The ancient punishments were varied, some of them so cruel that they could not bear to look at them directly. For example, the familiar cannon branding is to tie people to copper pillars heated by charcoal fire and burn them alive, but this is not the most frightening thing for women. What scares women the most is the ink punishment.
What is ink punishment? Ink punishment is to engrave a knife edge on a person's face, or write or draw a picture, and then apply ink to the wound. Some people say, isn't this just a tattoo! What's so bad about rewarding you with a free tattoo!
It doesn't seem like something to be afraid of now, and it's a little unacceptable at best. But in the eyes of the ancients, although this is not fatal, it is a great shame!
Ancient people valued reputation the most, and the scandals in the usual family were not willing to let outsiders know, but this ink punishment could make everyone know the ugly things they had done. Don't pass it on, just see it.
You may say that jing will scare people, and the ancient tattooed people and Yue Fei! And people have become household heroes. Indeed, Yue Fei was tattooed, but the man was tattooed on his back, and he couldn't see anything when he put on his clothes. The ink punishment should be really tattooed on the face that is made of facade.
In history, many people have been tortured by ink, almost all of them are some masters who are afraid of slaves escaping and paint the word 'slave' on their faces. Even if you flee, you must be afraid of the pointing of others, and eventually you have to return to your master, which restricts the slave's movement in disguise.
Of course, there are also famous ones. Shangguan Wan'er, a female official of empress Dowager Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, was also subjected to ink punishment, and it was also Wu Zetian himself who executed her.
Shangguan Wan'er was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi, the chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and was gifted and intelligent. When she was fourteen years old, she saw Wu Zetian, and When Wu Zetian saw that she was different from mortals, he asked her to ask questions on the spot, asking her to write an article on the spot based on the political situation at that time and the development of the Tang Dynasty in the future. Shangguan Wan'er didn't take long, and she finished writing without stopping to think. Wu Zetian was full of praise after seeing it, and the next day he gave her the position of a female official in front of the imperial court, leaving her to serve by her side.
Shangguan Wan'er Bingxue was smart and knew how to guess Wu Zetian's thoughts, but she was steady and capable. Over time, Wu Zetian's trust in her was incomparable. According to Ye Shi, wu Zetian also asked Shangguan Wan'er to serve by his side when he was having fun with his male favorite Zhang Changzong.
But that's how the error happened. Shangguan Wan'er was no longer a little girl who did not know the world, and she was also curious and excited about the affairs of men and women. And the male favorite Zhang Changzong was blinded by Wu Zetian's habitual eyes, and felt that Shangguan Wan'er was more attractive than the old woman. The two men served together at Wu Zetian's side, and when they came and went, they hooked up with the empress on their backs.
Once, the two dared to make love in Zhang Changzong's palace serving Emperor Wu, and were bumped into by Wu Zetian, who came to look for Zhang. The empress was angry, grabbed Shangguan Wan'er's only remaining clothes, slapped her viciously, and used the knife next to her to carve a few knives on Shangguan Wan'er's forehead and cheeks, and then splashed it on Shangguan Wan'er's face with red ink.
In the process, no matter how Shangguan Wan'er interceded, it would not help. Shangguan Wan'er hid in the room and did not dare to go out, even the food was placed at the door, waiting for people to leave before taking it in.
But she was clever and witty, and drew three plum blossoms on the forehead and cheek inscriptions, and after the noble women of Beijing saw it, they felt that this was a popular makeup, and they also followed suit, becoming the popular plum blossom makeup.