1912 Christmas Card

Tue, 09/23/2014 - 00:59
Date picture taken
25 Dec 1912

Comments

Hi there,

I tend to believe this set of photo is staged.  Period Qing male hairstyle would have shaved quite a bit more towards, or even a bit beyond one's ears.   There are examples from famous people like 粱啟超 (Liang qichao, or Leung Kai Chiu in Cantonese).  Mr Liang's photo should give you some idea.

Thanks & Best Regards,

T

liang_qi_chao_.jpg
liang_qi_chao_.jpg, by simtang

By the way, this guy was involved in a political struggle between the "emperor's gang" and "empress dowager's gang". He belonged to the former. When the empress dowager emerged as the winner, she had the emperor locked up and the gang persecuted. He had to flee to Japan. Photo on the right was taken in 1903 in Japan.

The guy was also a famous chinese literary figure. Many of his works were included in the syllabus of the Hong Kong certificate of education exam. Item number 2 and 10 below are some examples from the 1966 syllabus.

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1966_cert_exam_chin_paper_info.png
1966_cert_exam_chin_paper_info.png, by simtang

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Shaved forehead with queue was the standard throughout the Qing dynasty but the style has changed significantly during its 267 years. First on the left is period at the beginning of Qing dynasty. Last on the right is towards the end of the dynasty.

pigtail evolution
pigtail evolution, by simtang