating lotuses”, as women who have bound feet walk in mincing dainty steps.2 This effect of bound feet was deemed desirable, as it became a standard of beauty to have petite and delicate feet. In this way, the manner Mulan’s bound feet are discussed in highlights how ‘golden lotuses’ were viewed as an intimate part of the female body and a representation of femininity.3
So why did Mulan’s feet become erotized in the play ‘Female Mulan joins the Army in the Place of Her Father’? There are notable scenes that display the sexualisation of Mulan’s feet. For instance, as the start of the play as Mulan dresses in male clothing to prepare for military service, she unbinds her feet and states her plan to re-bind them upon her return home so she will still be suitable for marriage. The author’s ambition to please his audience also had a role to play, as Xu Wei allowed Mulan’s feet to be unbound and discussed explicitly on stage, thus intensifying a voyeuristic indulgence for the presumably male audience. Howard Levy supports this, arguing that the process of foot-binding was a feminine mystic created for the male gaze, which transforms the bound foot into a critical manifestation of sensuality.4 Furthermore, it is important to note that Xu Wei gives Mulan bound feet despite the fact that the story is set in Northern Wei centuries before the tradition of foot-binding became a widespread social custom. The play is full of sexual implications due to its focus on Mulan’s feet which, given the audience was likely the male elite class, would have been considered erotic due to the connotations associated with bound feet particularly for upper-class men. Alongside this, the image of Mulan within the play reinforces her as a virtuous woman in Neo-Confucian times, as foot-binding became a manifestation of Confucian ideals and was deemed to be an essential aspect of being feminine.
Another unusual aspect is the portrayal of Mulan openly discussing and unbinding her feet, as bound feet were traditionally kept private and never exposed, demonstrated by the fact that even erotic images of Chinese women usually portrayed the women with their feet covered by shoes or bindings. Concealment therefore is central to the mystical nature of bound feet. Which is why the authors decision to show Mulan unbinding her feet is particularly striking, as usually “women attended to their feet in the strictest privacy”.5 In this way, we can begin to unravel the reasoning behind the authors decision to give Mulan bound feet, as both a symbol of her feminine identity and in order to please his male audience who would have been shocked yet captivated by the open depiction of Mulan unbinding her feet.
- Wang, Zhuoyi, “Cultural “authenticity” as a Conflict-Ridden Hypotext: Muland (1998), Mulan Joins the Army (1939) and a Millennium-Long Intertexual Metamorphosis”, Arts 9 (2020), p.9 [↩]
- Ibid., p.9 [↩]
- Blake, Fred, “Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor”, The University of Chicago Press 19 (1994) p.707 [↩]
- Levy, Howard, Chinese Footbinding: The History of a Curious Erotic Custom, (London, 1969), p.37 [↩]
- Blake, Fred, “Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labour”, The University of Chicago Press 19 (1994) p.688 [↩]