|
The nine familial exterminations or nine kinship exterminations (; also known as ''zú zhū'' (族誅), literally "family execution" and ''miè zú'' (灭族/滅族), literally "family extermination" or "execution of nine relations") was the most serious punishment for a capital offense in Ancient China.〔〔〔(The Nine Exterminations (族诛) ) Definition of "族诛" at the China Encyclopedia〕 Typically associated with offenses such as treason, the punishment involved the execution of all relatives of an individual, which were categorized into nine groups. The occurrence of this punishment was somewhat rare, with relatively few sentences recorded throughout history. There were also variants of the punishment found in ancient Korea and Vietnam (the most prominent example being the family of Nguyễn Trãi).〔(BIOGRAPHY Nguyen Trai (1380–1442) ) ''"A close adviser of two successive kings, he was finally suspected to have plotted for regicide. His family was harmed by traitors to the court. He and entire family were executed."''〕 == Historical records == The punishment by nine exterminations is usually associated with the tyrannical rulers throughout Chinese history who were prone to use inhumane methods of asserting control (compare with slow slicing, or "death by ten thousand cuts"). The first written account of the concept is in the ''Classic of History'', a historical account of the Shang (1600 BC – 1046 BC) and Zhou (1045 BC – 256 BC) Dynasties, where it is recorded that prior to a military battle, officers would threaten their subordinates that they would exterminate their families if they refused to obey orders.〔(什么是“族诛” ) "What is 'Mie Zu'?" from the Primary School learning resources network (小学语文资源网)〕 From the Spring and Autumn period (770BC–403BC), there are records of exterminations of "three tribes"〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=中國古代立法與司法 ) "Ancient Chinese law and judiciary", from the Research Institute of Chinese Culture (中國文化研究院)〕 (, see section below). A notable case where under the State of Qin, lawmaker Shang Yang's entire family was killed by order of King Huiwen of Qin,〔pg 80 of ''Classical China'', ed. William H. McNeill and Jean W. Sedlar, Oxford University Press, 1970. LCCN: 68-8409〕 while Yang, himself was sentenced to death in 338 BC by being fastened to either four chariots, four horses, or cattle, and then pulled apart, an ironic occurrence as it was Shang Yang who formulated such a punishment into Qin law in the first place, being commonly recorded as a lawmaker who used excessive punishments.〔(商鞅 为强秦奠基，为自己掘墓 ) "Shang Yang – The mighty lawmaker of Qin, digs his own grave" from Chinadaily ''"Shang Yang learned to read from a young age, and later created a series of reforms, his laws in excess of severity... However, the powerful state of Qin does not comply with the interests of all, bear the brunt of the old aristocracy. In the cancellation of privileges, they become the sworn enemy of Shang Yang."''〕〔(商鞅究竟“做错”了什么 为何会被残忍分尸 ) "Shang Yang's mistakes and the reasons behind his merciless laws" – Phoenix TV report〕 During the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC), punishments became even more rigorous under the first emperor of the unified China state, Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC). In order to uphold his rule, strict laws were enforced,〔(张辉：秦制千年到红朝 ) "Qin system a millennium of red mornings" – China Report Weekly〕 where deception, libel and the study of books (see Burning of books and burying of scholars) became punishable by familial extermination.〔(“株连九族”的历史演进 – 新华网 ) "The history and evolution of '株连九族' (Nine exterminations)" – Xinhua〕 This increase in tyranny only helped to speed up the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty.〔 The Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), although it inherited the concept of family execution, was more moderate in inflicting such severe punishments. In many cases, the Han Emperor would retract the sentence, and so family executions were much rarer than under the Qin Dynasty.〔(晁智囊千慮一失被族誅(西漢)(圖) ) "Thousand worries of the extermination of a family (Western Han)" from the Chinese Civilisation network of the Chinese economic net (華夏文明——中國經濟網)〕 During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the family punishment was not abolished, but it was only applied to those who plotted against the rule of the Emperor. By this time, the penalty had become more regulated and different; from the Tang Code, the sentence involved the death of parents, children over the age of sixteen, and other close kindred, and was only applied to the offenses of treason and rebellion.〔〔(湖北第二师范学院:“株连九族” ) "History of Familial Extermination" from Hubei Normal College II (湖北第二师范学院)〕 From the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) Dynasties onward, the extent to which those within the family were exterminated was increased. Under the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368 – 98), those committing rebellion and treason were punished by having their parents, grandparents, brethren (by birth, as well as "sworn brothers"), children, grandchildren, those living with the criminal regardless of surname, uncles and the children of brethren put to death, as well as death themselves by slow slicing or ''lingchi''.〔(中国死刑观察--明初酷刑 ) "Examination of China's death penalty – torture from the Ming" – Chinamonitor〕〔倪正茂, (比较法学探析 ), 中国法制出版社, 2006 (Google Books)〕 The number of sentences during the Ming were higher than that of the Tang,〔(《明大诰》(档案界) ) "Letters of Ming" from "The Archive Domain" (档案界 档案界门户网站)〕〔(汉字趣编（之十四）（刑） ) "Notable compilation 14 – Punishment" from Secondary school resources (中学语文教学资源网)〕 due to the policy of "showing mercy beneath the sword" (), while females were given the choice to become slaves rather than to be killed. A rare case was Fang Xiaoru (1357–1402), whose students and friends were also executed as the 10th family by the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402 — 1424), the only case where "ten exterminations" was officially sentenced and carried out. The punishment by family extermination during the Qing Dynasty was a direct imitation of the regulation under the Ming.〔Tianting Zheng, (清史 鄭天挺編著 ) (Google Books)〕 The abolishment of the punishment by nine exterminations under the Qing occurred in 1905, where the punishment was officially repealed by the Qing government. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nine familial exterminations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|