A Fu Manchu moustache or simply Fu Manchu, is a full, straight

moustache A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the human nose, nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French language, French, and i ...

extending from under the nose past the corners of the mouth and growing downward past the clean-shaven lips and chin in two tapered "tendrils", often extending past the jawline. An expansion of the Fu Manchu sometimes includes a third long "tendril" descending from a small patch on the chin. The Fu Manchu moustache derives its name from

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...

, a fictional character created by English author

Sax Rohmer Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward (15 February 1883 – 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was an English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Fu Manchu."Rohmer, Sax" by Jack Adrian in David ...

, who is shown wearing such a moustache in film adaptations of Rohmer's stories. The literary Fu Manchu did not wear a moustache. The famous

facial hair Facial hair is hair grown on the face, usually on the chin, cheeks, bottom lip and upper lip region. It is typically a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men typically start developing facial hair in the later stages of puberty or adol ...

first appeared in the British serial '' The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu'' (1929); the Fu Manchu moustache then became integral to cinematic and television stereotypical depictions of Chinese villains. The facial hair style is often used to stereotype East Asians, more specifically Chinese people. Many caricatures of Chinese in the 19th and early 20th century depict Chinese with such facial hair. The Fu Manchu is a category of competition in the World Beard and Moustache Championships.

Confusion with horseshoe moustache

The Fu Manchu is similar to (and commonly confused with) the

horseshoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

(or "biker") moustache; the difference between the two types is that the Fu Manchu is grown exclusively from the corners of the upper lip, creating two long "tendrils" that hang down past the clean-shaven mouth and chin area. The horseshoe simply involves growing the hair on either side of the lips and chin along with the mustache, thus creating the inverted-U or horseshoe shape, with none of the hair hanging over the jawline. A true Fu Manchu is considerably more difficult and time-consuming to produce as compared to the horseshoe; one mustache-centered publication declares "You probably don't know anybody who has a ealFu Manchu."

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* {{Human hair Fictional elements introduced in 1929 1920s fashion Stereotypes of East Asian people Moustache styles Fu Manchu

Confusion with horseshoe moustache

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