In the 19th century, well-to-do men wore backless, square-toed slippers like these tuo xie at home as a type of relaxed footwear during the summer. This pair, made from finely plaited rushes, is decorated with a lozenge pattern in basketweave on the insoles, with leather soles for durability. The upper has a green paper interlining and double ridges to hold its shape. The number '9' is written in black ink, in cursive script, on the sole of the shoe. This type of numerical symbol appeared at the turn of the 20th century. Known as Suzhou numerals, they were used by traders to display the price of goods.
Prior to the gold rushes in California in 1849 and Australia in 1851, Chinese shoes had rarely been exported. But, as S. Wells Williams notes in The Chinese Commerical Guide (1863), the waves of migration from around China in the 1850s, including Guangdong and Fujian provinces, where many were facing destitution caused by famine and civil war, had vastly increased the export of neatly crafted straw slippers and other footwear. Eventually, many Chinese settled abroad and engaged in a variety of businesses.