The Qing Braid Rule Lasted 267 Years and Was Never Explained

The Qing · Big Questions. In the summer of 1645 the Qing court ordered every adult man to shave the front of his head within ten days, or be treated as a rebel. A second order in 1912 gave twenty days to cut the braid off, and in the 267 years between, no order ever said what the braid meant. Chapters 0:00 The Parcel Posted Home 1:58 Two Orders, and the Years Between Them 3:49 What It Cost to Keep 6:31 The Court Changes Its Own Mind 9:39 The Year Everyone Was Afraid of Losing It 12:42 Six Years and a Foot of Hair 15:12 Where the Line Ran 18:01 A Garden House in Kuala Lumpur 21:26 The Word from Outside 24:51 The State Tries to Answer 29:00 Twenty Days 31:51 Who Decided 33:37 Aftermath: The Parcel Sources Wu Lien-teh, Plague Fighter: The Autobiography of a Modern Chinese Physician (1959) Qing shilu 清实录, Shunzhi, Kangxi and Qianlong reigns Da Qing Xuantong zhengji 大清宣统政纪 Qingshi gao 清史稿 Zeng Guofan 曾国藩, Zeng Wenzheng gong zougao 曾文正公奏稿 The Chinese Repository, vol. XIX (Canton, 1850) Edward J. M. Rhoads, Manchus & Han (2000) Philip A. Kuhn, Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768 (1990) James A. Millward, Beyond the Pass (1998) Evelyn S. Rawski, The Last Emperors (1998) The Qing · Big Questions · Ink and Cinnabar. Where the records disagree, we lay out every version. #history #ChineseHistory #QingDynasty