Every nation has its own unique cultural habits and beliefs. In the Qing Dynasty , the difference between Manchu women and Han women was mainly due to ethnic differences, but to a small extent, even the ear piercings had their own characteristics. In the past few years, "The Legend of Zhen Huan " became a hit and had an excellent reputation, but one detail was overlooked, that is, the unique ear piercings of ancient Manchu women. Historically, real Manchu women would have six piercings in their ears.
In the eyes of modern people, having six ears pierced sounds incredible, but this is the style of the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty and it is one of their customs. As long as a little girl is born in a Manchu family, the family will pierce their ears six times, which is the so-called three-piercing and three-pliers. Clamp means earring.
Manchu women are all uniform when it comes to piercing their ears, but there is no particular set of rules when it comes to wearing earrings. Girls from wealthy families use gold, silver, jade and other jewelry as earrings; children from poor families use copper hoops as earrings, with many styles and choices. Regarding this habit, Manchu women follow the tradition and abide by the tradition.
This is not only a custom, but also represents a regulation and system. After all, a Manchu woman's one ear and three pincers is a symbol of Manchu women. Others can judge whether the other party is Manchu based on this special mark. The reason for distinguishing between races is the status difference between the Manchus and Hans in the Qing Dynasty. If there are six ear piercings, then you are a noble Manchu, and you are suddenly separated from ordinary people.
At that time, everyone from the Manchu people to the queens and concubines, down to the common people, had to follow the custom of piercing their ears. Before the emperor chooses a concubine, the palace staff will look at the piercings in the girls' ears. Generally speaking, concubines came from Manchu families. If girls did not have enough piercings in their ears, they would not only be disqualified from the draft, but they might also be punished.
According to historical records, during the Qianlong period, Manchu noble concubines also had earrings. This custom continued from the Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China. In places where Manchus live in the Northeast, some elderly women could still be seen wearing three pliers on their ears. Some even had three holes forcibly pierced because their earlobes were too small, causing the earlobes to open.
In many online portraits of Qing Dynasty concubines, we can easily find that they all have this symbol of Manchu women on their ears. These portraits depict what real Manchu people looked like during the Qing Dynasty. In addition, compared with Han women, Manchu women had a higher status during the Qing Dynasty. In order to distinguish themselves from Han women, they had no resistance to this system. Most Han women have one ear and one pendant, and the style is simple.
Manchu men and women pierce their ears differently. It is rare for baby boys to have their ears pierced. In order to avoid premature death, there are also people who have one hole pierced and one pair of pliers worn.
However, the details of ear piercing are often forgotten in today’s TV dramas. Presumably without this popular science article, few people would have heard of this matter.
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