'Worst execution imaginable' as victims slowly sliced in public until they die
The controversial killing method has since been banned (Image: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Known as 'death by a thousand cuts' or 'slow slicing', this chilling method of execution doesn't even begin to encapsulate the gruesome nature of the deaths it inflicted in China.Until its prohibition in 1905, criminals across China, Vietnam and Korea could be sentenced to Lingchi, a form of torture resulting in a slow, agonising death. Convicts would have their body parts meticulously and systematically severed with a knife over an extended period until they eventually succumbed.This horrifying execution method was reserved for the most egregious crimes in their society, including treason. Despite being outlawed due to its extreme brutality, its distinctive torturous techniques have been depicted in various forms of media.The harrowing procedure typically involved binding a prisoner to a wooden frame, often commencing the execution in public view. Flesh would then be sliced from the body in numerous ways, not limited or specified by Chinese law, allowing executioners to vary their technique at will.Not only did this punishment result in one of the most excruciating deaths imaginable, but it also served as a form of public humiliation. The torment would seemingly persist even after death, with the lifeless body left hanging for all to gawk at.It was a method that also involved public humiliation (Image: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)The horrors didn't end there. Some reports suggest the victims' flesh may have even been peddled as medicine post-mortem. Moreover, it's thought that the official punishment of death by slicing could have included bone chopping and even cremation after the body parts were severed one by one.A historical photograph from China depicts the execution of Wang Weiqin in 1904, a former official who murdered two families. His demise took place at the execution ground at Caishikou, Beijing, as the harshest penalty for treason and grave family crimes.As savage as this method was, it did not differentiate between genders, with both men and women sentenced to death by slicing. One case, in particular, stands out, as reported by the Beijing publisher the Peking Gazette in 1879: a woman and her lover were both punished after they killed her father-in-law.They believed he was about to reveal their affair, so they murdered him to keep their secret. However, due to the stringent anti-adultery laws, their own lives were then in jeopardy. She was executed by lingchi, and her husband was publicly shamed using a humiliation device for failing to control his wife. This traditional method was known as cangue.Several other individuals are recorded as victims of lingchi, including Cao Jixiang, a former prominent eunuch who served under the Emperor and was executed for leading a military rebellion. Another supposed victim was Yuan Chonghuan, a renowned general during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor, following an alleged attempt to rebel.
