The last executioner in Chinese history was Deng Haishan, who was born into a poor family in Changsha, Hunan Province. At that time, the country was still under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, and the execution of prisoners was cut off from the first rank, so at that time, basically every local government office would be equipped with executioners. However, executioners often have to take lives and deal with dead people, and most people are reluctant to do so, and sometimes the government needs to directly name people and force people to serve as executioners. Even later in the Qing Dynasty, there were not many executioners registered in the management office of the Prison Detention Department of the Ministry of Punishment. But Deng Haishan didn't care so much, and when he grew up, the situation became more and more turbulent, and there were wars everywhere. In order to eat a mixture of food, he arose the idea of becoming an executioner. Because the executioner was too detrimental to the morality, the salary given by the government was relatively high.
Deng Haishan
Although the profession of executioner is not popular, it is not something that you want to learn, after all, things are rare and expensive. Generally, the older the age, the more senior the executioner, the more popular he is, and he will be honored as a grandmother by his subordinates. Of course, to learn is to learn the best craft, Deng Haishan's goal is the grandmother of Huguangxing Province at that time, an executioner named Tong Shaoji. In order to get the moon first, Deng Haishan spent all his savings and sought a position as a servant in Yamen, Huguanghang Province. Because it was often necessary to escort death row inmates to the execution ground, Deng Haishan got into a relationship with Tong Shaoji as he wished. But this is not enough, the flexible Deng Haishan, from time to time, will also bring wine to Tong Shaoji to drink two cups, Lala homely, talk about the heart. Tong Shaoji did not have many friends because he was an executioner. Over time, he regarded Deng Haishan as his own year-old friend. After knowing that Deng Haishan had the idea of being an executioner, he did not hesitate to accept him as a closed disciple.
Deng Haishan officially became Tong Shaoji's apprentice, and when he began to learn the craft, he found that the original executioner, an ancient industry, after the accumulation of time, there were many kinds of exquisite things in it, and it was not so easy to learn. A good executioner is a crisp and clean one-size-fits-all. That is, the hand rises, the knife falls, the head falls, and it is done in one go. While making prisoners suffer less, they also avoid indiscriminate slashing and causing the scene to be too bloody. In order to achieve this point, Deng Haishan got up every day before dawn to wield a knife to exercise his arm strength. At that time, in order to completely cut off the prisoner's head, the executioner used a ghost knife, which was very heavy, and it was impossible to lift without some arm strength. What's more, the executioner not only needs to lift the knife, but also requires that the angle of the knife swing is the most suitable for cutting off the prisoner's head. After having enough arm strength, Deng Haishan began to practice chopping winter melons under the guidance of Tong Shaoji. The winter melon was thrown into the air, and Deng Haishan had to follow Tong Shaoji's different requirements and cut the winter melon into two halves of different sizes along the lines he drew from various sharp angles.
Although after cutting down hundreds of winter melons, Deng Haishan was already able to complete all of Tong Shaoji's requirements. But Deng Haishan still couldn't go to the execution ground, after all, the winter melon was a dead thing, and people were living things, and the gap between cutting up was still very large. It also needs enough courage to take the lives of your own kind without mercy. In order to get closer to that feeling, Deng Haishan began to walk the streets and alleys to help people kill pigs. Because Deng Haishan did not receive anything, there were many people looking for him to kill pigs. Soon Deng Haishan became numb, and when the white knife entered and the red knife came out, his eyes did not blink. At this time, Deng Haishan was officially discharged.
In the executioner industry, there has always been a saying that "if a knife kills more than a hundred, it is a big murderer." Therefore, before Deng Haishan went to the execution ground for the first time, master Tong Shaoji specially called him to his side and told him in a serious voice that after cutting off 99 heads, he should stop it in time, create less evil, and accumulate some yin virtue for himself and his future family. But Deng Haishan did not think so, killing 99 is also killing, killing 100 is also killing, not much worse. So Deng Haishan thought that Tong Shaoji was superstitious and did not take it seriously. However, although Deng Haishan thought so in his heart, when he first entered the workplace, he would have to rely on Tong Shaoji in the future, so he still agreed with his mouth.
Deng Haishan's salary at that time was calculated according to the head, and cutting off a head was 4 taels of silver, which was equivalent to the expenses of an ordinary family for half a year. Because deng Haishan's skills are good, not only can the prisoner suffer less and the remains are peaceful; but also allow the prisoner's head to be cut off, and there is less blood on his body, so many prisoners' families have bribed Deng Haishan with money, hoping that he will come forward to help with the execution. It is precisely because of this that while Deng Haishan is making a lot of money, within a few years, he has already cut off 99 heads.
But Deng Haishan did not want to stop there, he was born poor and suffered before becoming an executioner. After earning money through the executioner, as if he had been unsealed, he began to consume retaliatoryly, eating, drinking, and gambling became so proficient that he suddenly wanted to go from luxury to frugality, and he simply could not accept it. Therefore, Deng Haishan left the instructions of his master Tong Shaoji far behind and continued to harvest people's heads at the execution ground. It was not until shortly after the fall of the Qing Dynasty that the new government enacted the Law on the Punishment of Bandits, which stipulated that executions of death row inmates would begin to be shot. Deng Haishan officially ended his career as an executioner. However, at this time, he had already cut the head of 300 people before and after.
Deng Haishan had to find a new job, but as soon as people heard that he had been an executioner before, they immediately sent him away, afraid that Deng Haishan's obscurity would affect his business. Moreover, during the Qing Dynasty, many execution sites were set up in the market, so many people knew Deng Haishan, an old face who often appeared at the execution site, and he wanted to hide his identity. In addition, Deng Haishan could not marry his daughter-in-law, even if he was willing to pay a rich dowry money, he was not willing to marry him, a person who specialized in fishing for yin money and harming yin morality, if he was implicated, it would be more than worth the loss.
Deng Haishan in his later years
Although Deng Haishan could not find a job, the problem of spending money and spending lavishly could not be changed for a while, so he quickly lost his savings and could only beg everywhere for a living. In his later years, Deng Haishan, who had no children and no daughters, found a temple and wanted to atone for his sins, but because he killed too many people, he was rejected. Finally, in 1925, Deng Haishan, who died of loneliness, died in a broken temple.
As the saying goes, "If you don't listen to the old man, you will suffer losses in front of you." The older generation has passed more things and walked more roads, and has a deeper understanding of the world. Therefore, those oral wisdoms still have a lot to learn.