Slaughtering white ducks was an ugly custom in the Qing Dynasty, which referred to a phenomenon in which powerful and powerful families paid people to face their sins to escape punishment when they caused trouble.
The perpetrators are generally poor people who sell their lives for money and are slaughtered like white ducks, so they are called white ducks.
(Slaughtering white ducks)
In fact, the phenomenon of slaughtering white ducks has always existed.
According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "Poor people may sell their heads for rewards, their fathers and brothers are mutilated, and their wives and children are divided." ”
In just one sentence, how many bitter tears of poor families have been exhausted! In the Qing Dynasty, the crime was particularly common. Rich and powerful people only need to spend money to eliminate disasters when committing murders, while innocent people, in order to make money, want to become the ghosts of the sword, which is really regrettable.
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, there was such a case. Zhang Qingtao, the prefect of Laizhou, was ordered to examine the murderer Wang Xiaoshan. At the time of interrogation, Wang Xiaoshan's confession was quite skillful and fluent, not like a true confession, but like reciting an article.
The keen Zhang Qingtao sensed that there must be something strange in it, so he repeatedly persuaded him to confide the truth. Wang Xiaoshan finally admitted that he had accepted two hundred taels of silver from Qu Peiqiu, a rich local prince, before he was punished for his crime.
(Famous official Zhang Qingtao)
The phenomenon of slaughtering white ducks first appeared in Fujian and Guangdong, and later, there were gradual cases in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places.
According to the "Notes on Yong Xianzhai", "there are no less than hundreds and dozens of homicides in Fujian every year, and there are many such people."
This is only one place in Fujian. Throughout the country, countless people are wrongfully killed every year.
Why is this vulgarity so common? In fact, the answer is very simple - there is money that can make ghosts grind. From ancient times to the present, there are many people who ask for money and do not die. In the social environment at that time, the slaughtered white ducks were all the people at the bottom of society, hungry and full, and poor.
Selling one's life can be exchanged for a few hundred taels of silver, equivalent to tens of thousands of yuan today. With this money, the family can live a good life and no longer have to go hungry, and this temptation makes many poor people willing to give their lives.
(Poor people)
Another reason is that the local rich squires have a huge power and only cover the sky with their hands. When looking for unemployed vagrants, poor people, how dare they disobey?
From it, the good villain still has money to take. If not, the light will be beaten, and the heavy will be beaten to death. After all, who cares about their lives?
The rampant slaughter of white ducks made the Daoguang Emperor angry for a while. He called harshly for a crackdown on this phenomenon, but it was not easy to talk about. First of all, ancient science and technology were not developed, and judgments could only be based on people's confessions.
In this case, the phenomenon of slaughtering white ducks is difficult to detect. Some confused county officials, seeing that someone confessed guilt, were overjoyed, where did they still care whether what he said was true or not? As long as there is a prisoner on an errand.
(County Magistrate's Trial)
Second, many county officials colluded with the local squires, accepted large bribes, and colluded with each other, so naturally they would not scrutinize these cases. Even if there are honest officials who want to investigate, those who have committed crimes have already confessed to the crime and committed the crime, so where to start investigating? It can only be over. At that time, the phenomenon of slaughtering white ducks could be said to be repeatedly prohibited.
Guo Guangqi once wrote a poem "Slaughtering White Duck", "The white blade is like frost at the beginning of the box, and the city competes to see the slaughter of white ducks." Slaughter the white duck, what is the duck? Qingtian did not dare to shout in front of him. ”
This poem vividly describes the pain of the white ducks dying unjustly, and it is deplorable to read. But who is the responsibility? It's hard to say. Is it a squire who buys people's lives, or a commoner who does not want money, or a confused county official?
In my opinion, the blame comes and goes, or blame the dark society at that time, leaving no way for the poor to live. In feudal rule, the people do not have a good life, they fight for their lives, and they sacrifice themselves for the sake of their families, which is sad and lamentable, and pitiful.
Fortunately, today, China's laws have been perfected, and there are fewer and fewer such unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. Slaughtering white ducks has disappeared into the long river of history along with feudal society.