ordered to stop cutting and instead grow their hair long and switch to Han Chinese clothing in only a month by a Ming official. Ming administrators said their mission was to "civilize" the unorthodox, by Han Chinese standards, appearance of the Vietnamese. The Ming dynasty only wanted the Vietnamese to wear long hair and to stop teeth blackening so they could have white teeth and long hair like Chinese. A royal edict was issued by Vietnam in 1474 forbidding Vietnamese from adopting foreign languages, hairstyles and clothes like that of the Lao, Champa or the "Northerners" which referred to the Ming. The edict was recorded in the 1479 Complete Chronicle of Dai Viet of Ngô Sĩ Liên. The Philippines In the Philippines, Spanish colonial official and historian, Antonio de Morga, recorded in his book, (1609), on how local men and women of the Philippines cared and presented themselves at the time. It was noted by Morga: The late 19th century Filipino nationalist, writer, and polymath, José Rizal, commented in his annotations to Morga's account that: "This custom still exists... This custom exists also among the married women of Japan, as a Sign of their chastity. It is now falling into disuse." Thailand Teeth blackening was practiced in Thailand since the very early kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna and Ayutthaya through betel chewing. The dark red black stain left on the teeth was considered a sign of beauty, and betel nut chewing was an activity performed during courtship. Other areas Teeth blackening has been documented throughout a number of other peoples in the Far East: Yunnan, China Blang people Dai Hmoob Jino Gin (Vietnamese Kinh) Lahu Yao Laos Hani Katu Phunoi Philippines Luzon Mindanao Pacific Islands Palau Yap Mariana Islands Thailand Akha Lisu Vietnam Kinh Yao Lu Hmong people Nùng Si La South Asia Teeth blackening was also documented across Islamic culture in South Asia: Africa Further West, teeth blackening has been documented as far as Madagascar. References External links tools Cultural history of Japan Japanese fashion Chinese traditions Vietnamese traditions Dental modification