8/24/2023 0 Comments 18th century military queue hair![]() It might be thought that, if the former were the case, it would have been the custom of the Kin rulers but no record can be found of any such practice among the annals of that dynasty. They could not tell whether shaving the head was the national custom of the Manchus, or whether Noorhachu only conceived this happy idea of distinguishing those who surrendered to his power among the countless millions of the long-haired people of China. The badge of conquest has changed to a mark of national pride but it is strange to find that the Chinese themselves and the most patient inquirers among sinologues are unable to say what was the origin of the pig-tail. This is the first historical reference to a practice that is now universal throughout China, and that has become what may be called a national characteristic. Those of the townspeople who wished to save their lives had to shave their heads in token of subjection. The garrison was massacred to a man, Yuen Yingtai, brave, if incapable, committed suicide. The Manchus gave it no time to recover the confidence it had lost, and, by either treachery within the walls or skilful engineering, making a road across the moat, gained an entrance into the city. He was defeated, losing some of his best soldiers, and compelled to shut himself up in the town with a disheartened garrison. That officer, unwarned by the past, and regardless of the experience of so many of his predecessors, weakened himself and invited defeat by attempting to oppose the Manchus in the open. The defence of this important town was entrusted to Yuen Yingtai, the Court favourite and incompetent successor of Tingbi. In 1621 the Chinese sent several armies to recover Moukden but they met with no success, and the Manchu commander Noorhachu made it the base of his plan of attack on Leaouyang, the capital of the province.
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