![]() ![]() But in reality, the majority eventually came to grudgingly accept the tonsure, and indeed, Qing rule. The order also effectively radicalized many Ming loyalists to take up arms again, spurring a century of rebellion sometimes referred to wryly by historians as the “anti hair-shaving struggle.”įolklore and revisionist nationalism have romanticized some of the resistance to the queue, as well as men like historian 17th-century historian Zhang Dai, who became a hermit rather than submit to the scissors. But over time it did start to stick, and created resentment. In July of 1645, however, Dorgon reinstated the edict on pain on death, sending soldiers to cities to act as barbers and chant the slogan “Your hair or your head! (留头不留发,留发不留头。)”īianzi enforcement was lax in many regions, with many officials reluctant to prosecute the matter too harshly, or admit to signs of rebellion in their own region (Buddhist monks and Daoist priests were also exempt). Overseas, the queue appeared in many xenophobic cartoons about Chinese immigrants in the 19th century ( Wikimedia Commons)ĭorgon issued the first “Hair Shaving Edict” (剃发令) shortly after the Qing conquest, but protests and a series of peasant revolts forced him to scale back the order it was considered a particularly humiliating for Han nobles, who prided themselves on their highly individual, stylized haircuts, usually worn long and bundled into elaborate buns or ponytails. The bianzi is described as a traditional Manchu hairstyle by the 12th century’s Collected Records of the Northern Alliance During Reigns of Three Emperors (《三朝北盟会编》), which noted that Manchu men “shaved their foreheads and braided the hair in the back of their head into a braid hanging straight down.” This custom was “wildly different” from that of Han men, who were “forbidden to shave their heads on reaching adulthood.” ![]() The new Qing regent, Dorgon, enacted many new reforms to consolidate the empire, including throwing out the more troublesome court eunuchs, bringing back the imperial examination system, limiting intermarriage between Manchu and Han, banning foot-binding-and making Manchu dress and queues mandatory for Han men. ![]() The hairstyle had been first widely introduced to the Han population in 1644, when the Manchus breached the Great Wall with the help of traitorous general Wu Sangui, and conquered what was left of the Ming empire. The long-braided pigtail or “queue” (辫子, biànzi) they had been forced to adopt since 1644 was discarded as a symbol of Manchu oppression, and wave of new hairstyles began to sweep the country along with the promise of the new Republic of China. In 1911, when the Qing dynasty crumbled, Han Chinese everywhere enjoyed a haircut. ![]()
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