In ancient feudal society, in order to maintain their rule, the emperors set up a lot of creepy cruel punishments in order to deter and punish the criminals, the most severe of which was the "Nine Tribes", because this punishment was not only aimed at the perpetrators, but also the parents and brothers of the perpetrators and the entire family. ”
A similar penal system already existed as early as the Xia And Shang dynasties, and it is recorded in the Book of Shang that Xia Qi and Shang Tang reprimanded and threatened their subordinates before they went on expeditions, and if they did not obey orders in the war, they would be executed along with their heirs, and this punishment system was collectively called "Zhulian".
In the Qin Dynasty period, there was a "Yi Three Tribes" method, which means the same is the zhulian three tribes, these three ethnic groups are naturally the closest family members of the prisoners, these three ethnic groups are the father, the mother, the wife. According to the "History of Qin Benji", "(Qin) Wengong was twenty years old, and at the beginning there was a crime of the three tribes. ”
However, the rulers felt that it was not enough for some criminals who committed the most heinous crimes, such as the "Yi Three Tribes" who "plotted rebellion", so they gradually developed into the "Nine Tribes", which were the four patriarchal clans, the three matriarchal clans, and the two wives.
Paternal family four refers to the sister and her son, the sister and her son, the daughter and her son, and their own family. The three matriarchs are the grandfather's family, the grandmother's family, and the subordinate mother and her son. The second wife is the father-in-law's family and the mother-in-law's family.
In short, no matter whether you have seen anything or not, if you say that you have not spoken, as long as you have a little affinity with the prisoner, you will be connected. It's cruel. However, in history, the "Nine Tribes" are not the heaviest, and the "Nine Tribes" are not the heaviest.
This case occurred in the Ming Dynasty, and the person who was "cursed by the Ten Tribes" was the famous Ming Dynasty scholar, Zhu Yunjiao's teacher, and his subordinate minister Fang Xiaoru. The case occurred in 1402, and although Zhu Yunjiao successfully inherited the throne from his grandfather Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, there was a clan king behind him who was eyeing his throne.
This person was Zhu Di, the King of Yan, who after launching the Battle of Jingnan, seized the throne from his nephew Emperor Jianwen and sat on the throne of changing land as he wished, Emperor Jianwen supported the end, and the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty also made different choices, some defected to Zhu Di, some swore to die, and Fang Xiaoru was the latter.
However, Fang Xiaoru was a very influential scholar at that time, so Zhu Di even went to prison personally and wanted Fang Xiaoru to write an edict to show that Zhu Di's rebellion was more justified. However, Fang Xiaoru said: "Fate can not be wanted, the edict cannot be drafted", Zhu Di was furious: "If you do not obey, you will be cursed by the Nine Tribes", who knows that Fang Xiaoru is even more arrogant: "There is a kind of curse on my ten tribes". Zhu Di's language is blocked, and there is no precedent for the "Ten Tribes" in history. He pondered for a long time and suddenly said, "Then add this clan to you as well."
Isn't Fang Xiaoru a well-known scholar? Zhu Di added his friends and protégés to the area, killing a total of 873 people. Fang Xiaoru himself was even more punished by Ling Chi, Fang Xiaoru was only 46 years old when he died, although Zhu Di vigorously smeared Fang Xiaoru and listed Fang Xiaoru's books as banned books, but history has its own public opinion, Fang Xiaoru's heroic integrity is endlessly sung, and it is an example for ancient readers.