What does China's traditional braid mean?

Braiding is a traditional custom of the Han nationality. In the old days, the Han nationality had the custom of keeping fetal hair. After giving birth to a boy, fetal hair has been braided, commonly known as "hundred-year-old braid" and "eighty-year-old braid", which means longevity. It means "pigtails" are tied up and can't be taken away, wishing children a safe growth.

On the boy's twelfth birthday, parents will post invitations and invite relatives and friends to hold "adult ceremony" (also called adult ceremony) for their children. Generally, my uncle will cut off the braid, or the representative of the elders at home will cut off the braid.

Extended data

In fact, it existed as early as the Zhou Dynasty. "The Book of Rites": At the end of March, choose a day to cut your hair as a beard, and men and women will detain it, otherwise men will be left and women will be right. According to Zheng Xuan's annotation, the aristocratic babies of the Zhou Dynasty had their heads shaved at other times three months after their birth. Be careful not to touch a hair when shaving. Boys leave a piece on each side of the chimney, which is called a corner. Leave a piece among the girls, called Fett.

As Confucius said, defending the hair on the head is not only an aesthetic demand, but also an ethical significance after the preaching that "parents dare not damage the body". The Qing government forced pigtails, and men's pigtails became a political issue in history. Therefore, the history of men's braids, from aesthetics to ethics, is ultimately politicized, and braids have also completed historical changes and become the product of typical images and humanistic categories in historical culture.