The hair revolution that shocked the world

 

The hair revolution that shocked the world

 

Agudengba and Azhuo chatted about "shaving their hair and changing clothes" from time to time. In the early days of Huang Taiji's succession to the throne, Huang Taiji issued an order to change his hair and clothes, forcing Han people to shave their heads.

Agudenba said:

With the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644, the ruling class began to forcibly promote Manchu hair braiding throughout the country. The Han people are well aware of Confucius' teaching that "the hair and skin of the body are given by parents and do not dare to be damaged." They regard shaving as humiliation and punishment, so they firmly resist it. Emperor Shunzhi then issued a strict order to shave his hair, and the slogan "Leave your head without leaving your hair, leave your hair without leaving your head" has been popular ever since.

At that time, local governments sent barbers and executioners to the streets to forcibly shave people's hair. Those who disobeyed were beheaded on the spot and their heads were hung on the shaving pick for public display. According to historical records, in order to force the people of Jiangyin to obey, the Qing army massacred 170,000 people after 81 days of siege. The dispute over "hair shaving" and "hair growth" triggered by the change of Manchu and Han regimes ended with the military victory of the Qing Dynasty and Han men changing their hair into braids, but the conflicts caused by hairstyles are far from over. . Many civil uprisings used growing hair as a political symbol of resistance to Qing rule.

In fact, not all Han people followed the "shaving their hair and changing clothes" order during the Kangxi period. Zheng Chenggong negotiated with the Qing Dynasty many times, and the issue of head shaving was always one of the conditions that both Zheng and the Manchus were concerned about. During the San Francisco Rebellion, Wu Sangui also raised troops to fight against the "hair-shaving order".

During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom even issued a "hair growth order" requiring men to resume the ancient custom of binding their hair without braids. Anyone who violated this rule would be "killed without mercy."

The Taiping Army grew their hair and used it as a flag to oppose the Manchu dynasty. In the anti-"Qing demon" anti-"Qing demon" "Fengtian denounces Hu Xiangbu Siquan Edict", it is claimed that the Qing government has committed various brutal crimes against the Han people, and includes a paragraph: "Husband, China has the image of China. Today, all Manchuria are ordered to shave their heads and drag them for a long time." If the tail is at the back, it will turn the Chinese people into dogs." It means that shaving the hair will turn the Han people into dogs. The Qing Dynasty called the Taiping Army "Fa Ni" and "Long Mao".

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom explicitly prohibited shaving because in the traditional Chinese concept, parents do not dare to damage the body, hair, and skin. The "Book of Filial Piety" believes that not damaging the body, hair, and skin is the "beginning of filial piety."

When the Qing army issued the order to surrender, the people who had surrendered took up arms again and fought to protect their hair. From all these, we can see the importance of hair to the ancients. For the sake of hair, they would even give up their lives. Compared to the country and the emperor, hair seems to be more important to them. Therefore, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom only prohibited shaving heads and did not require cutting off braids. This is why the Taiping Army was framed as "long-haired thieves" by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty. On the contrary, many contemporary written records confirm that the Taiping Army still retained their braids, but in order to distinguish them from the Qing people who had their braids dragged behind their heads, the Taiping Army made changes. "Record of Refuge" records that the Taiping soldiers "still had their hair braided, and the braided threads were very large, weighing one or two kilograms, for both big and small thieves. Some had red or green threads, and the braids were coiled around the hairline, or knotted It is in the shape of a spiral, which is called the Victory Knot. Even if it is wearing a hat, it is also the same when wearing a robe."

Although the Taiping Army never shaved the front of their heads, they did not cancel the braids and still braided their hair. However, they did not only braid the back hair. Even the front hair was also left long and braided with a lot of silk threads. The Taiping Army also Different statuses are distinguished according to the color of the decorative silk threads on the hair, and they are divided according to the size of the official position: those with generals and above use colorful velvet, those below generals use red and green silk ropes, those without positions wear short hair with red braid, and those with long hair longer than a foot wear Silver hairpin. Therefore, the braids are very large and coiled around the head. Another method commonly used by them is to wrap their heads with yellow silk or blue cloth scarves, including their braids and forehead, and decorate their foreheads with real or fake beads.

The Taiping Army banned hair shaving, and the Qing Dynasty strictly ordered hair cutting, which caused hardship to the people in the war zone. The war between the Taiping Army and the Qing Army is often a tug-of-war between the two sides. Today the Taiping Army occupies this place, and in two days it may be captured by the Qing Army, and in a few days it may be captured by the Taiping Army again. When the Qing army came, if they didn't shave their heads, they would be suspected of being "collaborating with bandits." When they shaved their heads, the Taiping troops came back and found that their heads had already been shaved and had "turned into demons." , kill all those who have their heads shaved."

After the failure of the Taiping Rebellion, Chinese men continued to wear braids on their heads. No matter who the ruler is, whether he has long hair or long hair, in the end it is the ordinary people who suffer.

During the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese men's braids and women's foot binding were regarded as symbols of backwardness and weakness.

Before the Qing Dynasty, overseas Chinese and foreign students were the first to cut their braids. Many overseas students tie their braids up or simply cut them off. In addition, people gradually feel that braids bring a lot of inconvenience to production and life. Kang Youwei, who advocated reform, also suggested cutting his braids to Emperor Guangxu. When overseas students returned to China, they brought the custom of cutting pigtails back to the country, which was mainly popular among recruits and students. However, this practice was still suspected of "changing clothes and changing the Yuan Dynasty, filling the revolutionary ranks" at the time, and no more Han people dared to take the risk. this risk. Some international students even have to wear fake braids after returning home. As a result, "fake foreign devil" became a new term in Chinese, adding a bitter taste to Chinese culture.

During the reign of the Empress Dowager Cixi, at the insistence of conservative forces, a strict order was issued for the first time on May 6, 1907 to prohibit the cutting of braids. With the approval of the Ministry of Education, it was strictly prohibited for students and soldiers to cut their braids. Students among them "should be found out and will be consulted immediately." "If a soldier does not comply with the regulations, wears other clothes, or cuts off his braids, he will be dismissed immediately, regardless of whether he is an official or a soldier." But the situation changed. At this time, the Qing government was no longer able to control people's hairstyles as it did in the early Qing Dynasty. Even within the Qing government, there was a force in favor of cutting braids.

Agudemba continued:

The Revolution of 1911, which started with the "head", left China with a bloody revolutionary history about "shaving" and "growing" hair.

In 1911, the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Qing Dynasty. In 1912, Emperor Xuantong abdicated and the Qing laws were abolished. Most Chinese people cut off their braids. Only a few people still insisted on keeping their braids, such as the royalist Zhang Xun who led the braid army and the scholar Gu Hongming, etc. to express their respect for the Qing Dynasty. of allegiance. There are also some people who are unwilling to cut their braids because they are afraid that they will be beheaded by the officials.

Chinese people can now freely choose their hairstyle. But in the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, hairstyle problems could even lead to death. As the saying goes: The origin of braids is due to Manchuria entering the Central Plains; the elimination of braids is also due to Manchuria.

After the Wuchang Uprising, the Hubei military government immediately declared braided hair to be one of the crimes of the Qing Dynasty, and issued an official document prohibiting the public from wearing braided hair. The Revolution of 1911 enabled the full development of braid cutting.

At the end of 1911, just before the end of the rule that lasted for more than 200 years, the Qing government issued a decree allowing people to cut their braids freely. The fall of the Qing Dynasty did not lead to the establishment of a new dynasty, but the birth of the Republic of China. The end of braids did not make Chinese people tie their hair on top again, but the popularity of Western-style short hair. The braid-cutting movement became an important step in China's modernization process.

Agudenba said with a smile:

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's hair revolution movement from "banning perms" to "opening up" once again shocked the world. The Cultural Revolution that began in 1966 brought China's nascent hairdressing industry to a standstill. Within ten years, perms and shawls were banned, and hairdressing tools were destroyed or confiscated, rendering many skilled hairdressers useless. On the contrary, the Red Guards and rebels wearing red armbands became revolutionary barbers. They invented new hairstyles such as the "yin and yang hair". The targets of forced head shaving were the overthrown capitalists in power and the landlords, rich, and Rebellion, bad, right elements.

It wasn't until 1977 that Chinese women could "secretly" perm their hair. At that time, a perm required a letter of introduction from the employer, and it was not possible to do big waves. I could only perm it a little and tie it up.

In 1978, some famous hairdressing salons in Beijing introduced several new electric ironing machines, which not only attracted a large number of customers, but also attracted foreign reporters. After the reform and opening up, news of China's resumption of perms spread around the world.

In the early 1980s, China's hairdressing industry fully resumed services such as perms. With the emergence of a large number of individual hair salons, novel hairstyles from Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan are introduced to mainland China and are loved by young people. Chinese people are truly free to choose the hairstyle they like. If you wear any foreign hairstyle, you will not be accused of being a traitor.

Hair style is not only a hairstyle custom, but also involves major issues of political change and social change. Although hairstyle belongs to individuals, it is also related to political systems, cultural traditions, values and social fashions.

Chinese men began to accept haircuts on a large scale in 1912. This braid cutting movement can be called a turning point in the history of Chinese men's hair styles. Otherwise, there would be no short haircuts for men.

In the Republic of China, men's hairstyles were already very diverse, mainly short hair. At first, they followed the British-style route, with shorter hairstyles that were slightly more rigorous and full of gentlemanly style. Later, influenced by students who returned to the United States, men in the Republic of China gradually became keen on learning American hairstyles, which were bolder and more casual than the previous British hairstyles. The "Lu Xun haircut" is a Japanese hairstyle that came from across the ocean. This kind of short haircut has an indescribable charm on Mr. Lu Xun. Many male students imitate this "Lu Xun haircut" for haircuts. "Centre-parted" hairstyle. At that time, this hairstyle was usually worn by young men, such as young professors. With intellectual charm. During the Republic of China, generally more sophisticated men would put a little hair oil on their hair when they styled their hair, which is equivalent to the hair oil we use now!

What is the most popular hairstyle right now? Oily head! Sweeping back hair! Center parting! Curly hair! Or short haircut!

The history of Chinese people's hair shaving has witnessed the bloody facts. It is not just a personal hair style choice, but a true record of a social development trajectory.

Agudemba sang a "Hair Revolution Song":

 

There is an old saying in China: start from scratch;

There was a law in the Qing Dynasty: shave your head.

 

In order to consolidate the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu Qing Dynasty

Forcing Han people to shave their heads makes them become obedient people.

The Han nation lost its land and shed tears.

From then on, Han people could no longer grow their hair.

 

Zheng Chenggong negotiated many times with the Qing Dynasty,

The issue of head shaving is always one of the focal points.

After Wu Sangui came to the Qing Dynasty, he tied up his hair in long braids.

During the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, he raised his troops again.

 

In order to resist the Qing Dynasty's hair-cutting and easy-to-submit order,

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom issued an order to grow hair.

Men are strictly required to tie their hair without braids.

Those who dare to disobey the ancestral precepts of the Han people will be killed without mercy.

 

The Taiping Army wore their hair as an anti-Qing flag.

When the Han people cut off their hair and left it in braids, they turned into dogs.

The Qing emperor was so angry that he jumped on his feet.

He angrily scolded the Taiping Army as being rebellious and hairy.

 

The Taiping Rebellion was defeated like a mountain.

Han people continue to wear long braids on their heads.

The Qing Dynasty was overthrown, but pigtails remained unchanged.

The Han people did not tie their hair on top again;

It’s just that Western-style short hair became popular,

The braid cutting movement became the hair revolution.

 

Students who have gone abroad wear fake braids when they return home.

The rich and powerful rebels forced the male and female heads to be shaved.

For perms, a letter of introduction from the employer must be presented.

China’s hair revolution is bloody and absurd.

 

There is a belief in China: the truth is clear;

There is another wish: to be promoted and make a fortune.