BB-030 / Punishment
Lingchi (Death by a Thousand Cuts)
The Act
The condemned was tied to a post and pieces of flesh were methodically cut from the body over an extended period, culminating in death. The method was reserved for particularly serious crimes such as treason or parricide and was intended both as punishment and as a public deterrent.
The Response
Lingchi was formally abolished in 1905 as part of late-Qing legal reforms influenced by international pressure and modernization efforts. It survives in historical records and popular memory as an emblem of extreme judicial cruelty.