Foot binding. Historical artwork of a young Chinese woman binding her feet with bandages. In a practice that lasted one thousand years, young girls had their feet tightly bandaged to prevent them growing any longer than 15 centimetres. This led to painful deformities that made walking extremely difficult. It was common amongst the middle and upper classes and was seen as a mark of wealth as the women would need to be carried around and served by attendants. Foot binding was banned in 1912 with the end of imperial Chinese rule. Coloured Chinese engraving from the 19th century.