Apparently, the Manchus attempted to abolish the practice of foot binding, and Manchu women wore "flower bowl shoes" which gave the illusion of tiny feet without actually binding them.
I've searched google using terms "flower bowl shoes" "foot binding + manchus" "imitation foot binding" and other combinations, but I haven't been able to find more information about the shoes. I would love a little more history about them, and a picture of what they looked like would be splendid.
I really would love to have a more interesting way of avoiding my MC having bound feet than just "in this fantasy world, it didn't exist."