In the early Qing Dynasty, for Han people, dragging a braid behind their heads meant being humiliated by conquered people. However, it is a foregone conclusion that the Qing dynasty controlled the world, and the humiliating history of "Yangzhou 10" and "Jiading Three Slaughters" was covered up by the rulers of the Qing dynasty by severe means.
For example, the literary inquisition is to cover up the historical truth or beautify the history of Manchu.
In the historical facts about the change of dynasties in Ming and Qing dynasties, "shaving hair and leaving braids" is the most sensitive, so that the use of the word "hair" in Qing dynasty is a state that we must always be careful. For example, the commonly used idiom "a close call" is easily associated with "a close call seems to be a dissatisfaction with the development policy", so the Qing people tried to avoid using this idiom.
According to statistics, the History of the Ming Dynasty, which was compiled by the Qing people for more than 80 years, did not have a "close call" or "close call" from beginning to end. There is no "close call" in Qing Shi Lu, and there is only one "close call" occasionally.
With the word "Mao", it is not difficult to imagine to what extent the history of "shaving your head and leaving a braid" will be covered up.
More than 200 years of deliberate concealment and beautification, so that by the end of the Qing Dynasty, in the eyes of ignorant ordinary Han people, the custom of tying hair in the Han people since the pre-Qin period had been completely forgotten and little known, while shaving one's head and leaving braids was regarded as an inherent custom of the nation to be maintained. The knowledgeable Han people have become a member of the ruling class. Ironically, the slogan of people who didn't want to shave their heads in the early Qing Dynasty was "The skin of the body is influenced by parents and can't be damaged", and the people who resisted the braiding in the late Qing Dynasty actually shouted the same slogan.
Even some Manchu people don't know that their ancestors once forced the Han people to "shave their heads and leave braids." On the contrary, they think it is a custom of the Han people to shave their heads and keep their braids, so during the Revolution of 1911, some Manchu people cut their braids to show their protest against the "revolution".
How terrible history is when the truth is hidden.
The second reason is the uncertainty of the current situation, and I dare not cut my braid easily.
In the Revolution of 1911, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and everyone was asked to cut their braids. However, many people are worried that the restoration of the Qing Dynasty will make a comeback, so they hold a wait-and-see attitude towards the development of the current situation, which is necessary to save their lives.
At the beginning, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also asked the people to cut braids, but in the end they failed, and those who cut braids were bound to be liquidated. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom persisted for more than ten years, but it was wiped out by the Qing government. How do people know how long this Republic of China can last? They braid their hair just because they are afraid. A few years later, Beijingers found braids all over the street in Zhang Xun.
In the 1920s, we could still see many people wearing braids for fear of counter-attacks.
I think this is the main reason, especially the first one. Many people think that people are too servile to cut their braids is only one reason, not the most important or essential reason.