"Correct attire was regarded as the ultimate expression of Chinese culture and identity, differentiating them from 'inferior' foreign neighbors while making social and gender distinctions within their society. The clothing of bodies had specific cultural meaning, with properly attired bodies reflecting order and control and unadorned bodies and feet serving as visible signs of disorder and dangerous nonconformity with the individual risking association to barbarian outsiders." (Goody 1990: 49)

· The Principal Dynasties of China Page 3

· Qing Dynasty and Manchurians 5

· Mao Zedong and The People's Republic of China 15

As countless people know, China was and in many ways still is a very traditional and male centered society. The family name survived through the birth of boys, along with the elders who depended on their sons and his family, while the girls were treated as objects, or as a possession. She would first serve her birth family, only later to serve in her husbands family. She would be responsible for looking after her in-laws and the household, and bear many sons, if not she would be subjected to constant criticism.

Footbinding lasted for a thousand years. It roused curiosity and caused much controversy. Despite its importance within Chinese history, footbinding has not been widely researched. Bound feet were also referred to as Lotus hooks, Golden Lotuses and Golden Lilies.

"Luo Lin asked her mother why she had to endure such torture. 'I do this because I love you,' her mother replied. 'If you bind your feet, you can marry a rich man. If you don't, no man will ever look at you, and you'll have a very hard life. If you had large feet, how would the servants be able to tell if you are a bride or merely a newly purchased slave?' " (Gee 1998)

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The range of fabrics used in traditional Chinese clothing was quite limited. They only used three main types of cloth: silk, hemp and cotton. All three are still used today. Hemp and cotton were fabrics of the poorer people, while silk was used mainly by the richer upper class, though many people may have had one piece of clothing in silk for special occasions.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Song Dynasty, Han Chinese, Initially Qipao, Qing Emperor, Fuzhi Alas, Mao Zedong, Mao's Revolutionary, Watt Wardell, Communist China, Chinese Manchu, hong kong, manchu women, university press, bound feet, women wore, chinese society, chinese women, chinese dress, loose fitting, finnane 1999, wore loose fitting, people's republic china, stanford university press, principal dynasties china, qing dynasty manchurians,
Approximate Word count = 5362
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page double spaced)