Foot Binding

So I am reading Snowflake and the Secret Fan for my bookgroup on my new kindle for my book group. The girl in the book gets her feet binded. Being curious I decided to research this topic and this is what I came up with:

Was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century. Binding the feet involved breaking the arch of the foot, which ultimately left a crevice approximately 5 cm (2 in) deep, which was considered most desirable. It took approximately two years for this process to achieve the desired effect; preferably a foot that measured 7–9 cm (3–3 ¹⁄₂ in) from toe to heel.

^{The whole thing totally freaks me out. But yet I am so intrigued.}