Reflections | Shoes on or off inside? The Chinese haven’t always been in agreement, especially when there are chairs involved

Perusing photographs of Lunar New Year conviviality on social media a few weeks ago, I saw that most people weren’t wearing shoes indoors. I do think one’s Sunday best doesn’t photograph well with stockinged or bare feet, and that without the appropriate footwear, even the fanciest dresses look wretched.

As a Southeast Asian, I simply must remove my shoes before I enter the house. Outdoor footwear – as a repository of disgusting things picked up from soil surfaces, pavements and public lavatories – has no place in the home. It’s often assumed the Chinese have always done the same, but for about 1,000 years before the 20th century, most stepped into their homes without removing or changing their shoes.

Historical records show that early on, the Chinese did remove their shoes, because they sat on the floor, just as one does in traditional Japanese or Korean houses today. Books on etiquette from the Zhou period (1046–256BC) prescribed that before an audience with the lord, footwear had to be removed. Shoes would be discreetly put back on later, out of sight.

Sometimes, not removing socks was also a faux pas. There was a lord who was furious that one of his men left his socks on during a banquet and threatened to cut his feet off, even after the latter explained he had a diseased foot.

The people of the Qin and Han periods (221BC – AD220) continued the custom of sitting on floors indoors with unshod feet, evidenced by effigies and wall murals unearthed at archaeological sites from that period. To bear one’s sword and wear one’s shoes in the presence of the emperor was a great honour bestowed only to a few.