Penalty is a product of feudal society. Depending on the status, the penalties for each class are also different. Today, we learn about some of the most cruel punishments under the feudal system.
Palace punishment, Kong Anguo in the Han Dynasty: "Palace is also a punishment for obscenity. Men are circumcised and women are claustrophobic, which is the next death penalty." Castration applies to both men and women, and there is no need to say anything about men. Castration was definitely carried out on women, and it was still carried out on women at least until the Ming Dynasty. However, the implementation method has different opinions and is more complicated.
Lenggong: Also known as Yougong, it is a harem prison in disguise.
The cold palace is usually located in a remote and dilapidated palace, with extremely poor living conditions. Confinement in a cold palace is an extremely common punishment. After Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty and Concubine Xiao Shu were framed by Wu Zetian's conspiracy, they were imprisoned in the cold palace.
Certal punishment
Chinese punishment: In the literature, the description of female uterine punishment is very vague, and there is almost no clear information. It can only be found out through research. "Book of Rites of Zhou" Notes on Qiu Guan Si Punishment says: "The husband cuts off his power, and the woman closes her palace." It is a kind of physical punishment that castrates the male genitals and destroys the woman's reproductive function.
It is said that the original function of castration was to punish improper sexual relations between men and women. However, with the strengthening of the feudal autocratic system, the scope of castration was gradually expanded. After the Qin and Han dynasties, it became a cruel method used by rulers to deal with rebels.
Guarding the mausoleum, the mountain palace is closed and there is no daylight, and the body is not allowed to come out until it is dead.
Guarding the tomb: Another tragic end for concubines is to guard the tomb of the dead emperor. Its system began in the Western Han Dynasty. In the early Western Han Dynasty, Empress Lu was jealous of Liu Bang's favored concubines, and all the concubines who were favored by Liu Bang were kept in seclusion in the palace. When Liu Bang died, his concubines who had no children were sent to live in the cemetery in accordance with regulations. The palace servants must "serve him day and night, have a wooden stick, quilt and pillow, and treat death as if he were alive."
From then on, "The mountain palace is closed without a daylight, and I am not allowed to come out until I die."