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Yating Yang

In ancient China there was a unique and quirky profession: if someone committed a crime and was sentenced to flogging, they could hire another person to take the punishment on their behalf.
During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), flogging was a form of punishment in which court officials were publicly beaten with heavy rods.
The striking end of the rod was carved into a hammer-like shape and wrapped in iron and sometimes even fitted with barbs, making the punishment extremely brutal.

There were two types of flogging: “attentive beating” and “real beating”.
The former meant the victim would almost certainly die, while the latter meant the punishment was intended to spare the person’s life while still delivering a harsh lesson.
The method used depended on the secret instructions of the emperor, conveyed through the supervising official.
He would signal the intended severity of the punishment through subtle gestures, such as the positioning of his toes or through coded verbal commands to the executioners.

These ambiguous signals often left room for abuse of power.
During the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, a new profession emerged known as Da Hang , meaning beating gangs. Their members were called Qing Shou, meaning hired beaters or hitmen.
Historical records show that these groups first appeared in Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, southeastern China, and eventually became a major social menace across the Jiangnan region.
Their business mainly consisted of two services.

One was assault-for-hire, where they were paid to beat or intimidate someone on behalf of a client.
Another was taking beatings on behalf of others.
When someone committed an offence and was sentenced to flogging, those who wished to avoid the punishment could pay to hire a substitute to take the beating in their place.
The cost of the substitutes depended on the number of blows to be received.
During the late Ming dynasty, as the government urgently pressed for tax payments, many ordinary people were unable to pay on time and received punishment beatings.
As long as they were willing to pay, hired thugs could take the punishment on their behalf.
Over time, these groups also expanded into other activities.

For example, Ming dynasty laws explicitly prohibited forcing widows to remarry. If a widow remarried, she would lose her right to inherit property from her late husband’s family.
As a result, some relatives who did not want widows to remain in the family would hire members of the Da Hang to pressure them into remarrying.
These men would gather in small groups outside the widow’s home, using verbal abuse to pressure her into remarrying.
If this failed, they might deliberately provoke conflicts, arrange forced marriages through matchmakers or even resort to threats and violence.


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Brutal centuries-old penal system saw lawbreakers beaten to death with iron-wrapped hammer fitted with barbs


Brutal centuries-old penal system saw lawbreakers beaten to death with iron-wrapped hammer fitted with barbs.


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Ancient Chinese people sentenced to flogging could hire substitutes to endure punishment for a fee

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Brutal centuries-old penal system saw lawbreakers beaten to death with iron-wrapped hammer fitted with barbs

Brutal centuries-old penal system saw lawbreakers beaten to death with iron-wrapped hammer fitted with barbs