Old story of Three Inch Lotus Feet
During the time period between the Tang and Sung Dynasties, tradition traces the first bound foot to the court of poet-aesthete Li Yu, the emperor of the Southern T'ang Dynasty. Yaoniang was Li Yu's favorite exquisite dancer. He built a golden lotus six feet high for her, adorned with jewels, pearls, and golden threads. Then he ordered Yaoniang to bind her feet with strips of white silk, make them small and graceful and arched like the crescent moon. So that she could whirl like a rising cloud on the carmine carpel, or dance out on the golden petals, giving rise to lotuses with every step. Women thought them beautiful and distinguished, dainty and elegant. So "golden lotus" started becoming the poetic euphemism for a fashion and an aesthetic ideal. Women inside and outside the court began taking up strips of cloth and binding their feet. During that time, people think it's fashionable for women to walk slowly with a slight swaying motion. But with the time passes, the foot binding became a predominantly female custom and spread to women in all segments of society. And maybe because of increased threats from barbarians at the borders and strong pressure to maintain order and control, foot binding became the most important requirements for all women and the only thing to identify women's social status.