Manchu platform shoes

[3] The sole was padded with several layers of cotton which could have allowed the shoes to be worn indoor or only when there were special events.

[1] According to folk stories, the thick-soled shoe first appeared when a goddess decided to keep off insects and dust when she faced a situation where she had to walk in the mud.

[4] It is sometimes suggested that the Manchu platforms shoes were used to imitate the gait of the Han Chinese women with bound feet.

[2] However, it is also suggested that the use of high platform shoes is not influenced by the Han Chinese but the results of the living conditions adaptation in the Northeast regions.

[3] In the late Qing dynasty, Manchu women eventually did practice some kind of loose foot binding, called liutiaojiao (lit.