When people mention Ningu Pagoda, they are always attracted by its mysterious name, as if it were a tall and majestic ancient tower. In reality, however, Ninguta does not have a tower.
This is the place where criminals were exiled by the Qing court, and the harsh environment and extreme conditions there are enough to make anyone terrified, especially for innocent female prisoners, it is an extremely terrifying nightmare. This place is terrifying to erect like the gates of hell, where life has no dignity or security.
Countless people stepped into Ninguta, as if stepping into a ghost gate. Ninggu Pagoda is located in present-day Hailin City, Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province. This place, distant and cold, makes people look away from it.
Due to the remoteness of Ninguta and the cold and cold of Heilongjiang, prisoners who were exiled here often had to endure extremely harsh conditions. In that era of material scarcity, prisoners were starved of food, and sometimes even a hot meal became a luxury.
In the fourteenth year of the Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, a scientific examination case shook the government and the public, and the emperor's strict investigation and punishment of the imperial examination made countless students deeply panic. The young talent Fang Zhangyue was involved in this storm due to a rumor and became a victim. Although he struggled to pass the exam, all his grades were declared invalid because of this turmoil.
And he and seven other candidates were convicted of felonies by the emperor, not only all their family property was confiscated, but also forty big boards, and worse, they and their families were all exiled to Ninguta.
When this verdict came out, their family suddenly became dead silent, because Ninguta's reputation was already thunderous among the people. And this notorious place, the most frightening thing is not only the cold and distant environment, but also the indescribable human torture.
On the way to exile, they had to carry heavy shackles and move forward step by step, and the journey was long and arduous, which ordinary people could hardly imagine. Sometimes, only a very small number of people in the exile procession made it alive, and many more died of torture during the exile.
And Ninguta's reputation also plunged the female prisoners sentenced to exile into despair. Most of them were female dependents of official families, who lived in silk since childhood and enjoyed noble treatment. However, the moment they were sentenced to exile to Ninguta, their world collapsed completely. The prosperous days of the past pale in an instant, and they are forced to face the extremely cruel reality of existence.
Some of the exiled female dependents were innocently involved because the men in the family had broken the law; Some were involved in power struggles in the imperial court because they were in the house of official eunuchs; Others, just because they were framed by someone, they couldn't clear themselves. They were dragged from their wealthy mansions to the desolate and cold Heilongjiang, deprived of their original lives and forced to face cold, hunger, disease and despair.
Especially in those days, women had a low status, and they suffered far more than men during their exile and in Ninguta. During their exile, they endured cold, hunger and harsh conditions, and their life in Ninguta was not easy. In order to survive, they need to do some heavy and dangerous labor, and this harsh environment has caused great physical and mental suffering.
The exile system in Ningguta was a harsh punishment for criminals in the Qing Dynasty. Although it seems to us today to be an extremely cruel violation of human rights, in those days it was their reality. Trapped in the shackles of society, countless people have spent the most painful years of their lives there, and their lives are like being thrown into hell. Although the wheel of history has run over this history, this history is still deeply imprinted in the hearts of the people of that era.