Scholars believe that the ancient death penalty began during the Yellow Emperor period. At that time, after the Yellow Emperor defeated Xuan You, he brought his head back to the tribe to show the public, which was considered a kind of beheading. Later, through the development of various dynasties, the types of death penalties varied from complex to simple, and the methods ranged from cruel to moderate. However, most of the sentences sentenced to death revolve around the "ten evils".
In fact, since the Beginning of the Qin Dynasty, there has been the saying of "Ten Evils".
After the decline of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, the rise of various princely states made the types of death penalties play tricks and become more and more cruel. Among them, the Qin Dynasty is one of the well-deserved leaders. It is recorded that Li Si's beheading was only a whim of Zhao Gao, but in the early Han Dynasty, this method of execution became a legal method.
During the Northern Qi dynasty, the ten articles of felony were clarified. During the Sui Dynasty, the "Ten Evils" began to be formally entered into the code, and since then it has been used and has not been changed. Among them, the "ten evils" are: conspiracy, rebellion, rebellion, rebellion, disobedience, disrespect, filial piety, disharmony, injustice, and civil strife.
Among them, the four articles of rebellion, rebellion, rebellion, and great disrespect maintain the power of the monarch, the two articles of evil rebellion and filial piety maintain the patriarchal right, and the three articles of discord, injustice, and civil strife are especially aimed at women, and what is maintained is the husband's right.
In fact, the approval of the death penalty is generally reviewed by the monarch or a special agency authorized by the monarch. In the Tang Dynasty, there were three divisions to review these cases, such as the Three Divisions, the Nine Secretaries of Punishment, and the Metropolitan Assembly System. In the Song Dynasty, for a period of time, only the state-level final examination system was implemented, and it was no longer submitted to the central government for approval, but only reviewed after the fact. However, in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, the death penalty could only be carried out after review by the Criminal Investigation Department, and it was used until the Southern Song Dynasty.
It can be seen that the formulation of these criminal laws is more importantly to serve the rule of the imperial power. In particular, the most important thing is to plot rebellion and great rebellion, and generally the sentence will be executed immediately after it is sentenced, which is called "slashing decision" or "hanging decision". Therefore, some scholars have pointed out that no matter how many types of death penalties were in ancient times, there were only two major categories: one was "beheading" and the other was "hanging", the former originated in the Yellow Emperor period, and the latter began in the Zhou Dynasty.
In addition, in some film and television dramas, there will also be a method of execution: "Ling Chi". It first appeared during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the Later Song Dynasty made this a legal method.
According to some scholars, the development of the types of death penalties in ancient China peaked in the Qin Dynasty, and after that, it showed a downward posture, and the types tended to be moderate and moderate. However, after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the situation reversed, and some new methods of execution were added. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was some relaxation. In fact, no matter how complicated and simple the means of execution change, before the formal execution, these death row inmates will basically be "cared for".
The Tang Dynasty's "Prison Officer Order" had a provision, which was basically used later, "and officials give wine and food, and listen to relatives resign." It is said that the practice of "giving wine and food" before the punishment came from the King of Chuzhuang in the Spring and Autumn Period. Once, after the victory of the counter-rebellion, the king of Chu Zhuang had people send wine and food to the traitors who were about to go to the execution ground, and then followed it. In fact, this move is more to show the "compassionate mind" of the monarchs of that era, of course, there will be some superstitions, thinking that the prisoners have completely accepted their own judgment after eating this meal, which will make the next operation more smooth.
Saying goodbye to relatives before the sentence is also from the perspective of soothing people's hearts, so that death row inmates can completely accept their own results, and also let their relatives dispel the idea of re-litigation. In fact, this also reflects a basic principle of ancient justice: heavenly reason must be followed, and human feelings must also be obeyed. It is in this way that, in some special cases, death row inmates can "make up for their mistakes".
For example, during national wars, most of the young and middle-aged death row inmates were exempted from the death penalty and made meritorious contributions to the battlefield, and these people often behaved very bravely. Although these "preferential treatments" are clearly stipulated, in ancient times, prison guards often "ignored", such as encountering the overall environment corruption, then it is difficult for these prisoners to get real "care", everything depends on the mood of the prison guards.
In addition to the ten serious crimes stipulated in the law, which are punishable by death, those who cause extremely bad damage to the country and society will also be punished with capital punishment. In the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858), in the "Pengwu Kechang Case", Bai Yao, a senior member of the First Grade who was the chief examiner, was "beheaded". Although the qing dynasty's cheating in the field was very corrupt, after this case, everyone was very disciplined for the next 30 years.
However, the Qing Dynasty's qi number was almost exhausted.
In fact, in ancient times, the use of heavy punishments was all for the consolidation of power, and even sometimes brought with it a "revenge mentality". Looking at the variety of genres, I want everyone to know that they are afraid and dare not have other non-division thoughts. Therefore, there is also the link of "showing the public". However, in the environment of ancient times, more people just looked at this scene as a lively scene.
Although the death penalty in the ancient West was also diverse, with the progress of society, many countries have now abolished the death penalty. Even if it is retained, it is more of a deterrent effect and will not be used easily. In the case of our neighbour Thailand, the average number of people executed each year is only 3.9.
The judiciary today is qualitatively different from that of ancient times, and although it is the same as the principle of punishing evil and promoting good, it will no longer serve around a privileged class. Although, with the changes of the times and the progress of civilization, there are no provisions on the ten evils in China's laws, many of the ten evils are still serious illegal and criminal acts today.