Foreigner Challenges Chinese Outdated Traditions, Goes Viral

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Source: OT-Team(G), 加拿大驻华大使馆
  Recently, the topic "First Foreign Female Doctor in Sichuan Leads Anti-Footbinding Movement" has trended on Weibo. About 100 years ago in Sichuan, China, Retta Gilfford Kilborn, a female doctor from Canada sparked a new wave of anti-footbinding through her efforts.

  Among the missionaries who arrived in Sichuan in the 19th century, there were a few women, one of whom was Retta Gifford Kilborn, a medical missionary. At that time in Canada, the societal role of women was to take care of their husbands, children, and households. Medical schools generally did not admit female students, yet Retta earned a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Chemistry from the University of Toronto. The church had stringent conditions for women joining missionary work, one of which was the requirement to guarantee celibacy to the church. If they broke this promise, their missionary qualifications would be revoked.

  In 1893, Retta arrived in Shanghai with a missionary group and met Omar L. Kilborn, who was there to assist them in traveling to Sichuan. After reaching Chengdu, the two announced their engagement, resulting in the cancellation of Retta's missionary status. After marriage, Retta adopted the Chinese name Qi Xixian. While practicing medicine, she discovered that many women's illnesses were related to the practice of foot-binding from childhood. Consequently, she founded the "Natural Feet Society" (Anti-Footbinding Society) and served as the president of the Chengdu chapter. Alongside many Chinese women, she advocated against the practice of foot-binding by lobbying and encouraging women to challenge this harmful tradition.
  Under the persistent efforts of the Natural Feet Society and Retta, some female students and women from progressive families in Sichuan began to embrace the idea of unbound feet. This movement gradually spread to various prefectures and counties in Sichuan, leading to the eventual disappearance of the foot-binding custom.
  Retta, along with her husband, also established a clinic in Jiading (now Leshan), Sichuan. After the founding of West China Union University, she continued working there until her retirement in 1933. Despite her missionary status being revoked, Retta utilized her medical knowledge to treat patients alongside her husband and contributed significantly to the spread of Western medicine in Sichuan.
What is foot-binding?
  Definition: Foot-binding refers to the ancient Chinese practice of tightly wrapping women's feet with cloth to deform and reduce their size.
  Age of Initiation: The process of foot-binding usually begins when girls are around four or five years old and continues until their bones are fully developed, often reaching adulthood.
  Method: The feet are tightly bound with cloth, causing the bones to deform and the feet to become small and arched in shape.


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