According to historical records, when the Qing army entered the customs, it forced the Han people to shave their hair and keep their braids. However, because they were worried about the country and the people, the Han people agreed not to shave their heads in the first month to show that they would not forget their old monarch and become "homesick." After a long time, "thinking about the past and thinking about the future" became the homonym of "dead uncle", and finally became the folk taboo of "don't shave your head in the first month, shave your head and die uncle"

From this point of view, "it is not appropriate to have a haircut in the first month" is a semi-traditional concept, which is generally superstition.

In addition, it is reasonable not to have a haircut in the first month from the perspective of TCM health preservation. "Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic Su Wen" contains: Spring is March, which means that heaven and earth are born and everything is glorious. In other words, spring is the season when everything germinates and brings forth the new, and it should not stop the growth of new things. Corresponding to hair, it is to let it hang freely and let it grow freely, but it can't be cut off, which is against the spirit of spring.

Old people often say: "The fifteenth day of the first month is the first day of a year or a month, symbolizing a new beginning of things." As the saying goes, "good luck is at the head." So washing your hair on the fifteenth day of the first day is to wash away your good luck.

Extended information: not shaving your head in the first month refers to the custom of "not shaving your head in the first month, shaving your uncle to death" circulating in most parts of China; This custom originated around 1644, when the Qing court issued a haircut order.

My uncle died in the first month, which is a misinformation. Not having a haircut means "thinking about the past and thinking about the future", which is a custom that has been passed down since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. At that time, the Qing dynasty ordered all citizens to have their hair cut. Some people don't have their hair cut in the first month to show their nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty. However, it was impossible to openly confront the Qing government, so there was a saying that "my uncle died in the first month", which has been passed down to this day.

Haircut legend

Legend 1

The second volume of Ye Xianzhi published in the 24th edition of the Republic of China, Customs, reveals the answer to the custom: "I heard that the imperial edict of shaving hair before the Qing Dynasty was implemented in the first month of the fourth year of Shunzhi, and the system of the Ming Dynasty changed, so the people thought of the old gentleman because of shaving hair, so they said' thinking about the old'. After a long time, I mistook it for a' dead uncle'. " It is a kind of "nostalgia" not to shave your head in the first month.

The first month is the beginning of a year, just like a morning. Don't shave your head for a month in the first month to remember the tradition. The time of the "haircut order" of the old villagers was wrong, not the first month of the fourth year of Shunzhi, but June of the second year of Shunzhi. At that time, Regent Dourgen ordered to set up sentry boxes at the main intersections in Beijing, such as Qianmen, Di 'anmen and Dongxi Archway, to shave pedestrians' heads for free.

The "haircut order" stipulates that all officials, soldiers and civilians should shave their heads, and those who hesitate should be beheaded according to the theory of rebellion! The court threatened the Han people with death to submit to Manchu, which frightened them. But this panic instantly turned into anger. They would rather die than shave their heads, and even shouted, "I'd rather be a ghost with my hair tied than shave my head." However, after all, the neck is not as hard as a steel knife, and the Han people are forced to shave their hair for the sake of their necks.

But the resistance didn't stop. Not shaving for the first month was a kind of resistance. 1644 to 1650 (from the first year of Shunzhi to the seventh year of Shunzhi), Italian Martino Martini wrote "The Battle of Tatar", which recorded the situation of soldiers and civilians fighting to defend their hair in southern China: soldiers and civilians took up arms and swore to defend their hair to the death, which was even more heroic than Ming Chengzu. Not only did they drive the Qing army out of their city,

In fact, if they catch up with the past, they may recover the provincial capital and other towns, but instead of continuing to develop and win, they are only content to keep their hair. It's hard for Italians to understand that they don't hesitate to turn around to shave their heads.

Legend 2

Han men have been storing hair since ancient times, "wearing leather clothes and influenced by their parents", and dare not hurt or move. Shaving your head is like killing someone. The punishment of "delivering" is not within the five punishments, but it is also a punishment. Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms cut his hair and changed his head as proof. This habit has been abolished since the Sui and Tang Dynasties: immature children wear their hair around their necks and shawls; When I am an adult, my hair is always tied in a bun. At that time, in order to unify the national costumes, the Qing Dynasty forced Han people to imitate Manchu, shave their heads and wear braids.

Manchu used to be a hunting tribe. For practical convenience, they drew a straight line from both ends of the frontal angle, and all the hair outside the straight line was shaved off, leaving only the hair on the top of the head braided. Customs have a strong inheritance and will change with time and place. After the Manchus entered the Central Plains, they forced the Han people to shave their hair. "Leave your hair, leave your hair." The Han people fought to the death in World War I, and many people died. In the end, they were forced to shave their heads, leaving "suncus murinus's tail".

In this way, if you don't shave your head in the first month to "miss the old", you will lose the cultural and psychological foundation on which you live, and you will be misinformed as "dead uncle" by homophones. In order to resist the rule of the Qing nobles, the Han people invented the saying of shaving their heads in the first month. If you don't shave your head for a month in the first month, you don't shave your head for a year, in order to remember your ancestors and traditions. In the tradition of China people, uncle is a symbol of justice. It is usually my uncle who presides over the justice of family separation.

References:

Don't shave your head in the first month-Baidu Encyclopedia