Sasha today in its history.
Author: Sasha
This article is Sasha's original and will not be reprinted by any media
Why was Wang Mang's head preserved for hundreds of years? On July 7, 23, the troops led by Emperor Guangwu of Han successfully annihilated Wang Mang's main army at the Battle of Kunyang, becoming one of the most famous battles in Chinese history with few victories.
Why did Wang Mang's head be preserved for so many years? It is the role of warning future generations.
In The history of China, there is one of the most cruel criminal laws, Ling Chi.
Ling Chi is also called Killing Thousand Knives.
In the past, when old ladies cursed people, they would say, "You kill a thousand knives."
This is very poisonous, and Ling Chi is the most cruel torture.
Ling Chi generally needs at least a dozen knives, as many as hundreds of knives or even thousands of knives.
Using a knife similar to today's barbecue meat cutting, the executioner cut off pieces of meat from prisoners. Naturally, this is extremely painful. If you are a female offender, you will also have your breasts cut off; if you are a male offender, you will eventually have your penis cut off.
If the prisoner is not well paid attention to by the emperor, coupled with a huge bribe, the executioner will cut a few knives and stab him in the heart, reducing the pain.
If it is a repeat offender by the imperial court, no one will dare to favoritism, the prisoner will be miserable, and the last period of life will be extremely painful.
Hong Xiuquan's son, the young king Hong Tianguifu, was tragically recorded by Ling Chi: after arriving at the city of Cao, Ling Chi showed the public, and the two executioners cut ten knives and roared, starting from the head and cutting all the way to the calf, and the sound of his wailing resounded throughout the city, and his belly after the opening of the stomach and the cut pieces of flesh were bought, and his skeleton was thrown into the wilderness for the wild dogs to eat.
Hong Tianguifu was extremely tragically killed by Ling Chi, after all, he didn't live long, and he died of exhaustion.
After Hong Tianguifu's death, the executioner continued to torture the corpse.
Why? Ling Chi was not primarily a threat to prisoners. These people are outlaws, and the horizontal and vertical are also dead, and they can't take care of so much.
Ling Chi was mainly for the common people to see, through the tragic criminal law to scare the people, so that they did not dare to confront the imperial court.
In ancient times, Ling Chi only targeted two situations, the first major crime of human morality, and the second conspiracy.
What is the Great Sin of Humanity?
It is absolutely unacceptable to ancient moral concepts, such as children killing their parents, wives murdering their husbands, parents and children incest, and so on.
Obviously, these crimes are also very serious today, and they are severely criticized by society.
The other is the great sin of rebellion, that is, to sit on the throne of the emperor.
Look, everyone who usurps the throne will be executed, so what is so strange that Wang Mang's head is preserved?
Wang Mang was almost the first great rebellion in Chinese history.
Before the Qin Dynasty, there was no unified centralized state in China.
In essence, Zhou Tianzi was also just a prince.
At that time, there were many things about usurping the throne, but the etiquette law was not really formed, and it also lacked the later feudal dynasty system, and the common people did not care much.
For most of the Warring States period, even the self-cultivating peasants in the strict sense did not exist, and all systems were rudimentary and did not penetrate the hearts of the people.
For the struggle at the top, the people have little interest. Anyway, the meat eaters despise, the high-level killing comes and goes, what does it have to do with the common people, who wins and who pays grain.
After Qin Shi Huang proclaimed himself the First Emperor, it was completely different.
The Qin Dynasty established various systems, the most important of which was the supremacy of imperial power, and the usurper had no place to die.
Qin Shi Huang died a few years after he ascended the throne, and the Qin Dynasty was in chaos, and the country was destroyed in 13 years.
It can be said that the Qin Dynasty is almost not a dynasty, its time is too short, equivalent to the transition between the Han Dynasty and the Warring States.
For the Qin Dynasty, most ordinary people did not have any concept.
The Han Dynasty, on the other hand, was different.
Liu Bang established the Western Han Dynasty, which was the first long-term stable feudal dynasty.
It can be said that all the understanding of the common people for the feudal dynasty was basically realized in the Han Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty and changed it to a new dynasty.
As a result, Wang Mang became the usurper of the first feudal dynasty in history.
If he succeeds, it's okay, but he fails.
Then, Wang Mang is naturally the target of everyone.
In 23 AD, the Green Forest Army entered Chang'an, and the 68-year-old Wang Mang was killed by the merchant Du Wu in the confusion, and the first rank was beheaded for public display.
In those days, hanging the head was commonplace, and some would continue for many years until the skull decayed into a skull.
Wang Mang's head was not buried, but was preserved by the emperors of successive dynasties for more than 200 years!
It was not until the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin in the fifth year of the Western Jin Dynasty (295) that the Luoyang arsenal was on fire and Wang Mang's head was burned.
Wang Mang can be said to be a feudal dynasty, the first usurper loser.
His head, then, is living evidence of the usurper's fate.
Leaving this head behind is enough to scare many ordinary people.
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