Big Breasts and Wide Hips by Mo Yan

bound.”
    â€œWhy do I have to do that?”
    â€œA woman without bound feet cannot find a husband.”
    â€œWhy do I have to find a husband?”
    â€œYou don’t expect me to look after you for the rest of your life, do you?” her aunt replied.
    Mother’s uncle, Big Paw Yu, was an easygoing gambling man. Fearless and swaggering out in society, at home he was docile as a kitten. He was sitting in front of a fire roasting some tiny fish to go with what he was drinking. His huge hands were not nearly as clumsy as they looked. The tantalizing aroma of the sizzling fish drifted into Xuan’er’s nostrils. She was particularly fond of this lazy uncle, because every time her aunt went out to work, he stayed home to eat what and when he wasn’t supposed to. Sometimes he’d fry eggs, at other times it was dried meat, but there was always something for Xuan’er, on condition that she didn’t say a word to her aunt.
    After scaling the little fish with his fingernails, he peeled off a strip, placed it on his tongue, and washed it down with a drink. “Your aunt’s right,” he said. “Girls who don’t bind their feet grow up to be big-footed spinsters that nobody wants.”
    â€œDid you hear what he said?”
    â€œXuan’er, do you know why I married your aunt?”
    â€œBecause she’s a good person.”
    â€œNo,” Big Paw Yu said, “it’s because she has such tiny feet.”
    Xuan’er looked down at her aunt’s feet and then her own. “Will my feet look like yours?”
    â€œThat depends on you. If you do as I say, yours will be even smaller.”
    Every time Mother talked about having her feet bound, it was a mixture of blood-and-tears indictment and personal glory.
    She told us that her aunt’s steely resolve and dexterity were renowned throughout Northeast Gaomi Township. Everyone knew she was the head of the household, and that Big Paw Yu was good for gambling and bird-hunting only. The fifty acres of land, the two donkeys that worked it, the household chores, and the hiring of workers all fell to Mother’s aunt, who was barely five feet tall and never weighed more than ninety pounds. That such a small person could get so much done was a mystery to everyone. When she promised to raise her niece into a fine young lady, she certainly was not about to cut corners on foot binding. First she bent the toes back with bamboo strips and wrapped them tightly, wrenching loud squeals of protest from her niece. Then she wrapped the feet tightly with the alum-treated white cloth, one layer after another. Once that was done, she pounded the toes with her wooden mallet. Mother said the pain was like banging her head against the wall.
    â€œPlease, not so tight,” Mother beseeched her aunt.
    â€œIt’s tight because I love you,” her aunt said with a piercing glare. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t care how loose they were. One day, when you have a perfect pair of golden lotuses, you’ll thank me.”
    â€œThen I won’t get married, all right?” Mother pleaded tearfully. “I’ll take care of you and Uncle for the rest of your lives.”
    Hearing this, her uncle softened. “Maybe you can loosen them a little, don’t you think?”
    â€œGet out of here, you lazy dog!” her aunt said as she picked up a broom and threw it at him.
    He jumped to his feet, picked up a string of coins, and ran out of the house.
    In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the Great Qing fell and was replaced by a republic. Xuan’er was now sixteen and the possessor of perfect lotus feet.
    Her uncle, who took great pride in Xuan’er’s tiny bound feet and viewed his uncommonly beautiful niece as a truly marketable treasure, hung a plaque over the front gate. “Fragrant Lotus Hall,” it read. “Our Xuan’er will marry a
zhuangyuan
, top scholar at the Imperial