Cloth shoes, due to their abundant materials and comfortable wearing, have been commonly worn by men, women, and children throughout history in China. It has many styles, especially the cotton shoes worn by elderly people in the north are the most distinctive. They have a large head, thick padding, and are loose, warm, and soft when worn, hence the nickname "Old Man's Joy".
      When I was a child, I wore cloth shoes, which were dry soles that my mother wore. I still vividly remember the scene where my mother used a pin to push the needle down and down the sole of the shoe. This scene can only be seen in some old films, but it is almost invisible in daily life because people nowadays do not make shoes themselves, and shoes are produced from factories. The thimble is a square ring with concave spots, made of metal, with many small tools on it. A needle in a thread, now it requires a lot of resilience and perseverance, and what it brings us is more anticipation. Because it is completely handmade and durable, the people who make it are happy, the people who wear it are excited, and the joy of labor and harvest can accompany us for a long time.
      Every time I make shoes, my mother always carefully removes the door panel and washes the surface. She cooks it into a semi cooked paste with flour, applies a layer evenly on the board, and then frames a layer of broken cloth that I usually accumulate. Then, I apply the paste, and then frame the cloth. With four or five layers of thick cloth, it is called "shoe bones" by adults. When it is placed in suitable sunlight to dry, my mother starts selecting the shoe style, Once the size and style of the paper pattern have been selected, it is not a problem to cut the "shoe bones" into the shape of the shoe pattern, following the example of a gourd painting. The most time-consuming and laborious task is to fit the sole and upper of the shoe. Several layers of formed "shoe bones" are stacked together, with a few millimeters of stitches. It is not an easy task to stitch a shoe into a pattern. Covering the "shoe bones" with a layer of black khaki or cotton cloth to make the upper fixed to the shoe without displacement and deformation also requires certain skills. If one is not good at calculation, experience is needed, but the mother still successfully completed the work in her hand. So, I didn't have to go to school barefoot or wear "window opening" shoes. Later, when "wearing leather shoes and watches" gradually became fashionable, we distanced ourselves from cloth shoes, to the point where cloth shoes became a symbol of the old hat and a witness to poverty. Cloth shoes are memories and displays in historical museums. From now on, sports shoes, Nike shoes, casual shoes, Oxford, frosted, various leather materials shoes, as well as indescribable shoes, will be overwhelming. After you finish singing, I will appear. The once familiar cloth shoes, can they quietly withdraw from the stage of life, occasionally reminding those who know about them, but they are only fragmented memories and past events that cannot be looked back on in time.
      Now it seems that the worry caused by the complex emotions of cloth shoes is unnecessary. After all, people still think of cloth shoes, sing about them in the song, and see them in life. People's attitude towards cloth shoes has also become peaceful and friendly. After all, it is closely related to the meridian system of the feet and various organs of the human body. Those who know the "feet" should enjoy it regularly, cultivate their "foot" spirit, and relax the tension and pressure of modern people's fast-paced work, life, and study. It is worth and necessary. Soft, gentle, comfortable, and comfortable are the nature of cloth shoes. Cloth shoes have their own unique inner beauty. We should not neglect the essential attributes and values of things due to their inner beauty, nor should we be wronged by the pursuit of vanity or beauty, which accompanies our feet in all directions.