During an internship in a hospital operating room, I assisted in a surgical operating that I will never forget. The patient was a 70-year old woman who appeared to be in good health, except that she was limping and had to lean on someone in order to walk. She demanded that we cut off her necrotized and “ useless” toes. Her bound feet were only three inches long –perhaps a symbol of fashion and beauty in her youth? Who knows why! Now they were colorless and swollen, so disgusting that I could hardly bear the sight of them. Four folded toes had grown into each foot and she could barely walk. Her body was no longer light and, as she grew heavier over the years, her feet were increasingly burdened with more and more weight. To this day the image of this woman is still imprinted in my memory. Every time I see little shoes for sale in antique shops or flea markets, I remember that old woman and her pale, bloodless deformity like curled, shriveled chicken feet. I don’t really know what to say –but I do know that whenever I see such small shoes I certainly do not feel any aesthetic joy. To me, they represent such a horrific aspect of Chinese culture: absurd and distorted.