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This page is about my hair (that of Andrew Que), but it happens many people each month find there way to this page looking for information about the Chinese Queue. Since I feel it's more important to pass on useful knowledge than trivial facts about myself, I've posted what information I can find about the queue hairstyle. I've taken all this information from various sources and I hope that it is accurate. If you can find discrepancies or could offer more information (especially if you can speak/read Chinese), please let me know. (see Contact page)
The Chinese Queue:
The queue style of hair involves the front of the head shaved, while the back grew long and plaited (braided). The plait may also contain horsehair, black silk (3) and delicately designed ornaments added to the ends (2). The queue originates from the Manchu people, who conquered China starting Qing (or Ch'ing; pronounced 'ching') Dynasty (1644-1911). Originally, the Chinese men were forced to adopt the queue as a sign of submission and loyalty to the Qing dynasty. Despite these roots, the hairstyle stayed popular until early in Republic of China (1912-1928).
The Chinese's word for the queue is "bianzi"
(4), which means "hair tail" or "pigtail" (To the best of my knowledge-- it's proved very difficult to confirm this). The word queue is French and literally means "tail". It seems straight forward enough then how the word queue became used to describe the hairstyle.
The origins of the hairstyle itself-- the when and why, are not all that clear.
"The [Manchu] ethnic group has a history of 2,000 years, and in ancient times, Manchu men generally wore a single braid behind the head, shaving the hair at the front. The hairstyle prevented blockage of vision and enabled the braid to be coiled as a support for resting the head, particularly appropriate for Manchu men, who devoted most of their time hunting on the saddles of horses in mountain forests."(2)
I have read the braid of hair may represented a horse's tail. The horse would be a symbol-- allowing the Manchu the speed to conquer their enemy. The shaved portion of the head also allows one to keep cool. So perhaps the roots are both symbolic as well as practical methods of wearing one's hair.
I hope that was informative. At the bottom of the page, I've linked some of my references, if you are interested in reading further about the Chinese queue, the Manchu people and/or the Qing Dynasty.
The remainder of this page will focus on my hairstyle, which shares similarities with the Chinese queue....
My Hair:
Here's an other question I get a lot... "What the heck happened
to your hair?"
Nothing happened to it-- I have lots of hair. People are probably
wondering why my hair is styled as it is (or just trying to be rude). So, here's everything you ever wanted to know.
Andrew Que, July 2, 2003 |
My hair braided, August 2, 2003
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August 2, 2003 |
My hair braided, September 1, 2005 |
Background:
The front half of my head is kept clean shaven, and
the back is allowed to grow out long in a style I conceived myself.
I thought the style up in the winter of 1996 and cut my hair like that summer. Originally, my 'tail' was a small
patch in the very back of my head I allowed to grow out. However,
it was too small and didn't provide the 'tail' I was looking for.
So in June of 2001, I began to allow the entire back side of my head to
grow out. The defining boundary is that my hair should not be visible
from the front when pulled back. It was an other year before I started
to see the results I was looking for-- when my hair started getting long.
Presently, when pulled back into a tail, my hair measures a tail about
12" long.
My hair style is quite simmiler to a style known as a
"queue" worn by the Chinese people at the time of the
Qing Dynasty. Presently, however, my hair is too short to be a Chinese
queue, and I typically do not where it braided.
But why?
Why do I cut my hair like this? Because
I like it :). It's fairly unique in that most people (or most Americans--
hard to speak for the rest of the world) don't do this. I thought
this hair style up in the winter of 1996, and that summer, implemented my
idea. Latter I learned of the Chinese hair style similar to that which
I have mine.
It's a tinny protest. My hair is a non-offencive
way to display to the world that something different exists. That
I am different. It is my hope that people will see past differences
in each-- we are all unique and our differences don't make us any better
or worse, just different. So, for those who won't approach me because
of my strange hair, it probably for the best anyway. And those who
are curious and do talk to me, those are the people who I find interesting.
I can say I have long hair and no hair at the same time.
Upkeep:
My hair does actually require a lot of upkeep.
I have to shave it daily. I use to use an electric razor and switched
to disposable razors about a year ago. I think I'm going to go back
to electric. The only problem is, the blades go dull very fast with
electric razors because of the amount of thick hair I have to cut on a daily
bassis.
Now that my hair is really started to get long,
it requires a good deal grooming. I keep it pulled back when
I sleep to avoid getting it tangled. I've done some research
about keeping my hair healthy-- trying different. shampoos and washing
patterns. Most of my research has been talking to women who
have been a great resource when it comes to hair. It's something
you don't appreciate until you have concerns and it was really weird
the first time I found myself in a conversation about hair care with
someone. Prior to discovering my hair was really starting to
grow out, I never care much about it, how it looked or how to keep
it up. Then about a 10 months ago (this was written May of 2003),
I realized my hair was starting to look like I wanted it.
Don't you get made fun of?
Sure. But I'm some strange mix
of computer-geek and punk rocker. Turning heads is what I
do-- and I do it on purpose. I don't expect to look different
and not get comments. Some people don't like things that are
different, or see putting down something different as a way to show
some sort of superiority. But these people just don't understand.
The right to be different is one of our freedoms as people-- to
define ourselves how we want. Those that forget this often
are very shallow and this kind of thinking leads to things such
as bigotry, racism and predigests. I feel bad for people who
live closed lives-- they miss out on the world as a whole and forget
we are just one generation of thousands of people that are and will
come to be. I guess I think you should embrace it, what and
who we are-- our history as people, as animals, as existence in
the universe. We're so small in the universe, why pick at
something like someone's haircut?
Is it worth all the work?
Yes! To me it is. I love my hair
the way it is and I have a small amount of pride in it. My hair
style is something I created with an image in my head, and now is a reality.
It has taken me awhile, but I am pleased with the results.
Refrences and further reading:
(1) Manchu Dress and Personal Adornments
http://www.hometown.net.cn/mztj/xs/mz/mn1(e).htm (has since disapeared)
(2) Headwear of the Manchu Ethnic Group
http://www.china-pictorial.com/chpic/htdocs/English/content/200204/6-2.htm
THE "NATIONALITY" PROBLEM IN MANCHU CHINA
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jkl/manchunationality.html (has since
disapeared)
(3) Boys' Hair Styles: Pig Tails
http://histclo.hispeed.com/style/head/hair/hair-pig.html
(4) Qing Dynasty
(Manchu; 1644-1911)
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Ming-Qing/qing.htm (has since
disapeared, see alternitive below)
Qing Dynasty (wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_Dynasty
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