The alternative name for Qing dramas is 'pigtail' dramas. As it is universally known that all men during Qing Dynasty were obliged to shave their front heads and braid the hair at back into a long pigtail like the Manchus. The slogan for changing hairstyle when the Manchus first entered China was 'Keep your hair and lose your head, or keep your head and shave your hair'. The traditional Chinese ideology held that every string of hair was given by parents and should not be hurt. However, the Manchu invaders violently imposed their dressing and hairstyle codes, massacring thousands of Han ethnic Chinese if this rule were not observed.
Such a fact is well-known, yet it was until recently when I get to know the evolution of the pigtail. I was so surprised to find out how ugly the pigtail was during the early stage of Qing Dynasty.(See picture) Moreover, it is said that the style in the first picture was kept until the end of Qianlong era (1796)! After Qianlong, the style evolved into what is shown in the second picture, more hair was allowed to be kept but was still inelegant. Only during the late Qing Dynasty did the most well-known type in the third drawing became popular, which allowed men to keep half of their hair at back.
However, all the Qing dramas featuring on the early and middle eras lied to the audience by letting the actors only wear the pigtails of late Qing Dynasty. Perhaps because if the real fact was shown, the audience would either laugh their tears out or be irritated by such repressive policies imposed by Manchu rulers.
Sadly, I also bumped into a Qing drama made in 2006 which tells the story of an ordinary man living between Ming and Qing Dynasties and was obliged to shave his head when the new rulers arrived. The drama was more than offensive as well as reactionary for Han ethnic Chinese, for it beautified Manchu invaders and distorted the heroic rebellion by Han Chinese against their oppressive rulers. The drama condemned the latter as 'bandits', justifying the massacre done by the Manchu army.
Some say that Han ethnic Chinese have become used to being invaded and tamed by periphery ethnics. I would say that China is a multi-ehnic country and that every ethnic group contributes their culture to the melting port of Chinese culture. That's why we have adopted the Manchu dressing code as the standard Chinese dressing code nowadays. However, concerning pigtails, such a drama is far to much for it really hurts the basic dignity of being a Han ethnic Chinese. We can acquiesce in glorifying Kangxi and Yongzheng Emperors, but we cannot remain silent on such an issue!
Now I consider that if Qing Dynasty could last, it might be possible that they would finally get rid of pigtails according to the evolution depicted in the picture. Guangxu Emperor once might have considered abolishing the pigtail during the Hundred Days' Reform, however, he was obliged to give up this idea due to too much opposition from the conservatives. It was equally sad, however, that the revolutionaries at that time also wrongly condemned Guangxu Emperor as being the enemy of the whole Han ethnic by embodying narrow Han nationalism. The fact was that, though being a Manchu himself, Guangxu Emperor believed in the equality of all ethnics in the Chinese realm. He went as far as to deprive the priviledges enjoyed by Manchu nobles during the reform. Guangxu definitely considered himself as a Chinese first and Manchu second, it is said that he never managed to learn the Manchu language well while being quite accomplished in Chinese literature. But still, Manchus like Guangxu Emperor were rare, and that is why he was sent to his doom mainly by people from his own ethnic---conservative Manchu nobles. But due to his Manchu blood, he was also repelled by a certain number of Han Chinese, poor him!
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