Why did Banners exist in the Qing Dynasty?
It was the Manchus who ruled China, another of the northern people “beyond the wall” who had replaced the last Chinese dynasty, the Ming. One of the distinctive features of the Manchu was the “banner men,” their mode of organizing their people into separable units for military/political purposes: The “banners” identified the rulers. Among other Manchu distinctions was their dress, long flowing gowns with wide sleeves, and hairstyle, long hair braided into the “pigtail.
