Chinese Execution Called Lingchi

令人恐怖的中国死刑方法凌迟，详解

凌迟，从“千刀万剐”到“慢切”，是一种中国式的缓慢酷刑，数百年来一直沿用至今，一直延续到 20 世纪。尽管这个词的英文翻译多种多样，但这种做法本身非常简单。凌迟处决本质上是行刑者在还活着的时候，慢慢地、小心翼翼地、煞费苦心地将他们的身体切开。凌迟与剥皮（在人活着的时候剥去皮肤）类似，不同之处在于它还包含活体（显然没有麻醉）截肢。然而，正如一系列著名的凌迟图像所暗示的那样，在凌迟受害者幸福的微笑中，震惊在残酷过程中的某个时刻占据了主导地位。

并不是每个人都会用这种令人难以置信的病态方法处决。 要想对凌迟处死，你必须犯下死罪——严重藐视当时社会秩序的罪行。

西方对凌迟及其描述也存在很多争议。19 世纪末，凌迟在西方代表了中国刑罚制度的恐怖，一些历史学家反对对凌迟的普遍解释。虽然有些人声称凌迟是处决的手段，但其他人，包括一位声称在 19 世纪末目睹过凌迟处死的澳大利亚旅行者，声称凌迟是在死后进行的。

无论有关凌迟的争论如何塑造了西方对中国的看法，凌迟处死的画面仍然令人难以忘怀——尤其是理论家乔治·巴塔耶在其开创性的文化理论著作《爱神的眼泪》中所包含的画面，这些画面展示了一个活着的男人正在遭受凌迟。

 一系列照片记录了凌迟的难以形容的恐怖

法国文化理论家乔治·巴塔耶在 1961 年发表的《爱神的眼泪》一书中重点讨论了凌迟，该书探讨了众多特定文化习俗中快乐与痛苦的复杂关系。凌迟是如何在与快乐有关的讨论中被选中的？因为在巴塔耶在文中附上的一系列照片中，一名囚犯——他正处于被切割和截肢的过程中——仰望天空，脸上挂着超凡脱俗的微笑。

整个照片系列（可在此处查看）记录了囚犯在凌迟阶段的奇怪而可怕的经历。首先，他被绑在一根柱子上，双手被绑在身后。然后，刽子手慢慢地、一丝不苟地雕刻他的胸肌和手臂，最终一一截断他的四肢。 随着照片系列的进展，受害者的笑容随着每个连续的动作而变得更加灿烂。尽管历史学家指出，巴塔耶在描述这一事件时犯了许多错误，但受害者那令人难忘的狂喜表情却很难被忽视。

绰号“千刀万剐”并没有真正体现出这种方法的真正意义，视频片段证明了这一点

虽然凌迟最常用的英文翻译是“千刀万剐”，但这并没有捕捉到处决方法的实际过程。凌迟结合了剥皮（切掉大块皮肤，包括胸肌）和截肢，这种方法涉及的远比用剑割纸要多得多。

通常，受害者会被绑在一根木柱上，然后从他们的四肢和胸部剥下大块皮肤。之后，四肢会被一个接一个地截掉。最后，他们会被斩首或刺穿心脏而死。 对于少数幸运儿来说，这最后一步会先实施，仪式化的割礼将作为一种死后羞辱的形式实施。

你必须做什么才能遭受凌迟？ 非常糟糕的事情

凌迟不是中国和越南官员每天都施行的一种酷刑和处决方法。

要遭受这种命运，你必须犯下死罪，包括叛国罪、弑母罪、弑父罪或大屠杀罪。 这种做法不仅极其痛苦，而且还带有儒家精神含义。

这种方法持续的时间比它应该持续的时间长得多——一直持续到 20 世纪

从心理上讲，能够将凌迟处决这种令人不安的事情归结为遥远的过去，这将是一件好事。 毕竟，人类不是一代一代变得更加文明吗？ 并非如此。

 从最早的皇帝开始，凌迟才被正式废除，直到1905年中国刑法修改。

Crime & Punishment

The Horrifying Chinese Execution Method Called Lingchi, Explained

Lingchi, translated as everything from "death by a thousand cuts" to "slow slicing," is a Chinese form of slow-torture execution that was practiced for hundreds of years - well into the 20th century. Despite the variety of English translations for the word, the practice itself was pretty straightforward. Essentially, execution by lingchi involved the condemned individual having their body slowly, carefully, and painstakingly cut up by an executioner - while they were still alive. Similar to flaying - the removal of skin while an individual is alive - lingchi differed in that it also incorporated live (obviously un-anesthetized) amputations. As a series of famous images of lingchi suggests, however, in the beatific smile of the lingchi victim, shock took over at some point in the gruesome process.

Not just anyone was executed in this unbelievably morbid method. To wind up on the wrong side of lingchi, you had to have committed a capital crime - one that seriously flouted the social orders of the period.

There is also a great deal of debate regarding lingchi and its portrayal in the West. In the late 19th century, it came to represent the horrors of the Chinese penal system to the West, and some historians pushed back against the received interpretation of the method. Though some claim lingchi functioned as the means of execution, others, including an Australian traveler who said he witnessed the method in the late 19th century, claimed the slicing was done postmortem.

Regardless of how the arguments about lingchi shaped Western perceptions of China, the images of the practice remain haunting - in particular, the images that theorist Georges Bataille included in his seminal work of cultural theory, The Tears of Eros, which show a man who is very much alive and being subjected to lingchi.

A Series Of Photographs Captures The Indescribable Horror Of Lingchi

French cultural theorist Georges Bataille focused on lingchi in his 1961 text, The Tears of Eros, which explores the complex relationship between pleasure and pain in a multitude of specific cultural practices. How did lingchi get selected in a discussion of anything that even comes close to the subject of pleasure? Because in a series of photographs Bataille includes in the text, a convict - who is literally in the process of being sliced and amputated - looks to the sky with an otherworldly smile plastered across his face. 

That whole photo series, which can be viewed here, documents the convict's strange and gruesome journey through the stages of lingchi. First, he is tied to a post, his arms bound behind his back. From there, an executioner slowly and meticulously carves his pectorals and arms, eventually amputating each of his limbs, one at a time. As the photo series progresses, the victim's smile widens with each successive act. Though historians point out that Bataille makes numerous errors in his description of the event, the victim's haunting, ecstatic expression is hard to miss.

The Moniker 'Death By A Thousand Cuts' Really Doesn't Do The Method Justice, As Video Footage Demonstrates

Though the most widely used English translation of lingchi is "death by a thousand cuts," this fails to capture the actual process of the execution method. A combination of flaying - cutting off large chunks of skin, including the pectorals - and amputation, the method involved a lot more than the sword equivalent of lots of paper cuts. 

Typically, a victim would be tied to a wooden post, after which large chunks of skin would be removed from their limbs and chest. After this, the limbs would be amputated one at a time. Finally, they would be killed by decapitation or a stab to the heart. For a lucky few, this final step would be applied first, and the ritualized cuttings would be applied as a form of postmortem humiliation. 

What Did You Have To Do To Be Subjected To Lingchi? Something Really Bad

Lingchi wasn't a method of torture and execution doled out every day by Chinese and Vietnamese officials.

To suffer this fate, you had to commit a capital crime, which included things like treason, matricide, patricide, or mass murder. The practice was not only extremely painful, but also carried Confucian spiritual implications. 

The Method Lasted A Whole Lot Longer Than It Should Have - Well Into The 20th Century

It would be nice - mentally speaking - to be able to relegate something as unsettling as execution by lingchi to the very distant past. After all, isn't it the human tendency to become more civilized with each passing generation? Not so much.

Beginning with the earliest emperors, lingchi was not officially abolished until 1905 when the Chinese penal code was overhauled.