Qing queue with red hair extension
When the Manchus conquered Ming China in the 17th century and started to build one of the biggest land empires in history, they enforced their own hairstyle on their subjects: a long braid at the back of the head, with the front of the head shaven. Already in the decades before but certainly after the fall of the empire, queues were cut off. As such, they started to live a life of their own in collections all over the world.
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Queue on the loose
story by Koen van der Lijn.Hair is important in telling who we are, who we want to be or who we have to be. This story is about a Qing queue ーpart hair, part extensions. Cutting it off marked the beginning of a new life on its own, with us trying to connect it to the history of its owner.