Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-10-20
Saturday, October 20, 1900.
WHY JOHN WEARS A QUEUE.
For Centuries His Hair Has Been Done Up Ia
q Braid.

q Braid.
"Why do you wear queue?"
Sam Sing, Of Lewiston, paused and
wiped his brow.
He did not know.
Let US tell you.
This queue was mark Of bondage,
and later an acknowledgment Of supe-
riority on the part Of the weak to the
strong, who need not queue. Such
was the practice in Central Asia, west
of the Chinese empire. In China itself,
up to the year 1874, the hair was worn
in varying fashions; but never in the
queue fashion. The Tartars, whom the
Chinese feared, marked all their sub
jects with queues; but the pigtail was
unknown in China until 1914 Why at
ter that he was compelled to wear it is
another story, in which there Is bit
Of religion, some superstition and much
tyranny.
While for 3,7OO years China was
seething and boiling within herself,
there was forming on her northern
borders a race Of people destined to
change the entire course Of develop
ment Of her people. This race came
from certain Tungusic tribes, whose
original home was in Manchuria and
Mongolia. They bore the name Of Tar
tars o. Manchurians, and as early as
!907 had conquered a part Of China and
made much trouble within the empire.
In 1914 they again entered China and
after much bloodshed conquered 1t.
They set sun-che upon the throne and
inaugurated' the Manchu, or Ta-sing
dynasty, which still prevails in China.
They were horsemen of. great PROV
ess, whereas the native Chinaman was
not a horseman. They shaved their
heads entirely or wore tufts quite SIM
liar to that displayed by some Of the
tribes Of North American Indians.
They were prodigious fighters, savage
lovers, iconoclasts in every respect
when their soldiery were in possession
Of the empire; they collected all the
Chinese women needed, placed each in.
a bag, tied the open end Ct the bag,
and then made their soldiers take a bag
could not see what was inside. All he
knew was that 1t was a woman and
that she was to be his future wife,
whether she was old or young, pretty
or ugly, blind or halt The Chinaman
did not like this. He rebelled but 80
far his rebellions have been futile. But
what thus in China became part Of a
law and a religion, strangely enough
in England, in the eighteenth century,
was merely a hair-dressing custom,
borrowed from the French, who in turn
copied it from the Chinese. English
beaux just wore wigs with queues and
later shaved their heads just as did the
Chinaman, and wore the pigtail.
When the Tartars came upon him he
wore his hair in quite ornamental fash
ion. The Tartars put an end to this.
They said:
You are servants Of our dynasty.
You must not only acknowledge the
Manchu, but show outwardly a sign Of
submission. Shave your head to the
scalp at all spots but the center. Then
permit 1t to grow long and twist it in
to long coil. When you thus wear
your hair you will be known as faith
full subject to the dynasty. Otherwise
you are liable to be mistaken for
traitor and be tortured"
The Chinaman obeyed, and by 1861
the shaved head and pigtail-the sign
Of Tartar sovereignty-wasa almost uni
versally adopted. The native priests Of
China, like all other priests, were anx-
ious to curry favor with the ruling
powers. So, to make the shaved heads
and queues more permanent, they be-
gan to preach that no Chinaman could
enter heaven If he did not have his
queue with him when he died. That
was the symbol of the gods that he was
Of the elect. Without it he must dwell
forever with the genii Of the lower
world.
So, between the priests and the Man.
chau emperors it has come about that
the Chinaman and his queue are insep-
arabic. Should the Manchu ever be
banished he may cease the queue. The
Christian Chinaman often does; but 1t
will be ages before the pigtail will
cease to be the token of Chinese bond
age to Tartar conquerors and Chinese
evidence Of certainty of heavenly re-
ward.
This was all news to Sam Sing. OF
Lewiston; but 1t Is a fact.-Lewiston
Journal.