THE THREE-INCH GOLDEN LOTUS: A NOVEL ON FOOT BINDING (FICTION FROM MODERN CHINA) BY FENG JICAI
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New upgraded! The The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai from the best author and publisher is currently available below. This is the book The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai that will make your day reading becomes completed. When you are searching for the printed book The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai of this title in guide store, you might not find it. The problems can be the restricted versions The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai that are given in the book establishment.
From Publishers Weekly In his intriguing 1985 novel, Feng explores complex topics (such as the troubled relationship between truth and falsehood and the dangers of overzealous attempts at social reform) primarily through Chinese foot binding, the traditional practice of breaking a young girl's feet and tightly wrapping them so that they remain only three inches long. Set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the story follows Fragrant Lotus, a poor girl whose superbly bound feet bring her to the attention of Tong Ren-an. A dealer in antiques and a bound-foot fetishist, he selects his daughtersin-law by the excellence of their feet. In the household, competition for power is fierce; dominance goes to the woman judged by Tong's friends to have the best feet. Fragrant Lotus masters the "rules, skills, tricks" of caring for her most valuable asset, but when Tong dies and reform is in the air, she must learn new skills to battle the Natural Foot Society--which calls for women to unbind their feet, a painful process--and to confront her own secret relationship with this group's leader. An afterword by Wakefield, who teaches Chinese history at the University of Missouri, provides some context for the nonspecialist. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Feng creates a world that revolves around the fine art of foot binding, the ultimate being the perfect, three-inch-long "golden lotus." Young Fragrant Lotus's perfect golden lotuses take her from her impoverished orphanhood to the leading house in Tianjin in the 1890s to the 1930s. Here, idle rich men appreciate aesthetically and erotically both the most beautiful paintings and the smallest feet and vie with one another to seek out particularly fine examples of each. Alternately horrifying and humorous, fantastic and realistic, erotic and chaste, vague and detailed, this tale is thoroughly engrossing in itself. However, it also serves as an allegory for the political situation in modern China, where a few powerful people for capricious reasons control the destinies of many helpless people. Feng is one of China's most famous, versatile, and inventive modern writers but is hardly known in the West. He deserves more translations such as this able one.
- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Feng Jicai is an extraordinary writer and thinker wildly popular in China but relatively unknown outside it. His title refers to the ideal size of the "golden lotus," i.e., the bound foot, revered as the perfection of feminine beauty and sexual desirability. Feng builds his story around foot binding, which was not eradicated until the mid-twentieth century. Through the story of a single family, he recounts both foot binding's horrors--e.g., small girls' feet wrapped until every bone breaks and intentionally infected by inserting shards of glass under the bandages to induce completely new skin to form when the infections heal--and the new horrors that came when foot binding was outlawed and suddenly what was beautiful became ugly. Using this story as a metaphor for China's changes during the Cultural Revolution, Feng brilliantly exposes the implications of political change for the individual and provides insight into both Chinese history and the Chinese mindset. Mary Ellen Sullivan
THE THREE-INCH GOLDEN LOTUS: A NOVEL ON FOOT BINDING (FICTION FROM MODERN CHINA) BY FENG JICAI PDF
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THE THREE-INCH GOLDEN LOTUS: A NOVEL ON FOOT BINDING (FICTION FROM MODERN CHINA) BY FENG JICAI PDF
This beguiling story is woven around the life of Fragrant Lotus, who has her feet bound in the supreme Golden Lotus style when she is six years old. Her beautiful feet allow her to marry into a wealthy family, and with steady determination she jockeys her way to head of the household, strategizing through the intricate politics of foot-binding competitions and the turbulent times of the anti-foot-binding movement at the turn of the century. Events in Fragrant Lotus' life twist and unfold in a series of witty and often wicked ironies, obliterating easy distinctions between kindness and cruelty, the transcendent and the mundane, history and fable, forgery and authentic work. The novel's waggish narrator exists in the tension between judgment and description, wryly deflating his reader's certainties along the way. Feng's engaging storytelling technique effectively undercuts the broad simplifications with which we inevitably approach his novel. The act of foot binding is horrific, but it is also an act of love; the bound foot is a symbol of entrapment and oppression, but it is also an emblem of exquisite beauty and refinement. Written in 1985, The Three-Inch Golden Lotus is a deeply affecting, thoroughly enjoyable literary revelation. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Sales Rank: #749055 in Books Brand: University of Hawaii Press Model: 955013 Published on: 1994-01-01 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 8.50" h x .57" w x 5.51" l, .73 pounds Binding: Paperback 239 pages
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From Publishers Weekly In his intriguing 1985 novel, Feng explores complex topics (such as the troubled relationship between truth and falsehood and the dangers of overzealous attempts at social reform) primarily through Chinese foot binding, the traditional practice of breaking a young girl's feet and tightly wrapping them so that they remain only three inches long. Set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the story follows Fragrant Lotus, a poor girl whose superbly bound feet bring her to the attention of Tong Ren-an. A dealer in antiques and a bound-foot fetishist, he selects his daughtersin-law by the excellence of their feet. In the household, competition for power is fierce; dominance goes to the woman judged by Tong's friends to have the best feet. Fragrant Lotus masters the "rules, skills, tricks" of caring for her most valuable asset, but when Tong dies and reform is in the air, she must learn new skills to battle the Natural Foot Society--which calls for women to unbind
their feet, a painful process--and to confront her own secret relationship with this group's leader. An afterword by Wakefield, who teaches Chinese history at the University of Missouri, provides some context for the nonspecialist. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Feng creates a world that revolves around the fine art of foot binding, the ultimate being the perfect, three-inch-long "golden lotus." Young Fragrant Lotus's perfect golden lotuses take her from her impoverished orphanhood to the leading house in Tianjin in the 1890s to the 1930s. Here, idle rich men appreciate aesthetically and erotically both the most beautiful paintings and the smallest feet and vie with one another to seek out particularly fine examples of each. Alternately horrifying and humorous, fantastic and realistic, erotic and chaste, vague and detailed, this tale is thoroughly engrossing in itself. However, it also serves as an allegory for the political situation in modern China, where a few powerful people for capricious reasons control the destinies of many helpless people. Feng is one of China's most famous, versatile, and inventive modern writers but is hardly known in the West. He deserves more translations such as this able one. - Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Feng Jicai is an extraordinary writer and thinker wildly popular in China but relatively unknown outside it. His title refers to the ideal size of the "golden lotus," i.e., the bound foot, revered as the perfection of feminine beauty and sexual desirability. Feng builds his story around foot binding, which was not eradicated until the mid-twentieth century. Through the story of a single family, he recounts both foot binding's horrors--e.g., small girls' feet wrapped until every bone breaks and intentionally infected by inserting shards of glass under the bandages to induce completely new skin to form when the infections heal--and the new horrors that came when foot binding was outlawed and suddenly what was beautiful became ugly. Using this story as a metaphor for China's changes during the Cultural Revolution, Feng brilliantly exposes the implications of political change for the individual and provides insight into both Chinese history and the Chinese mindset. Mary Ellen Sullivan Most helpful customer reviews 20 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Everything I have ever wondered about foot binding ... By Linda Linguvic Subtitled "a novel of foot binding", this book was first published in China in 1986 by the enormously popular Chinese writer, Feng Jicai and translated into English in 1994. Told as a "once upon a time" story, the writer skillfully combines myth, reason and a compelling tale while bringing the reader into the world of the "three-inch golden lotus", the tiny bound feet of Chinese women. Everything I have ever wondered about this fascinating custom is right here in this book. From the agonies inflicted upon young girls whose childhood includes broken bones and searing pain to the high esteem these tiny feet bring them as adults, it's all here, including the group of men who erotically adore them. Set in the early part of the 20th century, Fragrant Lotus has her feet bound by her grandmother as an act of love and tradition. Later, her small feet catch the eyes of a wealthy man who makes her the bride of his oldest son. The women of the family all compete in family "foot contests" at which "lotus loving" friends of her father-in-law spend hours debating the fine points of the history of foot
binding and its many nuances. Through the years, Fragrant Lotus becomes the head of the family and comes face to face with the changing movement to outlaw foot binding. At only 229 pages, this book is a great read on many levels. The writer really captures the world he has set out to describe, does a excellent job of characterization and keeps the tension high with his minute descriptions of the foot contests. He also has a way of making this all into a satirical tall tale as the concepts of truth and reality are constantly explored. Deceptively simple, this story has a far deeper meaning as a metaphor for the cultural revolution as standards of beauty change. Highly recommended. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Read For Yourself By S. Someno This beautifully written (or translated) book is probably your best guidebook to the ancient tradition of Chinese foot-binding. Regardless of your opinion prior to reading this novel, you will close the book with an ambivalent feeling. The author has carefully plotted the novel so that you will no longer know how to feel towards the tradition. The story revolves around Fragrant Lotus and her pair of astounding bound feet. She rises up the social ladder solely because of her feet, and until her very end, defends the culture of foot-binding. As a female reader, you cannot help sympathizing with her heroism. This novel will also intoxicate you with the splendour and sexuality of three-inch feet. The sexuality is not vulgar or crude; rather it is subtle and suggestive. The story later depicts a conflict between the traditional and a new unbinding movement, symbolising the Cultural Revolution. The ending is profoundly ironic: you are sure to be caught in surprise. If I were to mention one flaw of this novel (and I regret having to say this to an otherwise beautiful book), it would have to be of the overly melodramatic storyline: a cinderella-marriage into a rich family, the furtive hatred between two women, the presence of a mysterious old woman, the protagonist rising from the ashes, and the death of a powerful houselord. Nonetheless, you should consider reading this novel, and enjoy the luxury of judging for yourself. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. More to be desired, but otherwise brilliant By Amazon Customer Three Inch Golden Lotus by Feng Jicai is one of the more controversial novels of his time, emphasizes conflict in the areas of power (within society and between individuals), the old and the new, and what ultimately brings happiness. The novel also addresses the question of standards of beauty and explores the possibilities when two views come into conflict. Jicai uses a style that is meant to provoke by highlighting the extremes without exaggerating the situation and this piece flows even as a translation, with distinct aspects of the Chinese writing style. It serves as a historical, political, cultural and moral piece of writing covering the whole scene of a sliver (dealt exclusively with foot binding) of the transition period between the end and beginning of The Cultural Revolution in 1949. Although the Cultural Revolution started in 1949, the novel does not center around this event, but follows the timeline of Golden Lotus, the daughter of parents who had died and left her with her
grandmother- Granny. First off the novel deals with the serious, life-changing implications of having beautifully bound feet. Jicai cleverly illustrates the situation of a peasant girl who would have been lost in the society where there was a distinguishable split between the rich and poor, where upon being rescued by her bound feet instantly finds herself in a position among which the most influential men in society could be swayed and steered. Soon Golden Lotus finds her enemies cutthroat and oppressive when in the position of power. She has no choice but to play the game for her own survival. It is purely a foot contest. It is through this power struggle that Golden Lotus is taken to the lowest point she has ever encountered in her life. She tries to save her daughter from the game, contrary to what her grandmother has tried to do for her. From Golden Lotus' perspective, in the end it becomes a question of being either powerful with suffering involved or being undistinguished and happy. Despite her efforts, her daughter still ends up in a position of power, which leaves the reader to decipher Golden Lotus' thoughts on this as she passes away. Irony is prevalent throughout this novel as it is Golden Lotus' daughter who ends up being her greatest enemy. The conflict posed here is one between different standards of beauty. As The Cultural Revolution occurred there were large movements to unbind or not bind feet at all. Jicai addresses the power battle between the two within society as being unnessessary. Originally it is those that were in the Cultural Revolution that initiated the attack against those who still had bound feet. Because Golden Lotus has the most beautiful feet in the most influential family, she was immediately the leader of those who wished to keep their feet bound. In the end Jicai seems to want to convey that change should not be forced upon anyone, but it should let itself take its toll. Jicai's style conveys his story in the form of a conversation with the reader. His story covers the whole aspect of the lifestyle at this particular time even illustrating a scene where the most respected men get drunk and are forever diminished in the eyes of the reader. For these men women's bound feet are of their only concern, and it is evident that Jicai tries to convey the sexual aspect of the obsession for feet. This may be one of the things overlooked to an unsuspecting reader, as it is almost as if the reader subconsciously rules out this possibility from the beginning due to his own views on what qualifies as being `sexy'. But there is no question about the bound feet's sexual connotation after it is pointed out, which makes Jicai a far more daring writer than one had previously thought, if one were to assume writing about sexual topics in such detail at that time period would generally be inappropriate. But then again, that could be the western assumption - as Jicai constantly tries to evoke the reader and push the reader's perspective. In the end the reader is taken by Jicai's humor, storyline and historical insight and accuracy given the situation, but wonders whether there is much more to be devoured in the Chinese version that didn't quite make its way through to the translation (being from a Chinese background I could pick up on instances where the situation would have been more effective had it been written in its original form and read by a Chinese reader). See all 28 customer reviews...
THE THREE-INCH GOLDEN LOTUS: A NOVEL ON FOOT BINDING (FICTION FROM MODERN CHINA) BY FENG JICAI PDF
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outside it. His title refers to the ideal size of the "golden lotus," i.e., the bound foot, revered as the perfection of feminine beauty and sexual desirability. Feng builds his story around foot binding, which was not eradicated until the mid-twentieth century. Through the story of a single family, he recounts both foot binding's horrors--e.g., small girls' feet wrapped until every bone breaks and intentionally infected by inserting shards of glass under the bandages to induce completely new skin to form when the infections heal--and the new horrors that came when foot binding was outlawed and suddenly what was beautiful became ugly. Using this story as a metaphor for China's changes during the Cultural Revolution, Feng brilliantly exposes the implications of political change for the individual and provides insight into both Chinese history and the Chinese mindset. Mary Ellen Sullivan
New upgraded! The The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai from the best author and publisher is currently available below. This is the book The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai that will make your day reading becomes completed. When you are searching for the printed book The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai of this title in guide store, you might not find it. The problems can be the restricted versions The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel On Foot Binding (Fiction From Modern China) By Feng Jicai that are given in the book establishment.
