Britney Shears

It is always sad when a celebrity has had enough and it was with particular regret that Madame Mao read about US teen sensation Britney Spears.

We were upset to see that in her desperation she has resorted to wearing her hair in the style of a pre revolutionary Chinese peasant.

In the last days of Imperial China at the turn of the 19th Century cutting off one's top knot was seen as the supreme act of defiance.

It symbolised the break in the feudal link between the land and emperor. As the fortunes of war fluctuated in places like the Chairman's home province of Hunan between the forces of progress, warlords and government whether or not you wore the topknot meant the difference between life and death. A grizzly death at that.

Now I'm not suggesting for a minute that Britney Spears is the modern equivalent of having your feet bound, but if the sock fits ...