Once upon a time, and not so long ago, Chinese modesty entailed flowing robes for both men and women. Not only were the legs covered, but the feet as well. Perhaps this is why the Chinese language has, even today, no precise equivalent for the expression "watch your step!" People said and still say, "walk carefully" — or hsiao-hsin tsou-lu, which literally means "small-mind walk-road".
Of course, the Western-style skirt is edging well above the knee in Taiwan as well as Hongkong these days. And when the legs are pretty, Chinese men are emulating their Western cousins by "letting their eyes have a treat of ice cream" — which is the Chinese way of expressing a feast of feminine pulchritude. Yet these soaring skirts arc nowhere near as common as in the Americas and Europe, and the chipao or slit-skirt still reaches modestly for the ankle or at least the calf.
Legs were not unmentionables in the China of yesterday, as in the ease of the Victorian euphemism of "limbs", but though they could be spoken of, they were not to be seen. Few Chinese adults saw another person completely, in the nude, not even long-married couples. Unclothed peasants were unknown. Only subhuman aborigines and monkeys bared the body. This was so of the upper classes in Japan, too, although the rule broke down in a countryside where the spirit was more Polynesian than Chinese.
Even the legs of horses were not supposed to be shown in China. The expression lu-tsu ma-chio or "exposing horse legs" is equivalent to the Western "letting the cat out of the bag". This expression is said to have originated from dialogue in a Yuan dynasty (1280-1368 A.D.) play that referred to horses' legs showing under their blankets. The Mongols, who had overrun the country virtually from horseback, used coverings for their animals in cold weather. The exact wording is not known. As for today, "exposing horse legs" can mean "a slip of the tongue", "involuntary self-betrayal", and "putting oneself in a position to have his leg pulled".
Another story about the origin of lu-tsu ma-chio involves a battle fought in 1140 A.D. between Sung Chinese and an invading Chin cavalry troop of 15,000 horses. Every three Chin horses were linked by a horizontal wood ell bar or kuai. Such a tactic was unprecedented and the assault by kuai-tsu-ma was frightening. But General Yueh Fei ordered his soldiers to lie down and strike at the hooves. When one horse fell, two others were knocked out of action. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Sungs, because the Chins had "exposed the legs of their horses".
But talking of legs was never tabooed in China. Evidence of a high regard for and interest in legs abounds in literature and in the written Chinese characters.
One of the "One Hundred Proverbs" by Mr. Tut-tut, translated by Dr. Lin Yutang, says: "So long as I have legs, so long as I have eyes, wherever I go I am the lord of the mountains and rivers and the winds and the breeze."
Protecting the Body
When Tseng-tzu, a disciple of Confucius, was about to die, he called his followers to his side and told them to examine his hands and feet. "See how carefully I have protected the body that my parents gave me" was his real message. By "hands and feet" — the most functional parts of the body — Tseng tzu meant the whole of his flesh and blood. To protect oneself from bodily injury is basic to filial piety, today as well as in olden times.
Cremations were prohibited in old China and may be frowned upon even today. Bodies were to be buried intact and in strong coffins so that one day the soul could return to them. When amputations were performed, the severed parts were preserved. When the person died, the limb or limbs were put back in place for the burial.
Among the more picturesque Chinese characters, hundreds in common use bear radicals derived from the shape of human legs and feet. In Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary, which contains 7,785 characters, 131 characters bear the "foot" radical and 162 the "walking" radical. Here are the two radicals and some related ones:
There are also characters that bear little resemblance to any of the cardinals connected with "leg" or "foot" but that actually have to do with the extremities. Examples include:
Chiang or "descend" (above) shows two feet coming down a mountain. In the character wu or "dance" (below) the radical under the dancer may be treated as an independent character meaning "to oppose" or "being contrary to" — as suggested by the fact the two feet point in different directions. The dancer holds flower-laden twigs or colorful feathers and moves in a zigzag, faltering manner.
The two feet in the character wei or "differ" (below) are not only contradicting each other but also encircling the square. With the addition of a walking radical, the meaning becomes a clearing. All Chinese characters that contain squares have to do with boundaries of one kind or another. Examples include the character that stand for "country", "circumference", "field", etc.
A slanted foot means the leg is being dragged. The character below — ai or "love" — shows a man who appears to have eaten too much, a heart, and a foot that is dragged. The implication is of a man overwhelmed by emotion and bearing out the conclusion that love is more a matter of suffering than pleasure.
In English, "leg" is defined as "one of the appendages of an animal that are used chiefly in supporting the body and in moving from point to point, especially by walking: as (1) one of the paired limbs of a vertebrate so used (bipeds like man have two legs; quadrupeds have four), and (2) the part of such a limb between the knee and the foot, as distinguished from thigh ... "
For "foot", the definition is: "The terminal part of the vertebrate leg upon which an individual stands consisting in most bipeds (as man) and many quadrupeds (as the cat) of all the structures (as heel, arches, and digits) below the ankle joint or in digitigrade animals (as the horse or sheep) of the terminal parts of one or more digits often encased in a horny hoof ... "
Leg and Foot
In short, the word "leg" in English normally includes the portion that is known as "foot". In Chinese, however, this is not the case. The character tsu 足 that now stands for "foot" used to denote the whole leg, which now is commonly represented by chio 腳 , a character based on the part of the limb that is withdrawn when one wants to kneel or sit down. Chio is a combination of the flesh radical 月 and chiueh (also read as chio) that means "but", "yet", "still", etc., as an adverb and "to reject", "to with draw" as a verb.
The Japanese still use tsu (read as soku or ashi, depending on the literary or colloquial style) to mean both "foot" and "leg plus foot". Chio is read as kyaku in Japanese and means only "leg" to the Japanese.
To the Chinese, however, this is not exactly the case, as in the following idioms:
Chih-chio (chih meaning "red" or "naked") doesn't refer to "bare leg", as of a man wearing shorts and shoes. Instead, it means "barefoot". The legs may be covered.
Chio-hsin (leg heart) means "sole of the foot" - quite a distance below the heart. Chio-pan (leg plate) also indicates "sole".
Chio-men (leg face) and chio-pei (leg back) appear to denote opposites. But they don't. Both mean "instep".
Incidentally, chio-yen (leg eye) means "ankle", and the calf of the leg is chio-tu (leg belly) or chio-nang (leg bag).
There are many other interesting Chinese expressions involving the lower limbs. Most also are used by the Japanese. Phonetic transcriptions of the Chinese are omitted here in most cases.
— Foot-labor: Polite way of referring to a guest's visit, as in: "I am really grateful for your having gone to the extreme of laboring your feet". In other words, "Your trouble in coming is appreciated."
— Far-foot: Picnic, excursion.
— Forbid-foot: Don't go out!
— Foot-clothes: Socks.
Sorrow Under Foot
— Foot-under (tsu-hsia): You, "sir". The expression is said to come from the story of Lord Wen of the Tsin dynasty (265-419 A.D.), who sought in vain for the assistance of scholar Chiai Chih-tsui Trying to smoke Chiai out of his mountain hideaway, Lord Wen had the hill burned. When Chiai's charred body was found, Lord Wen wept and ordered that clogs be made for him from the tree under which Chiai was lying. In this way, the lord constantly reminded himself of the "sorrow under foot".
— Hands-feet: Brothers.
— Hands-legs: Assistants.
— Leg-under (chio-hsia): To learn at the feet — an expression akin to the story of Lord Wen. Also "younger" or "inferior" as in the saying: "Under legs, how many brothers?" or "How many younger brothers do you have?"
— Leg-before (chio-chien): In the presence of, before.
— Leg-hand: Scaffolding.
— Leg-fingers: Toes (also called tsu-chih — "foot fingers").
— Leg-air: Beri-beri.
— Hongkong leg: Athlete's foot.
— Leg-range: Journey on foot.
— Leg-merchandise: Inferior goods.
— Leg-pedal vehicle: Bicycle.
Chio for "leg" is also used to mean "laborers" and "porters" as in:
— Leg-price or leg-money: Porterage, coolie hire. "Leg-money" also means a gratuity to messengers bringing gifts.
— Leg-power (chio-li): Coolie hire, carriage.
— Leg-man (chio-fu) or leg-boy (chio-tzu): Coolie.
When chio is used to mean "cleverness" — quite a deviation from the original meaning — these expressions are possible:
— Leg-book (chio-pen): Libretto of a play.
— Leg-color: Profession, occupation, life, antecedents, rank, actors.
— Play hand-leg (lung shou-chio): Cunning, ability to do clever tricks.
When the Chinese say yang-tsun yu-chio — "sunny spring has legs" — they mean "far-reaching benevolence". But to add "feet" to a snake would be "overdoing things".
Tsu for "foot" also means "enough", "satisfied", "complete", and "pure" — as in "pure gold". This seemingly far-fetched usage of the character comes from the idea that if one walks with shorter and shorter steps, his footprints eventually will form an uninterrupted line. When the steps have spaces in between, they are pu-tsu (no foot), meaning "not enough". To replenish is to fill in more footsteps — tsung tsu.
Thus pu-chih-tsu should not be taken as meaning "not knowing feet". It is "discontented" or "dissatisfied". "Ten feet" (shih tsu), "full feet" (man-tsu), and "abundant feet" (feng-tsu) all mean "complete" and "full".
Beauty in Legs
A beginner in the Chinese language must be careful when "legs" and "feet" are involved. "No feet, hang teeth" (pu-tsu kua chih) means "nothing to worry about". "No feet say" (pu-tsu-tao, employing the character that means both "road" and "say") doesn't mean "there are no feet to talk about". It means "not worth mentioning".
What do Chinese men consider beauteous in the legs and feet of their women? Formerly — and perhaps still with many — it was fragility. The legs were to be frail, albeit shapely, and "golden lily" bound feet were idealized. Feet were bound not to pre vent Chinese women from running away but to produce a mincing gait that was appreciated sensually — not so much different from the 4-inch spike heels of the West or the tight tabi socks of Japan.
These are some of the judgments of women's legs to be found in the classics or in superstitious sayings and beliefs:
— Legs should be feng-tsu feng-man or nicely fleshed; otherwise the rest of the body will not be satisfactory.
— Bony legs and protruding knees suggest a narrowness of character. Such women are likely to be quarrelsome and oversexed.
— Thighs bearing a conspicuous mole, especially on the inner side, denote a woman who will keep her husband contented.
— Big thighs and thin legs, bad luck for husbands and sometimes a mark of criminal inclination.
— Hairy legs reveal a passionate nature.
— Stumbling legs indicate anxiety.
— Fatty legs show a susceptibility to women's ailments.
— Toothpick legs are connected with poverty, kidney trouble, and frigidity.
— Bandy legged women will rule their husbands.
And then there is the matter of how the legs are disposed of in sleep. Women who put one leg over the other may be hysterical. Those who bend their legs sharply may be neurotic.
What about men's legs? Chinese women are like those everywhere — they are not talking. Fortunately, the Chinese man's gown did not give way to a toga, but to trousers, and the knobby knees and other irregularities are still well hidden.