In ancient China, a heinous atrocity was rampant. It's called "harvesting and cutting", and it sounds chilling. The methods in which this crime was committed are so brutal that it is impossible to describe them in words. Once discovered, the perpetrator will be severely punished by the court and sentenced to death by death. So, how exactly did this appalling crime come about?
The origin of harvesting and cutting
According to historical records, the origin of harvesting and folding can be traced back to the middle and late Ming Dynasty. At that time, some gangsters who did all kinds of evil began to engage in the criminal activities of child abduction and trafficking. At first, they simply abducted and trafficked children with disabilities and forced them to beg on the streets for profit. Over time, however, the gangsters discovered that there was limited profit from the trafficking of children with disabilities, and they began to target healthy children.
In order to obtain more illegal profits, these gangsters began to carry out an extremely cruel method - harvesting and cutting. They violently assault trafficked healthy children, breaking their limbs and joints so that they can never walk properly. The children are then artificially glued to the animal's hair and trained to imitate the animal's behavior.
Once these "reformed" children are taken to the market or playground to perform, their pitiful appearance and animalistic behavior are bound to arouse the sympathy of passers-by, and thus receive more alms. And these handouts have become the illegal gains of the gangsters.
The appearance of such crimes is undoubtedly a kind of blasphemy and trampling on human nature. It is not only a grave violation of the basic rights of innocent children, but also a relentless injury and destruction of life. However, in those dark years, such atrocities continued to be prohibited, and even rampant in some areas.
The means of harvesting and cutting
In that dark era, in order to obtain illegal benefits, some gangsters even carried out extremely cruel methods of "harvesting and mutilation" on innocent children. They inflict violence on trafficked healthy children, breaking the joints of their limbs and making them unable to walk normally.
According to historical records, the specific methods of this atrocity were: First, the gangsters would kidnap the abducted children and let them cry and struggle. They then slammed the child's knees and elbows with heavy objects, and when the bones at the joints were broken, they used brute force to twist the limbs into a deformed position.
The pain of children in this process is unimaginable. Their screams are loud enough to make anyone with a merciful heart unbearable. However, for those who have lost their conscience, these wails are nothing more than useless shouts.
After breaking the joints of their limbs, the gangsters artificially pasted animal hair on the children to make them look more "like that". They will pick all kinds of animal hair, some are dog hair, some are wool, some are horsehair and so on.
The poor children are then forced to imitate animal behaviors, such as crawling on their stomachs, learning to bark, and making strange roaring noises. When a child refuses to obey, the gangsters beat them mercilessly until they give in.
In the process, many children died because they could not bear the great pain and fear. And those who barely survive will also lose the ability to live a normal life forever, and can only beg on the streets, living a life worse than death.
In those dark times, the atrocities of harvesting and cutting were not committed by individuals, but by some special criminal gangs. These gangs are often referred to as "beggars" or "gangs of the poor", and their members are mostly homeless people, beggars, and others at the bottom of society.
According to historical records, these beggars initially abducted and sold disabled children and forced them to beg on the streets for profit. However, over time, mere begging could no longer satisfy their greedy desires. As a result, some beggar leaders began to follow the circus practice of committing violence against healthy children, disabling them before performing in order to obtain more money.
The specific process of this cruel practice is as follows: First, members of the beggar gang will abduct or abduct healthy children. Then, they would tie up the children and let them cry and struggle. They then use heavy objects or tools to slam the child's knee and elbow joints, and when the bones are broken, they use brute force to twist the limbs into a deformed position.
In the process, the suffering of children is unimaginable. Their screams are loud enough to make anyone with a merciful heart unbearable. However, for those who have lost their conscience, these wails are nothing more than useless shouts.
After breaking the joints of their limbs, in order to make the children look more "like that", the beggars will artificially paste all kinds of animal hair on them, some are dog hair, wool, some horsehair, etc. Then, they force the poor children to imitate animal behaviors, such as crawling on their stomachs, learning to bark, and making strange roaring noises. When a child refuses to obey, the gangsters beat them mercilessly until they give in.
What is even more outrageous is the fact that in this process of "transformation", a considerable number of children die because they cannot bear the great pain and fear. And those who barely survive will also lose the ability to live a normal life forever, and can only beg on the streets, living a life worse than death.
Social impact
The heinous atrocity of harvesting and mutilation had an extremely bad impact on the society at that time. It not only seriously violates the basic rights of innocent children, but also ruthlessly hurts and destroys lives, arousing the anger and hatred of the people.
According to historical records, during the era when the atrocities of harvesting and cutting were rampant, there were frequent cases of missing children in various places. Some innocent families have been brutally torn apart, and parents have lost traces of their children, wailing day and night, and life is worse than death.
In order to find their missing children, some parents do not hesitate to go bankrupt and ask for clues. However, in the end, he got nothing, and he could only spend the rest of his life in endless thoughts about his children. What's more, some parents are grief-stricken because of the loss of their proud sons, and finally choose the path of suicide.
In addition to causing great harm to families, the atrocities of harvesting and cutting have also seriously affected the security and stability of society. In some areas, "beggars" or "gangs of the poor" have even emerged who specialize in this type of criminal activity. Their cruelty and rampant behaviour have caused the local population to live in fear and not allow their children to go out alone.
In the face of such heinous atrocities, the people were filled with righteous indignation and complained to the government one after another, demanding that the criminals be severely punished and that the society be restored to peace. In some places, there have even been spontaneous "beating beggars" movements by the masses in an attempt to expel these beggars by violent means.
The rampant atrocities of harvesting and cutting not only brought great harm to innocent families, but also seriously undermined social order and aroused public anger and resistance. The existence of such crimes is undoubtedly a blasphemy and trampling on human nature, and a merciless injury and destruction of life. Therefore, it must be severely punished by the DPRK in order to bring it to justice and restore peace to society.
Punishment of the imperial court
In the face of this heinous atrocity of "harvesting and cutting", the imperial court was naturally furious. In order to punish such criminals and maintain social order, the imperial court had to issue strict decrees.
According to historical records, during the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court had clearly listed "harvesting and cutting" as a capital punishment crime. There is such a clause in the "Ming Law, Criminal Law, Human Life": "Whoever takes the life and cuts off the human being shall be executed by Ling Chi." It can be seen how severe the punishment for this crime in the Ming Dynasty was.
In the Qing Dynasty, this decree was still followed. In the "Qing Huidian Cases, Criminal Department, Criminal Law and Human Life", a similar provision also appeared: "Anyone who takes a life and cuts off a person shall be executed by Ling Chi." This shows that the Qing Dynasty was equally unrelenting in punishing such atrocities.
So, what exactly is "Ling Chi Execution"? This is an extremely cruel form of punishment. The specific method is to first divide the body of the criminal into five horses, and then the executioner will cut off his flesh and skin one by one, and with each cut, the criminal will suffer unparalleled suffering.
It is said that in the ancient "Ling Chi" process, a person's body needed to be cut more than 3,000 times before he could completely die of death. One can imagine how cruel and ruthless this kind of punishment is for criminals.
However, the reason why the imperial court punished the criminals of "harvesting and cutting" so severely was also out of helplessness. Such atrocities not only constitute a grave violation of the fundamental rights of innocent children, but also constitute a desecration and trampling on life. If it is not punished severely, society will fall into chaos, and people's hearts will be distorted and degenerated as a result.
In addition to the "Ling Chi execution", there are many other punishment methods for the criminal of "harvesting and cutting" in the imperial court. Some would cut off the limbs of criminals and burn them alive, while others would gouge out their eyes and cut off their tongues and bury them alive. All of them are inhumane forms of punishment.
It can be said that the reason why the imperial court punished the criminals of "harvesting and cutting" so severely was to let them experience for themselves how cruel the pain of being "harvested and cut" was. Only in this way can we completely put an end to the occurrence of such atrocities and maintain social tranquility.