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In many literary works about antiquity, we can often see prisoners sent to distant places.
These prisoners often carry heavy instruments of torture and have their faces tattooed with handwriting symbolizing shame.
Compared with those criminals who were beheaded and delayed, their end does not seem to be very miserable, but as a punishment that has lasted for thousands of years on the land of China, exile still has its terrible points.
This criminal law was designated as one of the five punishments in the Sui Dynasty on the mainland, and was not completely abolished until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and the prisoners who suffered exile were usually tortured in unimaginable ways for ordinary people.
It is puzzling, however, that among the many prisoners, the couriers in charge of escorting them are particularly fond of female prisoners.
Whenever a female prisoner is sentenced to "exile", officials often scramble to carry out the task.
So, what kind of danger and secrecy is behind the execution? Why are local servants so enthusiastic about escort missions whenever female prisoners are sentenced to exile? As a punishment, why was exile abolished in modern times?
(Painting depicting "exile")
Next, let's go slowly.
An ancient "punishment"
In the mainland Confucian classic "Book of Shang", there is a record of the "punishment of exile".
In the Shangshu. In the Shundian ", there is a passage like this: "Five punishments of wandering, five punishments of wandering, five houses and three residences, but only Ke Mingyun." ”
Ancient figures such as Gonggong and Sanmiao were tribal leaders at the time, and after defeating these people, Emperor Shun did not sentence them to death, but punished them with a lighter "punishment of exile".
At that time, "exile" was seen as a form of forgiveness for prisoners by those in power.
As the saying goes, "capital crimes can be avoided, living crimes cannot be escaped." In such cases, prisoners are often sent to far-reaching and extreme lands.
(Book of Shang)
Although the government exempted prisoners from the death penalty on the surface, in the process of exile, if the prisoner was injured by birds and beasts and died, the government would most likely not be responsible.
Thus, in many cases, prisoners would rather be sentenced to death than exile.
However, before the prisoners are exiled, the government will most likely punish them, and many prisoners are injured on the road, which adds a lot of uncertainty to their journey.
Later, the mainland entered a slave society, and although people became more cruel in criminal law, the "punishment of exile" was retained by later generations.
The popularity of this period was mainly aimed at the "aristocratic class". In this way, even if they break the law, they do not have to lose their lives.
Therefore, this can also be seen as a defense of the aristocratic class and the slavery system of the time.
But even more interestingly, the Shang Dynasty's law enforcement ministers could even use "exile punishment" on rulers.
There is such a record in the "Records of History": "Emperor Taijia was established for three years without knowing tyranny and disrespecting Tangfa and chaotic virtues, so Yi Yin released it in the Tong Palace." ”
Three years after Shang King Taijia ascended the throne, he did not govern according to the wishes of the previous king Shang Tang, so the old ministers left by Shang Tang to Taijia banished Taijia to the Copper Palace in the name of "disobeying the orders of the previous king".
This story was known by later people through Sima Qian's historical writing.
At the same time, we can also see that exile was a very common punishment at the time.
In the Qin Dynasty, because Shang Martin and Han Fei and others established a political system under the guidance of "Legalist Thought", the laws of the Qin Dynasty could be described as unprecedentedly strict and numerous.
At that time, Qin Shi Huang regarded exile as a very common punishment, and he used it on prisoners at every turn.
(Showang "Taijia" image)
Therefore, in the Qin Dynasty, a large number of prisoners were exiled, and after they were exiled, they often needed to participate in local construction projects to make up for the local "shortage of strong labor".
During this period, exile was often referred to as "slashing" or "slaughtering."
At that time, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were delayed on the road due to the weather, and according to the "decree" of the Qin Dynasty, the original trip to exile also became beheading, and the more this group of prisoners thought about it, the more afraid they became, so they simply revolted.
(Portrait of Yi Yin, a famous minister of the Shang Dynasty)
The Qin Dynasty set up too many enemies for itself because of the "harsh punishment and harsh law", and these enemies also threw themselves into the hostile camp and became an important force threatening the rule of the Qin Dynasty.
As a result, the Qin Dynasty's nationwide rule came to an end after only 15 years.
In the early years of the Han Dynasty, the rulers of the dynasty learned the lesson of the demise of the Qin Dynasty and began to use the "Huang Lao Technique" to guide the governance of the country.
Under such circumstances, the laws of the whole country became relaxed, and the whole society presented a peaceful and peaceful scene. But over time, such a political system also showed its drawbacks.
Due to the long-term comfortable development, the Han Dynasty's control over the border areas gradually declined.
Coupled with the Xiongnu's repeated violations of the ban, plundering the materials and population of the Han Dynasty, these problems made the Han rulers begin to think about the future "statecraft".
(Portrait of Liu Che, "Emperor Wudi of Han")
At that time, several Confucian priests approached Emperor Wudi of Han that the imperial court should impose some relatively light punishments throughout the country to consolidate its rule.
Therefore, after Emperor Wudi of Han organized two large-scale conquests against the Xiongnu, the Han court re-emphasized the use of "exile".
At that time, the Han Dynasty included the Hexi Corridor under its rule, and set up these Xiongnu ancestral lands as Jiuquan County and Shuofang County of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Wudi of Han was able to exile all the exiled prisoners to these places to strengthen local construction.
(Painting depicting "Hun cavalry")
As a result, a large number of prisoners were sent to Shuofang and Jiuquan counties with various punishments.
Not only did the prisoners feel a kind of happiness for the rest of their lives, but the Han Dynasty also had a steady stream of "labor" to build the frontier.
However, the real "exile punishment" was not officially established as an official punishment until the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
In order to show punishment, people will even tattoo the face of the criminal, and it is precisely because of this that the "exile" at this time is often regarded as a more humiliating punishment.
Because of the "humiliating" nature of this punishment, it is often used on civilian officials in the DPRK.
It turns out that this method of "stabbing word distribution" has indeed played a big role.
(Late Qing prisoners)
The "execution" of this period did not take female prisoners into account, so whether the offender was male or female, they were required to tattoo their faces before being issued.
But after all, there are differences between men and women, and after adding many punishments against women, the ancients made a fuss about cases of female exile.
So much so that whenever there was a "execution" case involving female prisoners, the officials in the Yamen would scramble to run errands.
So, what is the hidden secret behind this?
(Late Qing prisoners)
"Female prisoners" in exile
In ancient times on the mainland, many officials came up with some punishments specifically for women in order to torture prisoners, and these punishments would feel extremely cruel even to people today.
For some women whose crimes are not serious, the government will exile them to extreme places and make them suffer.
But at this time, the servants in the Yamen often scramble to carry out the task of escorting prisoners.
Because after the Tang and Song Dynasties, Chinese society has in fact formed a vulgar concept of "feudal rite religion".
In this context, many people will see women's crime as something more serious than men's crime.
(Portrait of an "ancient woman")
Once prisoners embark on the road of exile, they face various risks, and the prisoners' food, clothing, and even life and death on the road are controlled by the officials responsible for escorting them.
In order to make their families suffer less, some women's families will take the initiative to provide some bribes to the officials.
You know, in ancient times on the mainland, officials and officials were often two separate independent systems.
Most of the officials in charge of escorting prisoners were small officials in the Yamen, who had low incomes and could not support their families on their meager income.
Therefore, once there is a bribe to take, these officials in the gate are actually very happy.
In addition, some of the officials in the Yamen had bad intentions for the female prisoners who were escorted, and according to the concept at the time, even if a woman died, she could not "lose her temper", and often the woman's family would send money to the women in order to seek peace for her.
(Prisoners on their way to exile)
However, after all, there were many unexpected circumstances on the road, so many officials could both collect money and evil, and then kill the prisoners escorted on the way.
In the end, these officials would report the death of the prisoner to the "superior Yamen" in the name of accident, and most of the Yamen would choose to ignore such a headless "small case".
Therefore, in the end, such things often lead to the officials getting the money, the prisoners losing their lives, and in the end only the families of those prisoners are heartbroken.
In addition, from the perspective of performing tasks, women's physical strength is much weaker than that of men, which means that this trip is relatively easy.
Compared with the days when they were instructed and looked at their faces every day in the Yamen, many officials were certainly willing to go far and become a real "soil emperor" themselves.
("Female prisoners" on the way to exile)
These women sentenced to "exile" often carry heavy work after arriving at their destination, and most of them will be sent to some yards dedicated to hard work to continue to be punished.
Without the "pardon" from the imperial court, most of them would have died of illness or old age there.
There is also a situation that most "despair" among exiled prisoners, who feel even more frightened when they are exiled to distant lands if their families are no longer alive.
Because at this time, officials will dispose of their lives at will, even if there is a "human life" in the future, no one will speak for the dead at all.
And many officials will also kill these prisoners who have no use value in order to return to the mission as soon as possible.
If someone pays for these officials to kill the prisoners at this time, they will agree without hesitation.
(Painting depicting "Qing Dynasty torture")
In the mainland's classical masterpiece "Water Margin", there was a story of "two officials responsible for escorting prisoners who deliberately killed people".
Although the process and ending of the story have elements of the author's dramatic processing, through the stories in the Water Margin, it is not difficult to find that "hiring officials to kill prisoners in exile" was also a very common phenomenon at that time.
In the ancient "exile" on the mainland, people gradually formed an unwritten rule: if the criminal is a northerner, then he will be exiled to the southern "miasma land". If the criminal was a southerner, the imperial court would send him to the "extremely cold land" in the north.
Doing so not only destroys the prisoner's will and sense of resistance, but also adds some "man" to the place.
This is also an important reason why during the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the imperial court liked to send prisoners to places such as Ninguta.
Later, the northeast became a more densely populated area on the mainland, which was inseparable from the large number of immigrants and exiles in the late Qing Dynasty.
(Peking Opera "Wild Boar Forest" adapted from "Water Margin")
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, officials often cut off the fingers or toes of exiles before setting off to show punishment and warning to prisoners.
In this way, those prisoners completely lost the ability to escape or confront the officials.
But this is undoubtedly a physical and mental "double torture" for those prisoners who are on their way to exile.
At the same time, because the territory of the Qing dynasty was "expanded", the places of exile became more and more remote. All "exiles" are divided into different classes according to the severity of the crimes committed by the prisoners.
Some prisoners considered guilty by the government will even be sent to the border of Xinjiang.
(Painting depicting "Qing Dynasty torture")
In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution completely destroyed the decadent Manchu dynasty.
After the establishment of the Republic of China, the new government promulgated new laws and regulations, and in the Criminal Law of the National Government, many feudal punishments such as exile and beheading were abolished.
So, what significance does this mean for the overall progress and development of mainland society? Why did people insist on abolishing the "exile punishment" after the establishment of the Republic of China?
(Shadow of the "Provisional Law of the Republic of China")
III. The "Contradictory Outcome" of Ideal and Reality
In fact, the Republic of China government's choice to abolish beheading and exile is more to prove the "advanced" and "democratic" nature of its regime.
At that time, many intellectuals believed that the exile of a person to another country was too barbaric, since the Republic of China claimed to be a democratic republic that "imitated Europe and the United States".
In this republic, there should be no more "barbaric punishments" left over from those eras, and this is also seriously inconsistent with the spirit of a "modern society".
Therefore, after the establishment of the Republic of China, beheading and exile must be abolished.
(Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the "founder" of the Republic of China)
Second, many officials at the time came up with the idea that if a prisoner were sent to extreme lands, it would be extremely difficult to manage.
If you need to send prisoners to distant places and let him do coolies, it is better to let him do coolies locally, so that the government can also save a large amount of "financial expenditure".
At that time, the Republican government's control over various places was relatively weak, and if prisoners were sent to places far away from the central government, they were very likely to take the opportunity to escape, which was essentially contrary to the original intention of the court to try and punish them.
Therefore, out of practical considerations, the Republic of China government must also abolish the punishment method of "exile".
But strangely, for many years after the founding of the Republic of China, some local governments still used the laws of the Qing dynasty.
Because the "judicial system" formulated by the Republic of China government is too idealistic for Chinese society.
The laws of the Republic of China government cannot be implemented at all in some places, let alone have any "deterrent power".
("Political rally" in the early years of the Republic of China)
In addition, the "clan power" during the Republic of China was still very strong, and many families still had the so-called "family law" of inherited feudal dynasty decrees.
Many times, people in some backward areas simply do not know what the so-called "Republic of China Constitution" is, and all they can feel is strict "family rules" and harsh "family laws".
Since the "feudal ideology" in people's hearts has not yet been eradicated, during the Republican period, many places still retained beheading and exile, and the local people were also very willing to watch and discuss "killing heads".
("Old Police Force" during the Republic of China)
It was under such a social background that Mr. Lu Xun wrote the "Diary of a Madman" that was passed down to later generations.
In a society full of feudalism, these seemingly high-sounding slogans about the rule of law are nothing more than a joke.
To achieve true rule of law, we must get rid of the feudal ideology in Chinese's mind.
In October 1949, amid the overwhelming "red flag" in Tiananmen Square, a brand new "People's Republic" was born!
Subsequently, New China passed its own legal provisions, and cadres of party committees at all levels also began to go to the countryside to carry out law popularization and training and literacy work among ordinary people.
By this time, the feudal criminal law system, which had been rampant on the land of China for more than 2,000 years, had finally reached the "end".
Chinese finally replaced the gruesome punishments with more civilized means and decrees.
Under the guidance of the "red halo", Chinese society has finally made progress in a practical sense.
(Group photo of delegates to the First National People's Congress)
However, the work of building the rule of law on the mainland has always been only "in progress" and not "when it is completed".
In the context of the new era, our rule of law construction naturally has new challenges.
The laws of the mainland are also constantly being revised and improved in accordance with changes in social reality.
When the rule of law of a society gradually moves towards perfection and "humanization", the society can be regarded as truly having temperature.
And this is also the goal of our rule of law construction, and it is also the direction we will strive for in the future.
Perhaps the road ahead is still full of unknowns and ups and downs, but modern law will become the best "talisman" for each of us.
Under the norms of one law after another, society will move forward in an orderly manner.
Every citizen of the republic will also have a real "sense of happiness" under this sky supported by the rule of law.
Bibliography:
"When was the exile included in the five punishments" Ma Xin
A Preliminary Study of the Ancient Chinese Penal System, Yan Yuanyuan
"An Examination of the Characteristics of Exile in the Song Dynasty" Yin Min
"The Difference Between Military Punishment and Exile in the Ming Dynasty" by Guo Rui
"The History of the Evolution of Ancient Punishment on the Mainland" Mei Xianghua
"On the Changes of the Two Han Dynasties, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", Lian Hong
Editor: Cloudy wine
Responsible editor: Lin Painting