appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Zoey Zhang

Ancient China’s legal system was never only about crime and punishment.
It was also a mechanism of imperial control, used to protect the throne, discipline officials and regulate social order.
Across millennia, it gave rise to sophisticated codes such as the Tang Code, as well as rules that now appear bizarre or even absurd.
Rules for public roads began to take shape more than 2,000 years ago.

The Han Feizi records that people who threw ash onto the road could have both hands cut off. In later periods, a similar offence was punished by facial tattooing.
Early law also reached into family life.
The Discourses of the States said men and women with the same surname should not marry, because they were usually from the same clan.
Such unions were believed to cause deformities and infertility among their descendants.
Qin law, from 221 to 206 BC, became notorious for harsh penalties imposed on minor offences.

Commoners who slaughtered ploughing cattle could face death, because cattle were treated as vital state assets.
Under the Tianlü, or Statutes on Agriculture, officials responsible for cattle could also be punished if the animal became thin or injured.
The Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts suggest that people under 1.4 metres tall were not required to pay compensation for damage they caused, nor were they held criminally liable.
This was not necessarily mercy. In an era without reliable age records, height was used as a practical way to judge whether someone had reached adulthood.

The Shiji also states that a wife who caught her husband committing adultery could kill him without punishment.
The rule is often seen as part of Qin efforts to regulate public morals and preserve family order.
Some mainland reports claim adult men who cried in public could have their hair, eyebrows and beard shaved.
Although surviving Qin legal texts have not officially confirmed this, the anecdote reflects the dynasty’s reputation for deterrence and public humiliation.
Confucian norms similarly stressed emotional restraint, urging people to “weep and rejoice in measured ways”.

By the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), the state was trying to rebuild a population depleted by war. One measure was a so-called “single women tax”.
According to the Book of Han, women aged 15 to 30 who remained unmarried had to pay five times the normal tax.
The Sui dynasty (581–618) later created the imperial examination system, opening a path into officialdom for men from modest backgrounds. But opportunity came with risk.
The Book of Sui records that candidates with messy handwriting or a frivolous attitude could be forced to drink ink.

Unlike modern chemical ink, ancient Chinese ink was usually made from plant carbon or pine soot. It tasted bitter, but was generally not poisonous.
By the Tang dynasty (618–907), dogs were no longer kept only as guards. They had also become fashionable pets and markers of status.
Tang law even regulated their behaviour: if a dog bit someone without cause, its ears could be cut off, while the owner escaped punishment.
Imperial taboo shaped other rules.
Tang emperors bore the surname Li, which sounded like the word for carp, making the fish a symbol of imperial authority and good fortune.
According to Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, commoners were banned from catching or eating carp. Offenders could be beaten with a heavy stick.
Empress Wu Zetian, a devout Buddhist, went further, banning the slaughter of livestock and the catching of fish and shrimp. Violators could face death.
The ban proved disastrous during drought and famine, when many people reportedly starved.
In the year 700, minister Cui Rong warned Wu Zetian that banning meat would only encourage fraud and wrongdoing. The eight-year slaughter ban was later abolished.
Tang law was also severe within the family. Those who insulted their parents or grandparents could be sentenced to death by hanging.
In the Southern Han (917–971), Liu Chang, the last emperor, reportedly required men to be castrated before becoming officials, believing those without wives or children would be more loyal to the throne.
He was also said to have devised brutal punishments, including boiling, burning and throwing offenders into tiger enclosures.
In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), imperial taboo reached the farmyard.
Because the royal surname Zhu sounded like the word for pig, ordinary people were banned from raising pigs. Offenders and their families could be exiled.

The ban later became impractical, as pork was needed for state rituals.
The Ming also restricted the private study of astronomy.
Since emperors styled themselves the “Son of Heaven”, celestial events were treated as divine warnings or signs of approval. Interpreting the sky had to remain in state hands.
By the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), China’s last imperial house, even written words could become dangerous.
The period was marked by literary inquisitions, in which careless wording or reversed word order could lead to exile or execution.


Ancient China elites used water fans, ice to cool down in summer; folks had bamboo pillows

Ancient China laws punished men for crying; people with messy handwriting forced to drink ink

Chinese man, 78, lives in supermarket despite owning flat, offers property to new friend for care

‘Occupational bug’: China surgeon goes viral for weighing 150kg due to work stress, bad diet

Trending in China

Ancient China had odd laws; for example, crying without reason could cost a man his hair and messy handwriting could lead to ink-drinking punishment. Photo: Wikipedia

A scholar writes with an ink dish beside him, above. In ancient times people with messy handwriting could be forced to drink ink. Photo: QQ.com

The above painting shows a person with their hands forced above their head. In some punishments, the hands would be cut off. Photo: Getty Images

A modern day woman with a facial tattoo. At one point in history face inking was a form of punishment. Photo: Sohu/Zhihu

The painting above depicts a man being beaten with sticks as a punishment. Photo: Getty Images

This image shows prisoners in ancient times wearing a device used for corporal punishment and humiliation. Photo: Getty Images

The painting above shows a man being brutally restrained and having his face tattooed as a punishment. Photo: Baidu

China’s first female expert tree climber transforms fear of heights into thriving career

China’s first female professional tree climber,  who was once an elite runner afraid of heights, has transformed her fear into a successful career, winning awards and teaching the craft. Photo: SCMP composite/QQ.com

Yu Yanling, above, gets to grips with a troublesome tree in a residential area. Photo: QQ.com

Yu, above, China’s first woman professional tree climber, gives a talk about her work. Photo: QQ.com

Decked out in full safety gear, Yu works her way up the trunk of a tree. Photo: QQ.com

On terra-firma: Yu poses for a photograph alongside some colleagues. Photo: QQ.com

China parent brings son, 12, to work, where he plays with fire, destroying entire office

A parent in China took their 12-year-old son to work where the boy played with fire igniting office clutter, quickly resulting in an extensive blaze that destroyed an entire office. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

The charred remains of the office, above, which was destroyed in the blaze. Photo: Weibo

A window in the background sheds light on the gutted office space. Photo: Weibo

Firefighters battling a raging blaze in Sichuan province, southwestern China. Photo: Xinhua

China emperors drank from mountain springs, melted snow; commoners used murky well water

Nowadays drinking water is routine, but in ancient China emperors drank only from mountain springs and melted snow, while commoners used murky well water. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/dpm.org.cn

A section of the Yongding River in the gorge area of Beijing. The source of drinking water was considered very important in ancient times. Photo: Xinhua

A picturesque water source in China. The ancient elite sought out the best for their refined tastes. Photo: Baidu

Archaeologists unearth a brick-structured sewer from the Han dynasty during a dig. Photo: Xinhua

The above painting depicts a scene from ancient China in which people are carrying and selling water. Photo: Baidu

China parents conceive baby to collect umbilical cord blood to save daughter with severe disorder

A 15-year-old girl with severe thalassemia who weighs just 25kg needed a stem cell transplant. Her parents had a child to preserve umbilical cord blood to save her. Photo SCMP composite/Shutterstock/QQ.com

Teenager Xiaoyan lies in her hospital bed surrounded by machines. Photo: QQ.com

Brave Xiaoyan gives a sign with her right hand to say that she is fine as she sits up in bed Photo: QQ.com

Doctors, above, carry out preparation procedures before a stem cell operation. Photo: Shutterstock

China farmer suffers stroke while selling 4,000kg of apples; hospital staff clear stock in 19 hours

A farmer in China had a stroke while selling 4,000kg of apples. Hospital staff then sold the apples for him in 19 hours. Photo: SCMP composite/news.hubeidaily.net

Ji Yaozhong lies in his hospital bed as a doctor tends to him alongside a visitor. Photo: ifeng.com

Farmer Ji’s truck, above, was loaded up with 4,000kg of apples. Photo: ifeng.com

Eager fruit buyers rushed to buy up Ji’s apples before they rotted, above. Photo: ifeng.com

News

People & Culture

Official forms of discipline in imperial China could see lawbreakers’ hands cut off; eyebrows shaved or faces tattooed


Official forms of discipline in imperial China could see lawbreakers’ hands cut off; eyebrows shaved or faces tattooed.


Chinese history

Ancient China laws punished men for crying; people with messy handwriting forced to drink ink

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Official forms of discipline in imperial China could see lawbreakers’ hands cut off; eyebrows shaved or faces tattooed

Official forms of discipline in imperial China could see lawbreakers’ hands cut off; eyebrows shaved or faces tattooed