From "reformers" to "royalists", why is it so complicated to cut a braid?

In fact, the representatives of the "reformers" and "royalists" are both Kang Youwei, a famous figure in modern my country, and the difficulty of cutting his braids is the best reflection on him.

In the 24th year of Guangxu's reign, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others launched the "Wuxu Reform". However, this reform only lasted 103 days before it was overturned by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Empress Dowager Cixi not only placed Emperor Guangxu under house arrest because of this, but also ordered the execution of the Six Gentlemen of 1898. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped by chance and fled to Japan and France respectively.

After arriving in Japan, Kang Youwei did not give up and quickly organized a royalist society. As the leader of the Royalist Association, he upheld the Qing imperial system and opposed the Japanese peace system. Even after the Revolution of 1911, he still supported Puyi's restoration.

Because Kang Youwei's heart has always been towards the Qing Dynasty, and braids are a symbol of Qing Dynasty culture. Removing the braids is tantamount to denying the Qing Dynasty and endorsing the Communist Party and the Revolution, so Kang Youwei has not yet Cut off your own braids.

But what is contradictory and funny is that as early as the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei gave a lecture on "cutting braids and changing clothes" - "Please cut your hair and change your clothes to change your clothes", advocating that In order to make it easier to conduct and fight, long braids should be cut off.

But after the Revolution of 1911, Kang Youwei kept his long braids in order to reflect his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. What's even more ridiculous is that the Qing Emperor Puyi, whom Kang Youwei was loyal to, cut off his braids early on, abandoned his long robe and mandarin jacket, and wore a suit.

All the loyal emperors had cut off their braids, so what reason did I have to keep them? In addition, his weird dress with long braids often caused jokes in Japan, so Kang Youwei finally reluctantly cut off his braids.

In order to show his respect for the braid left by his ancestors, Kang Youwei also held a very grand ceremony when cutting his braid. He first wrote a letter to Puyi asking for permission to cut his braids, and then wrote a letter to his ancestral parents requesting to cut his braids out of filial piety.

After sending two letters in a row, Kang Youwei went to the barber shop to get his braids cut. But when the barber just picked up the scissors, a burst of firecrackers suddenly sounded outside the door. It turned out to be Kang Youwei's final "farewell ceremony" for the braid. After the sound of firecrackers fell, Kang Youwei reluctantly said "Let's start?", which made the Japanese barber who gave him a haircut dumbfounded.