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The Manchu pigtail was the most controversial haircut in Chinese history
In 1911, when the Qing dynasty crumbled, Han Chinese everywhere enjoyed a haircut. 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.
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 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 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.”
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