Attire
After the Manchu conquest of China was complete, the Manchu were keenly aware of the difficulty of assimilation that had confronted all previous nomadic conquerors. To battle the problem of sinification [the adoption of Chinese cultural traits], the Manchu stressed a variety of cultural attributes that emphasized their ethnicity. These included language and custom, but the most visually apparent was their attire. From the start of the Qing dynasty, the Qing court emphasized a new Chinese court attire that discarded the ample, flowing robes and slippers with upturned toes of the sedentary Ming to the boots, trousers, and traditional riding coats of nomadic horsemen. All men in service of the Qing emperor was mandated to wear their hair in a queue with the forehead shaved and the remaining hair grown long to be braided in a single plait.5
Fishermen, sailors, and pirates on different junks and vessels all lived relatively similar lifestyles regardless of their occupation. Contrary to officials, they all had similar simple clothing generally made out of cotton because it was cheap and sturdy and could withstand rough work and salt water. Clothing lacked adornments and was loose fitting in order not to hinder work. Most sailors owned few articles of clothing, and these were made to last for several years. Seafarers seldom wore shoes. Powerful pirate captains, of course, often wore much more ostentatious clothing. Although seafarers in general were discouraged from wearing the silk clothing, captains such as Zhang Bao, a powerful leader in the Qing period, regularly wore flamboyant purple or red silk gowns.6