After the Manchu Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it once promulgated the slogan of keeping the head and hair, hoping to take back the Han people, but many Han people opposed it. The final result is that the Taoist priest belongs to the category of disobedience. In order to suppress the Han people and consolidate the class rule of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu began to force the Han people to shave their hair and change clothes. As the saying goes: parents are not afraid of physical injury, and filial piety begins. Since ancient times, the Han people have attached great importance to clothes and costumes. Shaving their heads and changing clothes is tantamount to cutting off the roots of culture, which makes every bloody person particularly intolerable. Taoism did not change the costumes of Han people, on the one hand, because of the influence of folk customs at that time, on the other hand, because the rulers managed Taoism more broadly. Letting these religions retain their original characteristics is actually a means for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty to stabilize their ruling position.
However, in these old photos, there is a group of people who are very special. They were Taoist priests in the Qing Dynasty. These Taoist priests don't wear full-length clothes and have no braids on their heads. You should know that the "haircut order" at that time was very strict, and failure to comply would be eliminated.
But why are these Taoist priests who haven't changed their clothes and hair accessories not affected at all? Why did the Qing Dynasty allow these Taoist priests to keep their clothes and hair accessories? Taoism did not change the costumes of Han people, on the one hand, because of the influence of folk customs at that time, on the other hand, because the rulers managed Taoism more broadly. Letting these religions retain their original characteristics is actually a means for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty to stabilize their ruling position.