five ancient Chinese punishments; penal system
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesnoun
the five punishments; the five chief categories of penal servitude in ancient China
archaicIn the Shang and Zhou dynasties, these were: tattooing the face (墨), cutting off the nose (劓), cutting off the feet (剕), castration (宫), and death (大辟). After the Sui dynasty, the system was reformed to: light beating with a stick (笞), heavy beating with a heavy stick (杖), hard labor (徒), exile (流), and death (死).
The five punishments were a core component of the ancient Chinese legal system.
Tattooing, nose-cutting, foot amputation, castration, and death comprised the five-punishment system of the pre-Qin slave society period.
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The Sui dynasty abolished the cruel five-punishment system, establishing a new system of light beating, heavy beating, hard labor, exile, and death.
In ancient times, the five punishments were an important means of maintaining social order.