Ling Chi, one of the ancient death penalties, that is, a thousand knives, in layman's terms, is that the executioner uses a sharp knife to cut off the flesh of the prisoner piece by piece. If ancient Chinese torture were to be ranked, Ling Chi would come out on top. Why is Ling Chi in the first place? After watching Ling Chi's process, everyone understood.
When Ling Chi originated, there are different theories, the most common theory is that it began in the five generations, and the descendants of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties all listed Ling Chi as a punishment. Before the Tang Dynasty, the most cruel punishment was beheading. Because Ling Chi is too cruel, it is often used for major crimes such as treason. For example, the Ming Dynasty's "Law of The Great Ming Dynasty and the Criminal Law" clearly stipulates that "whoever plots rebellion is said to be in danger of social welfare; great rebellion is a conspiracy to destroy the temple, mountain mausoleum and palace." But the conspirators, regardless of their superiors, were all executed. ”
In costume film and television dramas, we often hear that the emperor or the judge "imposes capital punishment" on prisoners. The so-called "capital punishment" is Ling Chi, also known as "Ling Chi", which originally referred to the slope of the mountain, which has the meaning of gradually descending. If it is used on the prisoner," the executioner cuts off the flesh of the prisoner," and "the murderer wants his death slowly but not quickly, so he also takes the meaning of gradual inferiority." ”
Of course, the methods of executing Ling Chi in successive dynasties have not been the same. The process of the Song Dynasty's execution of Ling Chi was as follows, "Ling Chi, first break its branches? Limbs, and the choice of their mouths, the extreme law of the time also. And the Qing Dynasty was like this, "Its law is inch-by-inch, it will be left to the body, and then it will be cut off, and the female will be closed, out of its internal organs, to complete its life, to dissolve the branches, to break its bones and then to the end." ”
There is a saying that when the prisoner "Ling Chi" is executed, the executioner's first knife will cut a piece of meat in the prisoner's chest and throw it into the sky, known as "sacrificing heavenly meat"; the second knife executioner will cut the prisoner's scalp and turn it down to cover the prisoner's eyes, so as to avoid the prisoner and the executioner from looking at each other, known as the "blindfold".
Historically, there are famous people who have been recorded to be delayed, such as Yuan Chonghuan and Liu Jin. Among them, Liu Jin was delayed by more than 3,000 knives, and the executioner cut a total of three days before ending. And the lightest Ling Chi is the eight knives, "first head face, second hand and foot, second chest and abdomen, second owl head." All executioners are dictated by masters and apprentices, others do not know it, and the Beijing division and Baoding are also slightly different, like this heavy law, while the state does not specify the system, and does not know the reason. ”
In history, it is impossible to verify who was the first person to be executed by Ling Chi, but the last person to be executed by Ling Chi is clearly recorded, and this person is Kang Xiaoba. Kang Xiaoba was a bully in beijing in the late Qing Dynasty, and after being arrested, he was executed by Ling Chi at the mouth of the Beijing Caishikou.