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  • Essay / The three types of punishment in ancient China - 713

    The characteristic of Chinese corporal punishment was torture that causes physical injury or amputation to criminals, and the characteristics of the punishment presented themselves gradually over time. time. Corporal punishment has existed in China since 2000 BC, but its maturation period dates back to the Zhou dynasty (BC1046-BC249). There were four types of corporal punishment: “Mo” which is an inscription on the body of the offender, “Yi” which consists of cutting off the nose of the criminal, “Fei” which consists of cutting off the foot of the offenders, and finally, “ Gong” which means it is to castrate criminals. These sanctions were intended to create amputation, humiliation, and suffering for violators (Fu, 1993, p. 109). However, these punishments were repealed after the Nan-bei dynasty (420-589 AD) and the main corporal punishments became bodily harm, such as flogging. Even if the punishment always aims to humiliate and torture the condemned, it is less bloody and irrecoverable. The last is capital punishment. The ancient Chinese generally used capital punishment as a judgment in cases of treason, rebellion, and murder. Additionally, forms of capital punishment in ancient China were diverse and ruthless. For example, “Dapi” is an alias of an ancient Chinese extreme punishment. This punishment includes "Paoluo" (prisoners tied on a hot metal beam until they die), "Lingchi" (put to death by thousands of cuts and dismemberment of the body) and "Chelie" (tearing the criminal with five carts). These ideas