According to ancient beliefs, looking at the shape of a person’s body can reveal a lot about their destiny and personality. In the past, people used to pay attention to women’s feet and men’s hands.
Why look at women’s feet?
In ancient times, women born into noble families were often well taken care of and had beautiful shoes that could shape their feet, so noble women’s feet tend to be small and graceful. On the other hand, women from peasant or lower-class families who had to work and didn’t have shoes had bigger and less attractive feet. Therefore, when encountering a strange woman, their feet could reveal their social class, whether they were from a wealthy or poor background. Ancient people also believed that attractive women should have small feet.
Today, women are not subject to many ancient rituals, so the significance of looking at their feet has changed. However, the belief still holds true to some extent. Girls and women who groom their toenails carefully, have slender and fair feet without roughness, cracks, or calluses are usually those who take good care of themselves and do not engage in laborious work. Fashionable women often meticulously trim their toenails, while ordinary women tend to have natural, rougher feet and larger foot size. Women with well-groomed feet are often those who are well-off and pampered. Women with rough, uncared for feet and cracked heels are usually the working class who pay less attention to their appearance and often engage in harder labor. Even now, women are praised for having slender and attractive feet.
What can men’s hands reveal?
Men in ancient times were the main labor force in the household. Scholars and literati who focused on studying and writing had slender, small, and fair hands, while men engaged in manual labor had larger and stronger hands. Warriors and military generals had bigger and sturdier hands, symbolizing their power and ability to conquer. In the past, unless they were high-ranking officials or scholars, men could only make a living through manual labor. Therefore, the size and strength of a man’s hands were used as indicators of his ability to work and support his family. Men with small, weak hands that couldn’t hold a chicken firmly were considered lacking in capability and unable to take care of their wives and children. On the other hand, if they were wealthy, men with small and slender hands were just fortunate individuals. Ancient people used to look at men’s hands to assess their work skills and their ability to provide for their families; those with larger and more robust hands were seen as capable of hard labor and earning money to support their wives and children.
Nowadays, with the development of society, men can have various occupations to support their families without necessarily engaging in laborious work. Therefore, the significance of looking at men’s hands is no longer as accurate as it used to be. However, men with rough and calloused hands still demonstrate their hardworking nature, indicating that they have experienced physical labor rather than a comfortable life. Men with slender and well-kept hands can still earn a good income through intellectual work. Moreover, nowadays men also prefer to have smooth hands. Especially, women nowadays care about whether a man’s hands are warm or cold. Men with cold hands are usually seen as weak or cowardly, while men with warm hands are seen as strong and reliable.
The information in this article is for reference only!
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