We now live in a civilized society, where the law is relatively well developed, and lynching is not allowed to be used to punish criminals. But if we look at the punishment of ancient people from a modern perspective, we will find it very inhumane.
In order to consolidate their rule, the rulers of all dynasties and dynasties would invent some extremely cruel punishments, hoping to completely destroy the defense line of the tortured from various aspects of physiology and psychology, and play a deterrent role.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding king of the Ming Dynasty, once invented a punishment that made all women frightened, a comb, a bowl of water, but almost no one could get through, let's see how cruel it is.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, punishment was also divided between men and women. For those female prisoners who cannot commit heinous crimes, women's prisons are the best place to protect their dignity.
In ancient times, the most common criminal law was the cane, but in real history, it would not be done with a few simple blows, but would arrange for the victim to openly accept the cane, which can be said to be a punishment for both them and those who watched.
For women, this is a very humiliating punishment. Because they will take off their clothes before the cane, if the punishment is too severe, it may harm their vital organs and even lead to the loss of fertility.
In ancient times, especially after the emergence of Cheng Zhu Lixue, chastity became a shackle imposed on them by society. So, although it may not be life-threatening, it is enough to torture them forever.
From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang dynasties, under the influence of the Confucian idea of "benevolent governance", all kinds of torture were gradually abandoned, and Emperor Wen of Sui promulgated the "Five Punishments", which laid the foundation for the punishment of the feudal dynasty of later generations.
But in the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of torture "made a comeback", and even surpassed it. Among them, the punishment of "grooming" makes those who know it frightened.
The name of the punishment sounds gentle, but it is actually cruel. Although only a comb and a bowl of water are used, this comb is a specially made iron comb, and this bowl of water is piping hot boiling water.
According to Shen Wen's "Records of the First Politics of the Holy Monarch", when carrying out this punishment, the executioner would first take off the prisoner's clothes, place her on an iron bed, pour boiling water on the victim several times, and then use an iron comb to "wash" the victim's skin and flesh layer by layer.
Just like in the folk, when killing pigs, they use boiling water to remove their hair, until the hair is taken off, and the skin and flesh are completely rotten, which will cause their skin to ulcerate in a large area, expose white bones, gradually lose consciousness, and even die directly.
In fact, when this punishment was first invented, it was not intended for women. Because Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a peasant family, he had a deep understanding of the endangerment of the people in the late Yuan Dynasty, so after becoming the emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang hated corrupt officials and corrupt officials. Many of the punishments during the Hongwu period were aimed at corrupt officials, not ordinary people.
Out of hatred for the phenomenon of corrupt officials harming the people, Zhu Yuanzhang never knew what it meant to be lenient in the face of corrupt officials. After all, his own parents starved to death because of the exploitation of corrupt officials.
"I will slaughter all the corrupt officials in the world" also reflects his ambition, according to records, during the Hongwu period, all officials who embezzled one or two pieces of silver had to be punished to a certain extent.
In fact, the punishment of "grooming" was not invented by Zhu Yuanzhang, but was only carried forward in his hands. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a description of this punishment.
According to the "Old Tang Book", Wu Sansi once sent Zhou Lizhen to arrest Huan Yanfan, dragged him around on the bamboo chariot, exposed his white bones, and then killed him with a rod.
Fortunately, no matter how torture develops, it cannot stop the progress and development of civilization. Torture, as a feudal remnant of history, must be abandoned.
This is an irresistible historical trend and law of development, and the development of human society and the progress of civilization will become more and more humane.