Braid

Since the British colonists used cannons to force open the door of China in 1840, for a long time, people of other nationalities in the world have stared at China with strange eyes. The long braid trailing behind the man's head is puzzling. An Englishman who personally participated in China's Taiping Rebellion, Lingli, once said: "For many years, the whole of Europe thought that the Chinese were the most ridiculous and strange nation in the world: their shaved hair, braids, and slanted eyes. , strange clothes, and women’s disfigured feet have long provided themes for comic cartoonists.” [1] So much so that after more than a hundred years of history, at the beginning of China’s reform and opening up, some Europeans. People in this country also regard braiding and wearing weird clothes as the inherent image of Chinese people, and they post them everywhere as advertisements for traveling to China.

In fact, talking about shaving your hair and wearing braids is a custom that was formed after the Manchus took over the Central Plains in the mid-17th century. Before that, the Chinese did not shave their hair and grow braids. "Han Feizi" said: "In ancient times, people wore their hair and had tattoos." This is what happened in ancient times when the ancestors were uncivilized. After entering the civilized era, with the development of productivity and the improvement of living standards, our ancestors had the concept of beauty, headdresses also developed, and gradually evolved a set of more complicated etiquette. Since Confucius promulgated the holy precept that "the hair and skin of the body are given by parents and do not dare to be damaged", defending the black hair on the top of the head is not only an aesthetic need, but also has ethical significance. So, he tied his hair with a tassel and wore a crown, doing his job seriously and not being careless at all. This is not only required for the people of the Central Plains, but also for the ethnic minorities living in the far corners of the country. For example, the "Book of Han" says: "The final army sent a letter, asking for a big crown and a long tassel to restrain the King of South Yue. Then he sent the King of Yue to the palace. The king of Yue invited all the people in the country. "As the trend became more intense, hair cutting became a form of punishment. Only unforgivable mistakes were made as a punishment. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao, because his horse trampled on wheat fields violated his own military discipline, so he cut his black hair with his sword to express gratitude to the army. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ancestral precept that hair should not be damaged has been deeply rooted in the bone marrow and cannot be changed.

The Qing Dynasty started in the northern part of the Great Wall, and the Manchus were a nation on horseback. Perhaps because of riding horses, I had the habit of tying braids very early. The Jin people, the ancestors of the Manchu people, are a people who shave their hair and braid it. Their hair style is "half shaved and half haired", with a straight line drawn from the forehead, all the hair in front of the line is shaved, and the hair behind the line is braided and hangs down the back of the head. . It is difficult to confirm when this habit started and how long it lasted, but it is at least certain that it appeared in the Song Dynasty. Li Xinchuan's "Records of the Years Since Jianyan" records: "In the third year of Jianyan, the Marshal's Mansion of Jin banned people from taking Hanfu, and ordered those with unsatisfactory hair to be killed." "History of the Song Dynasty" records the deeds of Song general Liu Qi in resisting the Jin Dynasty: "It was evening, and the sky was about to rain. Lightning flashed everywhere, and anyone with braided hair was killed. The Jin soldiers retreated fifteen miles."

It is probably the ancestors who had this precedent of forced haircut. Hundreds of years later, When the Manchurian Eight Banners troops crossed the Shanhaiguan Pass and entered the pass, overthrowing the decadent Ming Dynasty and establishing the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty began to vigorously implement the system of shaving hair and braiding. In 1645, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty issued an order, announcing that "from now on, all people inside and outside the capital, and all provinces under direct control, will be shaved within ten days. If you avoid sparing your hair and argue cleverly, you will never be frivolous." Officials are not allowed to discuss the report. Shave your hair, otherwise "kill without mercy" [2]. This is the famous "hair-shaving order" in history. From then on, growing or growing hair was no longer a personal preference or an ethical issue, but became a serious political issue. In order to completely conquer the Han people spiritually, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty used shaving as a sign of surrender. For this reason, they did not hesitate to threaten with death. The slogan was: "Keep your head but not your hair, keep your hair but not your head." This pair Of course, it was unacceptable to the Han people. A strand of black hair was not only favored by their parents, but also became a symbol of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. This must not be shaved off. For this reason, the Han people rose up to resist, with the slogan: "I would rather be a ghost with a tied hair than a shaved head!"

The resistance was extremely fierce, and the suppression by the Manchu rulers was also extremely cruel. Under the bloody storm, many horrific historical tragedies were staged. On the 10th of Jiangyin, there were three massacres in Jiading, and many people were killed. The most tragic thing is the "Ten Days of Jiangyin". On June 2 of the lunar calendar, the people of Jiangyin, led by Yan Yingyuan and Chen Mingyu, swore to death to defend the hair on their heads, swore allegiance to the Ming Dynasty, and held on to the city for eighty-one days, killing Seventy-five thousand Qing soldiers died, and 67,000 strong men died in battle on and above the city walls.

The city was broken, and the Qing army massacred them for ten days. They did not seal the sword until the whole city was slaughtered. More than 170,000 soldiers and civilians died at the hands of the Qing soldiers, and only 53 young and old survived. There are poems to prove it:

Wearing hair to show allegiance on the 80th day represents the character of Taizu in the 17th dynasty.

Sixty thousand people died together and saved the Ming Dynasty for three hundred miles.

Resist, suppress, resist again, suppress again. As the small imperial courts of the Southern Ming Dynasty collapsed one by one, people's hopes of recovery were also dashed one by one. People no longer resisted and finally accepted the reality of Manchu rule. And the braids were left one by one. As time goes by, people become numb and get used to it, and they no longer find it unpleasant, and they no longer think it is a barbarian custom. In fact, braids have even become a natural custom among Chinese people. People are not only comfortable and accustomed to wearing braids, but also pay attention to how to wear braids. Especially the young men from official families and wealthy families decorate the ends of their braids with various decorations. For the sake of fashion, they show off in the streets and transfer houses. Literati also used this as an object of chant. There is a couplet describing shaving and braiding:

Wash and shave in the morning and evening.

Stop, stop, just dig and tap.

More than two hundred years later, that is, after history entered the 1840s, when the Chinese had the opportunity to leave the closed continent and cross the ocean, they had this question hanging behind their heads. The braids hanging out are quite important. Lin Zexu, a generation of philosophers who once burned opium in Humen, once said disdainfully when he saw foreign clothes in Macau: "It's so vulgar!" This evaluation is probably similar to the sigh that foreigners made when they saw Chinese people's braids. However, foreigners' surprise and foreigners' ridicule cannot shake the Chinese people's complacency in their hearts. Because this is a sign of civilization and a symbol of people who belong to the "heavenly kingdom".

However, some people have not forgotten. In January 1851, Hong Xiuquan and his brothers from the "God Worship Society" revolted in Jintian, Guangxi and founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom called on the Prime Minister to oppose the Qing Dynasty, and dug up the old account from more than 200 years ago. In the "Fengtian Quest for Hu Xi" issued in the name of the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing and the Western King Xiao Chaogui, he declared: "The husband of China has the image of China. Now Manchuria has ordered them to cut off their hair and drag a long tail behind them, which turns Chinese people into beasts. China has Chinese clothes and crowns, but now Manchuria wears another one, a monkey hat, which destroys the clothes of the previous generations. This makes China. People have forgotten their roots.” Therefore, the “ancient Central Plains system” must be restored, that is, the clothing and clothing of the Han people must be restored. The officers and soldiers of the Taiping Army grew their hair without shaving, restoring the old system of the Han people in the Central Plains having their hair tied on top. In the Taiping Army, the seniority of someone can be seen by looking at their hair. Whoever joins the uprising early will have long hair, and whoever joins the uprising late will have short hair. The length of hair is the best indicator of the sequence of joining the uprising. Growing their hair but not shaving it was the most prominent image characteristic of the Taiping Army that made them different from people at that time. Because of this, growing hair was often commonly known as "long hair" among the people at that time, while the Qing government officials falsely called it "hair bandit", "hair thief", "hair rebellion" and so on.

Since the Jintian Uprising, the Taiping Army has spread across Guangxi, Hunan, mop.com, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces in just over two years. The system of hair is carried out wherever it goes. In the view of the Taiping Army, growing hair to change clothes is not only a matter of clothing, but also a political expression of support for the Taiping Kingdom. Therefore, they enforce it equally harshly. If you want to save your head, you must grow your hair. Otherwise, he may be beheaded. The violent rise of the Taiping Army was like a bolt of lightning that pierced the land of China in the middle of the 19th century. However, it came suddenly and left quickly. More than ten years later, with the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the move of growing hair and becoming more subdued was Then it disappeared, and everything temporarily returned to its original state.

In the era of agricultural civilization, it was difficult for people to discover the disadvantages of braids. But since the Opium War, as the door of ancient China was opened with force, due to the origin of transportation between China and the West, and the comparison of Chinese and Western customs, some Chinese people who were the first to come into contact with foreigners or the earliest to touch modern industrial civilization began to Realize that wearing braids is a bad custom. However, no one dared to cut off the braids first. Starting from about the 1850s, the Chinese who settled overseas were the first to cut off their braids and change their suits. However, these were isolated cases and did not form a trend. In January 1898, the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese in Singapore organized a Chinese braid-cutting meeting and published a newspaper advocating collective braid-cutting. This move caused a great sensation and controversy among overseas Chinese communities.

Those in favor of "some say that braiding hair is unsightly; some say that braiding hair for a long time without washing it will make you feel stinky and unpleasant; some say that braiding hair can cause serious harm, such as the worker in the machine room being careless and being caught by the machine." , it is life-threatening; some people say that the hair is braided or pulled by the wheel, causing it to be tossed; some people say that the thing looks like the tail of an animal; some people say that it looks like an iron chain." Therefore, they advocate cutting off the braids. "Keep your hair full and keep it short." However, the opposition is also very powerful, especially some old people, who are worried and believe that once they cut off their braids, they will be regarded as aliens by the Qing mop.com. Then, when they return to their roots, their thoughts of returning to their country will be in vain; and once they are separated from the local people, When social disputes arise, it is difficult to be protected by Qing mop.com’s foreign agencies. As a result, the power of tradition once again prevailed, and the initiative to cut braids was shelved. It was not until two years later that the Chinese in Singapore finally put the initiative to cut braids into action. According to the report of "China and Foreign Daily" on June 19, 1900: "In one place in Singapore, 80 Chinese people have cut off their braids and changed into suits. There are still many others who have cut off their braids, and that is about now." The fashion of the times. Trends, the impact of industrial civilization, finally made braid cutting break through the old circle of the traditional "Yi-Xia distinction" and brought it to the attention of the world at that time.

Domestic public opinion at the time, such as "Yiwenlu" and "Shenbao" in Shanghai, "Guowen Daily" in Tianjin, and "Xiang Daily" in Hunan, etc. all reported on the Singaporean Chinese initiative to cut braids in 1898 One thing. However, except for the "Guo Wen Bao", which published the headline "News of Braid Cutting" to reveal that it was the first of its kind, and commented "deeply surprised" to express surprise, the other newspapers had few comments.

However, although there is no move to cut braids in China, it does not mean that there is no voice. In the summer of 1898, Kang Youwei, who advocated reform, boldly proposed to Emperor Guangxu that he should cut off his hair, change his clothes, and change his Yuan Dynasty. His reasons for advocating for braid cutting are roughly the same as those of the Chinese in Singapore, but he refers to braid cutting from a broader perspective and the height of a reforming and powerful country. He believes: "Although hair cutting began in hot India and was founded in martial Rome, Since Taibo was extremely virtuous and Duan was in charge of Wu, why not cut off his hair first?" Moreover, the reforms of Peter I of Russia and the Meiji Restoration of Japan "both cut off their hair and changed their service first." Therefore, he asked Emperor Guangxu to take the lead in politics and economics. , on the occasion of the comprehensive implementation of cultural changes, the order was given to cut hair and change clothes in order to "boost the spirit of the people."

Kang Youwei was the first person in China to formally petition the emperor to cut off his hair and braids.

In 1903, "mop.com Student Circle" published the article "The theory that cutting pigtails makes it easier to obey", explaining why cutting pigtails is conducive to "strengthening the army and breeding." In 1904, "Ta Kung Pao" published another article proposing that Chinese students studying abroad should "modify and remove their braids" in order to "facilitate communication with Westerners." Although the proponent was careful to limit the scope of braid cutting to students studying abroad, such discussions at the time were still suspected of "changing clothes and changing Yuan, and the revolution was full", and no more people dared to take this risk.

However, the bourgeois revolutionaries who claim to be "full of revolution" dare to take this risk. Although braids and full skirts have been used for nearly three hundred years, the memory of these three hundred years has not disappeared. Especially the braid, which was ridiculed as "pig tail", is still regarded by many as a shame for the Han people. Therefore, getting rid of this braid was a sign of breaking with the Qing court. When agitating against the Qing Dynasty and promoting revolution, this was the most powerful call to mobilize the people to support the revolution. As early as 1895, Sun Yat-sen, Chen Shaobai and others shaved their heads and changed clothes in Japan, which was beyond the reach of the Qing court, to demonstrate their revolutionary aspirations. During the "Anti-Russian Movement" that broke out in 1903, young students studying in Japan cut off their braids to show their break with the Qing court. The trend has become more and more intense, so much so that students studying in Japan are proud to cut off their braids. Jing Dingcheng (Mei Jiu), a member of Shanxi Tongmenghui, discussed a braid-cutting incident in 1905 which is quite representative. He said:

Among the students sent by Shanxi for the second time, there were many old gentlemen. Keeping your braids is like a life, and you would rather die than cut them off. One day, I held a wedding meeting with my fellow villagers and made a discussion. I said: "This hair is originally a troublesome thing. It is no longer appropriate to put it into a braid and put it on the back of the head. Now people pull it up." On the head, he made a covering position, a good head, let him occupy the top (insinuating the Qing court), suppressing the whole body and feeling unhappy (insinuating that the people are not free), now please make up your mind and happily, Cut him in two and cut him off (alluding to the revolution). Not only will he have a round head, but his whole body will be happy. What scruples do you have to let go of him!" Fellow revolutionaries naturally understood these words and welcomed him with applause.

Only the old gentleman was very dissatisfied and said to people behind his back: "He is good at everything, but he is a bit annoying when he likes to persuade people to cut their braids!" [3]

After the overseas students returned to China, they also treated the braid-cutters. The new trend was brought back to the country. In 1903, there were many young students in the Jiangnan area who cut off their braids. An article in Ta Kung Pao on October 16, 1903 described it this way: “Newly learned nationals and foreign students in Jiangnan often cut off their braids, thinking that Otherwise, there are formal flaws. "Especially with the implementation of the New Deal in the Qing Dynasty in the early 20th century and the introduction of various reform measures, the contradiction between braiding and some new rules has become more and more serious. In June 1905, the newly established Army implemented a uniform change system. After putting on the new military uniforms, many officers and soldiers cut off a bunch of braids to facilitate wearing their military caps. At the same time, Tianjin, which was the first to implement the mop.com system, also had mop.com One-third of the braid has been "cut off." In view of the prevalence of braid-cutting in academic and military circles, on May 6, 1907, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, it was strictly forbidden for students and soldiers to cut their braids. Among them, students "should report to the academic department immediately and be punished separately"; military personnel "should be found guilty of any misconduct." Anyone who obeys the customs, wears other clothes, or cuts off the braids of his hair will be denounced regardless of whether he is an official, monk, or soldier." [4] This is the first order from the central government of the Qing Dynasty that it is strictly forbidden to cut braids. As soon as this order is issued, the wind of cutting off the braids will kill him. However, once a new trend spreads, how can it be stopped by an administrative order? Moreover, every wise person at that time had realized that "China's braiding has a hundred harms but no benefit." Even within the Qing court, some Enlightened officials no longer insist on wearing braids, which is dictated by the current situation.

On October 3, 1910, the first Standing Committee of the Zizhengyuan, a product of the Qing Dynasty’s New Deal, opened. Shortly after the meeting, a congressman named Roger proposed a motion to "cut off braided hair and change clothes to bring harmony to the world." Then, Zhou Zhenlin, a congressman from Hunan who was a revolutionary X, also proposed a motion to "cut off braided hair and change clothes." When the Political Council passed the resolution, it was considered that "the purpose of both cases is to use Chinese braided clothing to hinder sports. The imperial court is reorganizing the army and practicing martial arts. Unless the braided hair is cut off and the uniforms are changed, it will not be enough to brighten the eyes and ears of the world and get rid of arrogant and extravagant habits." [ 5〕. In the end, it was passed with the majority of members in favor. As soon as the Zizhengyuan's resolution on cutting braids and changing clothes was passed, news came that regardless of whether the Qing court approved the case, the private practice of braid-cutting "surged rapidly and had an unstoppable trend." However, cutting braids at this time was still a free choice and there was no compulsory social pressure.

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out. All provinces responded one after another, and the revolutionary wave surged. Compared with the forced shaving of Han people in the early Qing Dynasty, the Revolution of 1911 also regarded hair as a symbol of political divisions. The independent provinces naturally regarded the braids that symbolized the submission of the Han people to the Manchu court as a revolutionary goal. Cutting off braids has become a way to get rid of the old and make a new one. sign. Xu Jincheng's "Unofficial History of the Republic of China" records: "Countless Han people happily cut off the braid that is a symbol of slavery. There are also superstitious ones who choose auspicious days in advance to pay homage to their ancestors, then solemnly cut off the braid and burn it. There are even more. They united many people to cut their hair on the same day, set off firecrackers, and held a public banquet to celebrate. "An article in "Yue Feng" magazine at that time said: "Not cutting your hair is not revolutionary, and it is not fashionable, and you can't enter the Yamen. Go talk, don’t go to school to study.” For a time, the wave of braid-cutting was like a raging storm, sweeping across the country.

However, the trend of braid cutting gradually expanded after the founding of the Republic of China. Several months after Shanghai became independent, resistance to braid cutting continued to occur. At that time, someone pointed out: "It has been more than two months since Shanghai was restored, but our compatriots from all walks of life are still hesitant and unwilling to change their minds. This is because the ugly customs of the Manchu thieves still exist, which damages the prestige of the Republic of China." [6] Shanghai was the most civilized city at that time. This is still the case in cities. As for some remote towns and rural areas, there are many people who resist cutting their braids. Those who are unwilling to cut their braids are not just the Manchu nobles, nor are they just those who are obsessed with the imperial system. A considerable number of ordinary people are motivated by a long-term laziness. I'm used to it, and I don't want to cut off that greasy braid. According to a report in Shenbao on February 19, 1912, in Xiangtan County, Hunan, "nine out of ten people have cut off their braids. It is said that one or two people who have not cut off their braids are just stubborn rural fools." The soldiers ordered them to be cut off." As a result, a quarrel broke out and the water bearer was injured and died. In view of this situation, in order to further eradicate the bad custom of pigtails, Sun Yat-sen, the interim mop.com president of Nanjing, ordered the whole country to cut pigtails after the reunification of the north and the south. The order said:

The Manchus stole the country and changed my crown and clothes by force. The system of braiding hair follows the custom of fishy smell.

At the beginning, noble scholars and benevolent people either refused to give in and calmly died for justice; ...Now that the Manchu court has been overthrown and the Republic of China has been successful, all my compatriots should be cleansed of their old stains and become citizens of the new country. I have found that many people in Dayi, the capital city, have their braids cut off, and in remote areas, there are still many people who have braids. The Ministry of Internal Affairs issued an order to the governors of all provinces and forwarded it to their respective localities to be informed. Anyone who has not removed their braids will have their braids cut off within twenty days of the order. Anyone who does not comply will be deemed to have violated the law. The local officials should not be allowed to hide in order to maintain national discipline. We also found that people in various places had their braids shaved and shaved their surroundings. They found that they were incompatible. They were ordered to ban it in order to get rid of the customs of the captives, and it was spectacular. 〔7〕

The wording of the temporary mop.com order is very strict, which has greatly promoted the removal of braids nationwide. However, there are still people who wear braids. Among them is a very famous figure named Zhang Xun, whose courtesy name is Shaoxuan. He was born in Fengxin, Jiangxi Province and joined the Qing army at the age of thirty. During the First Uprising in Wuchang, he was serving as the admiral of Jiangnan and stationed in Nanjing. After being defeated by the revolutionary coalition forces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he retreated to Xuzhou. This man was stubborn and stubborn. After the Qing emperor abdicated, he still expressed his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. He was forbidden to cut his braids in his department, so he was called "the braided commander". On June 14, 1917, Zhang Xun led thousands of "braided troops" into Beijing; on July 1, Zhang Xun supported Puyi's restoration. At this time, many braid-cutters in Beijing panicked. There was a ballad that said, "You can't get along without cutting your braids. If you cut your braids, you're afraid of Zhang Xun." For a time, fake braids became popular in Beijing.

Who would have known that real and fake braids were only popular for twelve days. On July 12, the "rebellion army" organized by Beiyang mop.com Prime Minister Duan Qirui invaded Beijing. Zhang Xun panicked like a bereaved dog and fled into the foreign embassy in Dongjiaominxiang. Xuantong Emperor Puyi once again announced his abdication. A farce End soon. Another ballad goes:

When Xuantong returned to the court, his bald head was about to be opened.

Xuan Tong ran away and his baldness was cured.

The Chinese people have been struggling with the history of braids for nearly three hundred years, and it has finally come to an end.