The Curse of Eve: Christian Anti-Foot Binding Discourses in Late Qing New Age Novels

In 1895, John Fryer (1839-1928) launched a "New Age Novel" writing contest. in this paper, the Christian anti-foot binding discourses presented in the entries of the contest will be discussed. It aims to show how Christianity shaped the Christian contestants' interpretations of realit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChing feng (English edition) Vol. 21; no. 1/2; pp. 1 - 18
Main Author Kwong, Chi-Leung
Format Journal Article
LanguageChinese
English
Published Hong Kong Christian Study Center on Chinese Religion and Culture 01.01.2023
EditionEnglish edition
Subjects
Bible
Binding
Christianity
Christians
Contests
Discourses
Novels
Social environment
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Summary:In 1895, John Fryer (1839-1928) launched a "New Age Novel" writing contest. in this paper, the Christian anti-foot binding discourses presented in the entries of the contest will be discussed. It aims to show how Christianity shaped the Christian contestants' interpretations of reality, and how the social context shaped their interpretations of the Bible. Arguing that Christianity was the only way for curing the problem of foot binding, some contestants stated that this evil was caused by the Devil. Some of them even quoted Genesis 3, interpreting the curse that the heels of Eve's offspring will be bitten by the serpent's offspring as a type prefiguring the problem of foot-binding in late-Qing China.
ISSN:0009-4668