Origins. The worst manifestation of the subjugation of women in imperial China was the custom of footbinding. This practice emerged during the periods of the "five dynasties" (907-960) and the early Song dynasty (960-1279). Small feet had been esteemed in China since antiquity, but before the tenth century there was no evidence indicating that small, bound feet were popular. Available evidence for the Tang period (618-907) weighs heavily against footbinding. Women depicted in eighth- and ninth-century paintings were robust and vigorous physical types without the slightest hint of needing support or of walking with a hobbled gait. Primary references make it clear that Tang ladies were encouraged to engage in many athletic events requiring strenuous physical exertion—such as horseback riding, polo, and ball games—that were much better suited for a natural- footed participant. Polo and ball games were...