What are the five punishments in ancient times?

Five punishments originated from Miao nationality, and another theory originated from Jiuli nationality led by Chiyou in ancient times. After the death of the Miao family in Xia Qi, the punishment of the Miao family was cut off, beheaded and rejected. In Xia Qi, there are gains and losses, and five punishments, namely, ink punishment, beheading punishment, palace punishment and monarch punishment, have been formed, which have become the main punishment system. This is the so-called five punishments of slavery.

The five punishments originated from the ancient thought of mutual restraint of the five elements. The five punishments in the pre-Qin period include five kinds: Mo, Mo, Mo (also known as Fei), Gong and Da Bi. Therefore, China's ancient explanation of the five punishments before Qin Dynasty is: "Fire can turn into gold, so ink can turn into meat;" Jin neng ke mu, so just go to its joints; Wood can grind the earth, it is better to go to its nose; Earth can plug water, and the Forbidden City can break prostitution; Water can put out the fire, so it is great to kill. "

Ink, also known as ink, is tattooed on the victim's face or forehead and stained with ink, leaving a dark scar after injury. During the Chu-Han dispute, Ying Bu, who was also known as a famous soldier in the third year of Han Dynasty with Han Xin and Peng Yue, was also known as Qing Bu because he was bound by the Qin law.

The punishment of cutting off the nose. Heavier than ink punishment, lighter than punishment. Originated in Xia and Zhou Dynasties, it was widely used. It was used in combination with other punishments in the Warring States and the Qin Dynasty. In the early Han Dynasty, flogging was also used. In addition to corporal punishment, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty also used flogging instead of flogging. However, until the Southern and Northern Dynasties, flogging was still used occasionally. After the sui dynasty, it was not seen in the criminal code. Only in the early Jin Dynasty, people who committed serious crimes still had to cut off their noses or ears to distinguish them from ordinary civilians.

Cut, Xia said, Zhou said, Qin said. Cut off the left foot, right foot or both feet of the punished person. There is also a saying that the kneecap is removed. There are different opinions about the punishment of strangulation. Some people say that it is to cut off all below the knee, while others say that it is to cut off the kneecap. The latter is more credible. In short, strangulation is a kind of torture similar to amputation. During the Warring States Period, Sun Bin was framed by his brother and fined. I heard that his original name was Sun Bin, but he was tortured and changed to Sun Bin. If the kneecap is cut off and there is no protection between the thigh and calf, the person may not even stand up. Therefore, according to unofficial history's records, after Sun Bin was punished, he couldn't even ride a horse on the battlefield, so he had to take a bus (carriage or rickshaw).

Castration, also known as lewd punishment, corruption punishment, silkworm room punishment. At first, it was to punish people who committed fornication. Later, all the people who were punished here had nothing to do with fornication. Palace punishment is the most severe punishment among the five punishments, second only to the death penalty. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this kind of punishment was used as capital punishment. The most famous castrated man in history is Sima Qian, whose castration was described in his book Bao Ren An.

The great monarch, the death penalty. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were many kinds of death sentences, including slaughter, cooking, dismemberment (dismemberment), beheading (hanging for public display after beheading), abandoning the city (sudden death after beheading in downtown), strangulation and late death (also written on the dead).

The five punishments of slavery are barbaric, immoral and intentionally harmful to the prisoner's body. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qi abused the punishment of public officials, and countless people were amputated, which caused a very strange phenomenon in the Linzi city market. Shoes are cheap and can't be sold. Prosthetics are expensive, but they can't be bought. It is called "overwhelming expensive shoes". This shows the cruelty of the five punishments of slavery.

After entering the feudal society, corporal punishment of slavery began to be abolished gradually. From the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Wenjing abolished corporal punishment and replaced it with a cane. Although corporal punishment was not really abolished at the end of Han Dynasty, the traditional five-punishment system began to change. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a constant debate about the abolition and restoration of corporal punishment, and the original five punishments were revised many times. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the five-punishment system of slavery since Shang and Zhou Dynasties was finally replaced by the feudal five-punishment system with freedom as the main punishment, and it remained until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The five feudal penalties, namely, slap, stick, apprentice, exile and death penalty, were first embodied as a penalty system in the Huang Kai Law of the Sui Dynasty, and were further improved by the laws of the Tang Dynasty (the Five Virtues Law and the Yonghui Law), which marked the great progress of China's penalty system.

Among the five feudal punishments, flogging is a punishment of beating and torturing prisoners' backs, hips and legs with bamboo boards or thorns. Whipping has been widely used in slave society. There are "ten articles" and "fifty articles" in Qin Law. When Emperor Wendi abolished corporal punishment, he replaced it with a slap. When Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty severely punished the flogging, the flogging was reduced from 500 to 300. Then change it from 300 to 200, and finally reduce it to 100. At the same time, a "order" was made to use bamboo instead of small wells to flatten their sections; Don't change the executioner halfway. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, women were flogged. Whipping in the Southern and Northern Dynasties was actually whipping after the Sui Dynasty, which was mostly used as an additional punishment for exile and imprisonment. The number was below 200, and the number varied. Sui changed the whip into a staff, which was divided into five grades, all of which could be redeemed by copper. The Sui system was adopted in the Tang Dynasty, which stipulated that prisoners' legs and hips were divided, and prisoners were also allowed to divide their backs and legs voluntarily. The Song Dynasty was divided into five grades along the Tang Dynasty, but it was allowed to fold the crotch stick with the waist and 50% with the crotch stick. There was no flogging in Liao, but wood blade and a big stick hit him on the back, which was similar to flogging. Jin Guo's old system used wicker for misdemeanors. In the Yuan Dynasty, flogging was divided into six grades. Flogging in Ming and Qing Dynasties followed the system of Tang and Song Dynasties, which was divided into five grades and could be redeemed.

Staff, twisted with thick thorns, tortured prisoners' backs, hips and legs with big bamboo boards or big thorns. The origin is very early, and there is a record that "flogging is an official punishment" in Shangshu Shundian. Han, Wei and Jin Dun all had flogging. In Liang Wudi during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the punishment of caning was included in the criminal code. The Northern Wei Dynasty began to list flogging, flogging, imprisonment, exile and death penalty as one of the five punishments. The Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou Dynasties followed the Wei system, and were divided according to the number of sticks, all of which were allowed to be redeemed with gold. The Sui Dynasty abolished flogging and replaced it with caning. Establish another kind of flogging to replace the original rod punishment. Anyone who commits a crime more than 50 feet will be flogged. The rod punishment in the Tang Dynasty was the same as that in the Sui Dynasty. According to the laws of the Tang dynasty, all the staff were cut off from the program; Those who break the staff are divided into back, legs and buttocks. The Song Dynasty followed the Tang Dynasty and was divided into five grades, with the rod punishment as an additional punishment. Liao, Jin, and Yuan also had regulations on the punishment of caning. The Ming and Qing Dynasties formulated the cudgel punishment in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and abolished it in the late Qing Dynasty.

Acts, punish forced labor. The article "Famous Examples" in On the Laws of the Tang Dynasty explains: "Disciples are slaves." That is, there are five grades of hard labor: one year, one and a half years, two years, two and a half years and three years. There was no additional rod punishment in the Tang Dynasty, but a spinal rod was added in the Song Dynasty. The prison punishment in the Yuan Dynasty was divided into five grades, with rod punishment attached. The prison sentences in Ming and Qing dynasties were basically the same, that is, they were divided into five grades with sticks and allowed to be redeemed with money.

Flow, is to exile prisoners to remote areas, not allowed to return home. The exile in Sui Dynasty can be divided into three categories: 1000 Li, 1500 Li and 2000 Li, with two years, two and a half years and three years of hard labor respectively. In the Tang Dynasty, each horse increased by 1000 Li, but the labor time was reduced to one year. The mileage and service life of exile in the Song Dynasty were the same as those in the Tang Dynasty, except for crutches. There was no exile in the Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, all the exiles along the Song Dynasty were accompanied by sticks, which could be redeemed with copper coins. Exile in Qing dynasty is the same as that in Ming dynasty.

Death is death. In Suihe, the death penalty was beheaded and twisted. The Song Dynasty of the Five Dynasties basically imitated the Sui law, but one year after the Five Dynasties. In Liao Dynasty, year of death was officially named as the criminal name, and the death penalty was defined as year of death, beheading and strangulation. The same is true in the Yuan Dynasty. Although the legal death penalty in Ming and Qing dynasties was only beheading and hanging, there were also extrajudicial punishments, such as clubbing.

With the reform of the penalty system in the late Qing Dynasty, the ancient five-penalty system has become a historical dust, but its influence is still far-reaching. Until today, it still deserves our aftertaste and reflection.