 Nearly every Han rebel group began by shearing this pigtail (most especially in the case of the Taiping, who were known in Chinese as the "Longhairs"), but the queue on penalty of death lasted until 1911, when the Chinese people cut their queues in unison at a time of rebellion.Americans at first judged Chinese immigrant laborers to be poor workers because their long hair brought an association with women.Islamic and Christian missionaries among the Chinese were strong advocates of shorter male hair for their converts.