![]() ![]() It would appear that a Chinese man was not able to return to China without having the queue. In a reversal of events, during the 19th century there are various reports of (Western) people cutting off the queues of Chinese men in America and elsewhere as a bit of fun, without realising the political importance of the pigtail. Many men were executed for not wearing their hair in the official style. Not wearing this form of Manchu hairstyle was seen as a form of resistance and an insult to the Manchu rulers. In 1644 the Manchu Qing dynasty became the ruling house of the country, and all Chinese boys and men, including Han Chinese, were expected to shave the front and the top of their heads and wear the rest of their hair in a single, long queue. The wearing of a queue was specifically associated with the Manchu people from the northeast of China. Open domain photograph.The pigtail, more properly known as a queue (also written cue), was a feature of Chinese dress with many deep and at times violent associations. Another feature is the boy’s hair that is portrayed as a single long pigtail down his back.Ĭap with red knot on top, China, early 20th century (TRC 2004.0087).Įlderly Chinese American man with queue and flat cap. ![]() It is clear that the artist who had drawn the image had some knowledge of Han Chinese dress. The boy is wearing a cap, a cloud collar, a short jacket decorated around the sleeves and hem, dark trousers and soft shoes. In this blog I want to have a look at one particular sack with the image of a Chinese boy.Ĭut-out printed toy in the form of a Chinese toy, USA, 1935 (TRC 2019.2907). The Scots wearing a kilt, the Dutch wearing clogs, etc. In a previous blog ( Dusty the Cowboy, and other clichés), I briefly looked at a series of Sea Island Sugar sacks from the 1930’s and the cliché clothing of the dolls portrayed on the sacks. ![]()
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