Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1904-02-16
rHE cHINAMAE.s CUE.
Originated with the Tartar Conquest
as Sign of Loyalty.

] him without his head. 1t is his
7 most precious possession, even
more than his life, and the only
time he willingly parts with it is
when he renounces the religion Of
his forefathers Even then he
i does not always part with his cue,
great many Christianized China
men still clinging to their heather
appendage, says an exchange.
The ordinary Chinaman does
not know why he wears his cue,
except that he has been taught TO
believe that he should wear it. He
probably bOthers his head very
little about the origin of the Gus.
tom, although the enc sometimes
bOthers him "A great deal, as it re-
quires Oiling and braiding almost
daily. But the cue must have had
an origin somewhere and some
how, and DR.. Bedloe, United
States consul at Annoy, took some
pains to discover il.
More than - centuries ago
or, to be exact, in GOA A. D.--a
Chinese priest of great learning
wrote:
"In Diambuqwipa the clothing
of the inhabitants varies to Il large
extent, and the custom of shaving
off the hair and beard exists in
some nations, whilcelsewhere hair
is worn divided into two pendent
tails. There are also countries
where all the hair is shaved off eX-
ccpt that at the crown, which is
tied into one cue
This author also mentions tina
some nations pluck out the hair
entirely, while others cut il short.
Some people, says, let the hair
flow loose down ON the shoulders,
white others prefer to plat il. In
some instances the front hair is
plated and the back hair left
loose.
1t is difficult to locate with ex-
actnesS the places he names: for,
II centuries ago, the Asiatic peo-
pies were more migratory than 1t
present, and named the lands
they lived in from themselves. no
matter how often they changed
their residence.
1t is easy to determine that the |
people who shaved their head and |
beard were the Buddhist monks !
and nuns in India, CeylOn, Siam
and China; that the people with !
two tails were the Japanese, Co
reans, and some of the tribes we
now call the "Independent Tar
tars,' and that the race which |
shaved all but the crown. and tied |
the hair at that spot into one cue,
were the ManchuTartars, or no
mad jewellers of Manchuria.
At that time the Chinese wore
their hair as it pleased them, and
the custom of shaving the head |
was iuaugurated by military com
pulsiOn.
All China was conquered by the
Tartars, and, of course. they must
show their authority.
IF You refuse to shave accord
ing to our Tartar CUSTOM" they
said. you must die; for refusal
viii constitute you a rebel"
Wisely enough, the conquered
Cinnamon shaved as directed, and
they have kept it up ever since.
But now the Chinaman wears
the cue from choice, partly from
religious motives, partly from
cleanliness, but more particularly
because il is a time hOnored Gus
tom.
The first shaving of the head Of
a Chinese boy for cue is an i'm
pOrtant event in a Celestial house.
hold.
The child, washed, perfumed
and beautifully dressed, is pre-
scented by the father TO all pres
ent, who, in return, make some
present in money to the youthful
heir. The father, grandfather or
a priest then employs the razor,
and the youngster is well started
for both this world and the next.
In most cases the shaving is pre-
eeded by prayer.
Fatal Kansas City Fire,
Kansas City Mo-, Feb. lin a
"a TODD II, IL