I thought I knew but I didn't, so many things, so many times; however, so little time, too much to do, that I can't chase my curiosity. I got a joke in coffee room today. Mike talked about Jet Li movies and asked about why and when Chinese liked pigtail?
I couldn't say anthing as i didn't know the answer to his question. Drinking coffee now, thank God for this moment, I surfed Google to find it out as I felt that, so embarrassing I don't know my own culture.
Reading it, I realized that Chinese has gone through the mill: Paid their dues, withstood, deserving respect from other civilization. Our Chinese should hold head hight, chest up, shoulders back, tomy tucked in, stride, being proud of our own history. All in all, Chinese gotta respect ourselves before we demand others' respect - the key is pride comes from within.
Chinese braided pigtails or Chinese Queues, used to "show a sign of dignity and manhood - For the Chinese, to pull on another's pigtails was a great insult."
That's what 说起辜鸿铭，留给国人印象最深的，大概要算那条拖在他脑后的长辫子了。这在北京，称得上出土文物式的一景。
The pigtail was a mark of political enslavement to the Manchu dynasty, and westerners made fun of the Chinese hair style. The pigtail was abolished in China in 1911 when the Manchu dynasty was overthrown in favor of the Republic. Cutting off a pigtail was a terrible insult to the Chinese as they believed it would hurt them spiritually. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpigtail.html
I also found this reference:
"Originally it was a sign of submision demanded by the first Manchu Emperor only one year after seizing the throne in 1645. Chinese men shaved the front of their head, then combed the back hair into braids. They used not only their own natural hair, but also horsehair or black silk. The Chinese came to see their braided pigtails a sign of dignity and manhood. For the Chinese, to pull on another's pigtails was a great insult."
Chinese boys and men until the Revolution were famous for wearing plaited pigtails. This was a fashion introduced by the Manchus in the 17th century. Originally it was a sign of submission demanded by the first Manchu Emperor only one year after seizing the throne in 1645. Chinese men shaved the front of their head, then combed the back hair into braids. They used not only their own natural hair, but also horsehair or black silk. The Chinese came to see their braided pigtails a sign of dignity and manhood. For the Chinese, to pull on another's pigtails was a great insult. The pigtails were abolished in 1911.
That is where "jumping the queue" originated, the Han Chinese detested the Manchu rule, so in 1911 when they all cut off their pigtails they jumped on them to show their displeasure.
