THE HAIR-CROPPING EDICT
The year 1896 opened for Korea in a gloom as profound as that in
which the previous year had closed. There were small insurrections in
all quarters, various officials were killed, and some of the rebels
threatened to march on the capital. Japanese influence declined,
Japanese troops were gradually withdrawn from the posts they had
occupied, the engagements of many of the Japanese advisers and
controllers in departments expired and were not renewed, some of the
reforms instituted by Japan during the period of her ascendency died
a natural death, there was a distinctly retrograde movement, and
government was disintegrating all over the land.
The general agitation in the country and several of the more serious
of the outbreaks had a cause which, while to our thinking it is
ludicrous, shows as much as anything else the intense conservatism of
_pung-kok_ or custom which prevails among the Koreans. The cause was
an attack on the “Top Knot” by a Royal Edict on 30th December, 1895!
This set the country aflame! The Koreans, who had borne on the whole
quietly the ascendency of a hated power, the murder of their Queen, and
the practical imprisonment of their King, found the attack on their
hair more than they could stand. The topknot is more to a Korean than
the queue is to a Chinese. The queue to the latter may be a sign of
subjugation or of loyalty to the Government and that is all, and the
small Chinese boy wears it as soon as his hair is long enough to plait.
To the Korean the Top Knot means nationality, antiquity (some say
of five centuries, others of 2,000 years), sanctity derived from
antiquity, entrance on manhood socially and legally, even though he
may be a child in years, the assumption of two names by which in
addition to his family name he is afterwards known, and by which he
is designated on the ancestral tablets, marriage is intimately bound
up with it, as is ancestral worship, and as has been mentioned in the
chapter on marriage, a Korean without a Top Knot, even if in middle
life, can only be treated as a nameless and irresponsible boy. In a
few cases a Korean, to escape from this stage of disrespect, scrapes
together enough to pay for the Top Knot ceremonies and the _mang-kun_,
hat, and long coat, which are their sequence, though he is too poor
to support a family, but the Top Knot in ninety-nine cases out of a
hundred is only assumed on marriage, without which the wearer has the
title of “a half man” bestowed on him!
The ceremonies at the “Investiture of the Top Knot” deserve a brief
notice as among the most important of the singularities of the
nation. When the father and family have decided that a boy shall be
“invested,” which in nearly all cases is on the verge of his marriage,
men’s clothes, the hat, _mang-kun_, etc., are provided to the limits
of the family purse, and the astrologers are consulted, who choose a
propitious day and hour for the ceremony, as well as the point of the
compass which the chief actor is to face during its progress. The fees
of the regular astrologer are very high, and in the case of the poor,
the blind sorcerer is usually called in to decide on these important
points.
When the auspicious day and hour arrive the family assembles, but as it
is a family matter only, friends are not invited. Luck and prosperity
and a number of sons are essential for the Master of the Ceremonies. If
the father has been so blessed he acts as such, if not, an old friend
who has been more lucky acts for him. The candidate for the distinction
and privileges of manhood is placed in the middle of the room, seated
on the floor, great care being taken that he faces the point of the
compass which has been designated, otherwise he would have bad luck
from that day forward. With much ceremony and due deliberation the
Master of the Ceremonies proceeds to unwind the boy’s massive plait,
shaves a circular spot three inches in diameter on the crown of his
head, brings the whole hair up to this point, and arranges it with
strings into a firm twist from two and a half to four inches in length,
which stands up from the head slightly forwards like a horn. The
_mang-kun_, fillet, or crownless skullcap of horsehair gauze, coming
well down over the brow, is then tied on, and so tightly as to produce
a permanent groove in the skin, and headaches for some time. The hat,
secured by its strings, is then put on, and the long wide coat, and
the boy rises up a man.[41] The new man bows to each of his relations
in regular order, beginning with his grandfather, kneeling and placing
his hands, palms downward, on the floor, and resting his forehead for a
moment upon them.
He then offers sacrifices to his deceased ancestors before the
ancestral tablets, lighted candles in high brass candlesticks being
placed on each side of the bowls of sacrificial food or fruit, and
bowing profoundly, acquaints them with the important fact that he has
assumed the Top Knot. Afterwards he calls on the adult male friends
of his family, who for the first time receive him as an equal, and at
night there is a feast in his honor in his father’s house, to which all
the family friends who have attained to the dignity of Top Knots are
invited.
The hat is made of fine “crinoline” so that the Top Knot may be seen
very plainly through it, and weighs only an ounce and a half. It is
a source of ceaseless anxiety to the Korean. If it gets wet it is
ruined, so that he seldom ventures to stir abroad without a waterproof
cover for it in his capacious sleeve, and it is so easily broken and
crushed, that when not in use it must be kept or carried in a wooden
box, usually much decorated, as obnoxious in transit as a lady’s
bandbox. The keeping on the hat is a mark of respect. Court officials
appear in the sovereign’s presence with their hats on, and the Korean
only takes it off in the company of his most intimate friends. The
_mang-kun_ is a fixture. The Top Knot is often decorated with a bead of
jade, amber, or turquoise, and some of the young swells wear expensive
tortoise-shell combs as its ornaments. There is no other single article
of male equipment that I am aware of which plays so important a part,
or is regarded with such reverence, or is clung to so tenaciously, as
the Korean Top Knot.
On an “institution” so venerated and time-honored, and so bound up with
Korean nationality (for the Korean, though remarkably destitute of true
patriotism, has a strongly national instinct), the decree of the 30th
of December, 1895, practically abolishing the Top Knot, fell like a
thunderbolt. The measure had been advocated before, chiefly by Koreans
who had been in America, and was known to have Japanese support, and
had been discussed by the Cabinet, but the change was regarded with
such disgust by the nation at large that the Government was afraid
to enforce it. Only a short time before the decree was issued, three
chief officers of the _Kun-ren-tai_ entered the Council Chamber with
drawn swords, demanding the instantaneous issue of an edict making
it compulsory on every man in Government employment to have his hair
cropped, and the Ministers, terrified for their lives, all yielded but
one, and he succeeded for the time in getting the issue of it delayed
till after the Queen’s funeral. Very shortly afterwards, however, the
King, practically a prisoner, was compelled to endorse it, and he, the
Crown Prince, the Tai-Won-Kun, and the Cabinet were divested of their
Top Knots, the soldiers and police following suit.
The following day the _Official Gazette_ promulgated a decree, endorsed
by the King, announcing that he had cut his hair short, and calling on
all his subjects, officials and common people alike, to follow his
example and identify themselves with the spirit of progress which had
induced His Majesty to take this step, and thus place his country on a
footing of equality with the other nations of the world!
The Home Office notifications were as follows:--
_Translation_
The present cropping of the hair being a measure both advantageous
to the preservation of health and convenient for the transaction of
business, our sacred Lord the King, having in view both administrative
reform and national aggrandizement, has, by taking the lead in his
own person, set us an example. All the subjects of Great Korea should
respectfully conform to His Majesty’s purpose, and the fashion of
their clothing should be as set forth below:--
1. During national mourning the hat and clothing should, until the
expiration of the term of mourning, be white in color as before.
2. The fillet (_mang-kun_) should be abandoned.
3. There is no objection to the adoption of foreign clothing.
(Signed) YU-KIL CHUN,
_Acting Home Minister_.
11th moon, 15th day.
No. 2
In the Proclamation which His Majesty graciously issued to-day (11th
moon, 15th day) are words, “We, in cutting Our hair, are setting an
example to Our subjects. Do you, the multitude, identify yourselves
with Our design, and cause to be accomplished the great work of
establishing equality with the nations of the earth.”
At a time of reform such as this, when we humbly peruse so spirited
a proclamation, among all of us subjects of Great Korea who does not
weep for gratitude, and strive his utmost? Earnestly united in heart
and mind, we earnestly expect a humble conformity with His Majesty’s
purposes of reformation.
(Signed) YU-KIL CHUN,
_Acting Home minister_.
504th year since the founding of the Dynasty,
11th moon, 15th day.
Among the reasons which rendered the Top Knot decree detestable to the
people were, that priests and monks, who, instead of being held in
esteem, are regarded generally as a nuisance to be tolerated, wear
their hair closely cropped, and the Edict was believed to be an attempt
instigated by Japan to compel Koreans to look like Japanese, and adopt
Japanese customs. So strong was the popular belief that it was to Japan
that Korea owed the denationalizing order, that in the many places
where there were Top Knot Riots it was evidenced by overt acts of
hostility to the Japanese, frequently resulting in murder.
The rural districts were convulsed. Officials even of the highest rank
found themselves on the horns of a dilemma. If they cut their hair,
they were driven from their lucrative posts by an infuriated populace,
and in several instances lost their lives, while if they retained the
Top Knot they were dismissed by the Cabinet. In one province, on the
arrival from Seoul of a newly-appointed mandarin with cropped hair,
he was met by a great concourse of people ready for the worst, who
informed him that they had hitherto been ruled by a Korean man, and
would not endure a “Monk Magistrate,” on which he prudently retired to
the capital.
All through the land there were Top Knot complexities and difficulties.
Countrymen, merchants, Christian catechists, and others, who had come
to Seoul on business, and had been shorn, dared not risk their lives
by returning to their homes. Wood and country produce did not come in,
and the price of the necessaries of life rose seriously. Many men who
prized the honor of entering the Palace gates at the New Year feigned
illness, but were sent for and denuded of their hair. The click of the
shears was heard at every gate in Seoul, at the Palace, and at the
official residences; even servants were not exempted, and some of the
Foreign Representatives were unable to present themselves at the Palace
on New Year’s Day, because their chairmen were unwilling to meet the
shears. A father poisoned himself from grief and humiliation because
his two sons had submitted to the decree. The foundations of social
order were threatened when the Top Knot fell!
People who had had their hair cropped did not dare to venture far
from Seoul lest they should be exposed to the violence of the rural
population. At Chun-chön, 50 miles from the capital, when the Governor
tried to enforce the ordinance, the people rose _en masse_ and murdered
him and his whole establishment, afterwards taking possession of the
town and surrounding country. As policemen with their shears were at
the Seoul gates to enforce the decree on incomers, and peasants who had
been cropped on arriving did not dare to return to their homes, prices
rose so seriously by the middle of January, 1896, that “trouble” in the
capital was expected, and another order was issued that “country folk
were to be let alone at that time.”
Things went from bad to worse, till on the 11th of February, 1896, the
whole Far East was electrified by a sensational telegram--“The King of
Korea has escaped from his Palace, and is at the Russian Legation.”
On that morning the King and Crown Prince in the dim daybreak left
the Kyeng-pok Palace in closed box chairs, such as are used by the
Palace waiting-women, passed through the gates without being suspected
by the sentries, and reached the Russian Legation, the King pale and
trembling as he entered the spacious suite of apartments which for more
than a year afterwards offered him a secure asylum. The Palace ladies
who arranged the escape had kept their counsel well, and had caused a
number of chairs to go in and out of the gates early and late during
the previous week, so that the flight failed to attract any attention.
As the King does much of his work at night and retires to rest in
the early morning, the ever vigilant Cabinet, his jailers, supposed
him to be asleep, and it was not until several hours later that his
whereabouts became known, when the organization of a new Cabinet was
progressing, and Korean dignitaries began to be summoned into the Royal
presence.
The King, on gaining security, at once reassumed his long-lost
prerogatives, which have never since been curbed in the slightest
degree. The irredeemable Orientalism of the two following proclamations
which were posted over the city within a few hours of his escape
warrants their insertion in full:--
ROYAL PROCLAMATION
_Translation_
Alas! alas! on account of Our unworthiness and mal-administration the
wicked advanced and the wise retired. Of the last ten years, none
has passed without troubles. Some were brought on by those We had
trusted as the members of the body, while others, by those of Our own
bone and flesh. Our dynasty of five centuries has thereby been often
endangered, and millions of Our subjects have thereby been gradually
impoverished. These facts make Us blush and sweat for shame. But these
troubles have been brought about through Our partiality and self-will,
giving rise to rascality and blunders leading to calamities. All have
been Our own fault from the first to the last.
Fortunately, through loyal and faithful subjects rising up in
righteous efforts to remove the wicked, there is a hope that the
tribulations experienced may invigorate the State, and that calm may
return after the storm. This accords with the principle that human
nature will have freedom after a long pressure, and that the ways of
Heaven bring success after reverses. We shall endeavor to be merciful.
No pardon, however, shall be extended to the principal traitors
concerned in the affairs of July, 1894, and of October, 1895. Capital
punishment should be their due, thus venting the indignation of men
and gods alike. But to all the rest, officials or soldiers, citizens
or coolies, a general amnesty, free and full, is granted, irrespective
of the degree of their offences. Reform your hearts; ease your minds;
go about your business, public or private, as in times past.
As to the cutting of the Top Knots--what can We say? Is it such an
urgent matter? The traitors, by using force and coercion, brought
about the affair. That this measure was taken against Our will is, no
doubt, well known to all. Nor is it Our wish that the conservative
subjects throughout the country, moved to righteous indignation,
should rise up, as they have, circulating false rumors, causing death
and injury to one another, until the regular troops had to be sent
to suppress the disturbances by force. The traitors indulged their
poisonous nature in everything. Fingers and hairs would fail to count
their crimes. The soldiers are Our children. So are the insurgents.
Cut any of the ten fingers, and one would cause as much pain as
another. Fighting long continued would pour out blood and heap up
corpses, hindering communications and traffic. Alas! if this continues
the people will all die. The mere contemplation of such consequences
provokes Our tears and chills Our heart. We desire that as soon as
orders arrive the soldiers should return to Seoul and the insurgents
to their respective places and occupations.
As to the cutting of Top Knots, no one shall be forced as to dress and
hats. Do as you please. The evils now afflicting the people shall be
duly attended to by the Government. This is Our own word of honor. Let
all understand.
By order of His Majesty,
(Signed) PAK-CHUNG YANG,
_Acting Home and Prime Minister_.
11th day, 2nd moon, 1st year of Kon-yang.
PROCLAMATION TO THE SOLDIERS
On account of the unhappy fate of Our country, traitors have made
trouble every year. Now We have a document informing us of another
conspiracy. We have therefore come to the Russian Legation. The
Representatives of different countries have all assembled.
Soldiers! come and protect us. You are Our children. The troubles
of the past were due to the crimes of chief traitors. You are all
pardoned, and shall not be held answerable. Do your duty and be at
ease. When you meet the chief traitors, viz. Cho-hui Yen, Wu-pom Sun,
Yi-tu Hwong, Yi-pom Nai, Yi-chin Ho, and Kon-yong Chin, cut off their
heads at once, and bring them.
You (soldiers) attend us at the Russian Legation.
11th day, 2nd moon, 1st year of Kon-yang.
Royal Sign.
Following on this, on the same day, and while thousands of people were
reading the repeal of the hair-cropping order, those of the Cabinet who
could be caught were arrested and beheaded in the street--the Prime
Minister, who had kept his place in several Cabinets, and the Minister
of Agriculture and Commerce. The mob, infuriated, and regarding the
Premier as the author of the downfall of the Top Knot, gave itself
up to unmitigated savagery, insulting and mutilating the dead bodies
in a manner absolutely fiendish. Another of the Cabinet was rescued
by Japanese soldiers, and the other traitorous members ran away. A
Cabinet, chiefly new, was installed, prison doors were opened, and the
inmates, guilty and innocent alike, were released, strict orders were
given by the King that the Japanese were to be protected, one having
already fallen a victim to the fury of the populace, and before night
fell on Seoul much of the work of the previous six months had been
undone, and the Top Knot had triumphed.[42]
How the Korean King, freed from the strong influence of the Queen and
the brutal control of his mutinous officers, used his freedom need
not be told here. It was supposed just after his escape that he would
become “a mere tool in the hands of the Russian Minister,” but so far
was this from being the case, that before a year had passed it was
greatly desired by many that Mr. Waeber would influence him against
the bad in statecraft and in favor of the good, and the cause of his
determination not to bias the King in any way remains a mystery to this
day.
The roads which led to the Russian Legation were guarded by Korean
soldiers, but eighty Russian marines were quartered in the compound
and held the gates, while a small piece of artillery was very much _en
évidence_ on the terrace below the King’s windows! He had an abundant
_entourage_. For some months the Cabinet occupied the ballroom, and on
the terrace and round the King’s apartments there were always numbers
of Court officials and servants of all grades, eunuchs, Palace women,
etc., while the favorites, the ladies Om and Pak, who assisted in his
escape, were constantly to be seen in his vicinity.
Revelling in the cheerfulness and security of his surroundings, the
King shortly built a Palace (to which he removed in the spring of
1897), surrounding the tablet-house of the Queen, and actually in
Chong-dong, the European quarter, its grounds adjoining those of the
English and U.S. Legations. To the security of this tablet-house the
remains of the Queen, supposed to consist only of the bones of one
finger, were removed on a lucky day chosen by the astrologers with much
pomp.
On this occasion a guard of eighty Russian soldiers occupied a position
close to the Royal tent, not far from one in which the Foreign
Representatives, with the noteworthy exception of the Japanese Envoy,
were assembled. Rolled-up scroll portraits of the five immediate
ancestors of the King, each enclosed in a large oblong palanquin of
gilded fretwork, and preceded by a crowd of officials in old Court
costume, filed past the Royal tent, where the King did obeisance, and
the Russian Guard presented arms. This was only the first part of the
ceremony.
Later a colossal catafalque, containing the fragmentary remains of the
murdered Queen, was dragged through the streets from the Kyeng-pok
Palace by 700 men in sackcloth, preceded and followed by a crowd of
Court functionaries, also in mourning, and escorted by Korean drilled
troops. The King and Crown Prince received the procession at the gate
of the new Kyeng-wun Palace, and the hearse, after being hauled up to
the end of a long platform outside the Spirit Shrine, was tracked by
ropes (for no hand might touch it) to the interior, where it rested
under a canopy of white silk, and for more than a year received the
customary rites and sacrifices from the bereaved husband and son. The
large crowd in the streets was orderly and silent. The ceremony was
remarkable both for the revival of picturesque detail and of practices
which it was supposed had become obsolete, such as the supporting of
officials on their ponies by retainers, or when on foot by having their
arms propped up.
In July, 1896, Mr. J. M’Leavy Brown, LL.D., Chief Commissioner of
Customs, received by Royal decree the absolute control of all payments
out of the Treasury, and having gained considerable insight into the
complexities of financial corruption, addressed himself in earnest to
the reform of abuses, and with most beneficial results.
In September a Council of State of fourteen members was substituted for
the Cabinet of Ministers organized under Japanese auspices, a change
which was to some extent a return to old methods.
Many of the attempts made by the Japanese during their ascendency to
reform abuses were allowed to lapse. The country was unsettled, a
“Righteous Army” having replaced the Tong-haks. The Minister of the
Household and other Royal favorites resumed the practice of selling
provincial and other posts in a most unblushing manner after the slight
checks which had been imposed on this most deleterious custom, and
the sovereign himself, whose Civil List is ample, appropriated public
moneys for his own purposes, while, finding himself personally safe,
and free from Japanese or other control, he reverted in many ways to
the traditions of his dynasty, and in spite of attempted checks upon
his authority, reigned as an absolute monarch--his edicts law, his
will absolute. Meanwhile Japan was gradually effacing herself or being
effaced, and whatever influence she lost in Korea, Russia gained, but
the advantages of the change were not obvious.
FOOTNOTES:
[41] In chapter ix. p. 114, there is a short notice of what is involved
in the transformation.
[42] When I last saw the King this national adornment seemed to have
resumed its former proportions.