8. Chinese punishment for criminal behavior was harsh and swift
As with all of the ancient civilizations, a criminal element emerged in China, and authorities both local and national enacted policies and procedures for dealing with it. Those suspected of committing crimes could be induced into providing the authorities with a confession through the use of torture, and several ingeniously cruel methods of conducting it were developed. The ancient Chinese also used torture against prisoners of war. Children were subject to various tortures or maiming as well as adults, the binding of girls’ feet being just one example. It was common among the urban poor to castrate males at birth, similar to the idea of circumcision in the west, in order that they may serve as eunuchs in the homes and palaces of the wealthy.
Judges often ordered torture during the course of a trial, conducted within the courtroom, using a variety of methods including twisting the victim’s arm around an upright pole in an agonizing manner while officers of the court beat the victim with whips or poles. A victim which persisted in a plea of not guilty to whatever crime he was charged with merely increased the severity of the beating until he collapsed. Few prevailed in court. Sentences for the guilty included maiming, restraining in collars and stocks, beatings, ritual executions, or exile to remote areas of the empire, enslaved for the remainder of his life.
