When did men start to wear long braids in the history of China?

In the history of China, men began to wear long braids in the Qing Dynasty.

1644, the Qing army entered the customs after defeating Li Zicheng. After entering the customs, it issued an order to let the men in the city shave their heads and start braiding, also known as shaving their heads and changing clothes.

Shaving one's hair and changing clothes refers to the policy that the rulers of the Qing Dynasty forcibly ordered the Han nationality and other minority men under their rule to change their hair styles in the previous Ming Dynasty into satisfactory long braids and wear Manchu clothes.

Extended data:

In ancient times, the Han people attached great importance to hairstyles and clothes. As an adult, Han people are not allowed to shave their hair at will except for necessary trimming. Men and women put their hair in a bun and wear it on their heads.

The traditional clothing form of Han nationality has the characteristics of horizontal collar, straight lapel, buckle, double-breasted and lace, and the traditional clothing of Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Ryukyu also has some of these characteristics.

Shunzhi was the first emperor to enter the customs in Qing Dynasty. At that time, the requirements for braids were the clearest and strictest. The braid style of that period had a special name: suncus murinus tail.

The braid is long and thin, so it should be able to pass through the copper hole, so it is called that. In short, it is to leave a pinch of hair on your forehead and then comb it in a pigtail.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, China people who endured rat tails for more than 100 years made some improvements to their braids. The hair left on the top of their heads was palm-sized and the braids were much thicker. At that time, a large number of foreigners came to China, and this hairstyle was affectionately called pigtail, which even became the main impression of foreigners on men in China.

Baidu encyclopedia-shave and change clothes