Trivia: As usual, Jackie Chan made his stunts all by himself, but with a new trick on the list: he had never ridden a horse before.
Trivia: At one point, Roy casually mentions his real name is "Wyatt Earp." Wyatt Earp was a famous frontiersman who among other things was a gambler, gunslinger and lawman. He was also involved in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Trivia: The character Nathan Van Cleef is named after actor Lee Van Cleef, who famously appeared in many western films, including classics like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
Answer: In the Qing Dynasty (which was in power at the time the film was set), all soldiers were required to wear the Manchurian hairstyle of the queue (Chon Wang's "pony tail"). Cutting off his queue ensured that he would not be able to fight in the Chinese army for a while.