Before the Han Dynasty in ancient China, corporal punishment had always existed, which was quite cruel and very harmful to the human body, for example, Sima Qian was tortured by the palace, and Sun Bin was also tortured. Beginning with Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty, corporal punishment was gradually abolished.

But three hundred years later, Zhong Xuan, Chen Qun and others once again set off a discussion about corporal punishment.

【Supporters】

In this great debate over whether corporal punishment should be reinstated, Zhong Xuan and Chen Qun are staunch supporters of corporal punishment restoration.

Earlier, Zhong Xuan believed: "The corporal punishment in ancient times, which has been set up by saints, should be performed again to replace the death penalty." ”

After the establishment of the Wei State, Cao Cao was deliberating whether to resume corporal punishment, so he ordered: "How can I have a gentleman who has reached the ancient and modern times and is able to change reason, and can help me decide this matter!" In the past, Chen Honglu (referring to Chen Qun's father, Chen Ji) thought that the death penalty could be used to inflict benevolence, and it was precisely this aspect of the matter that Chen Honglu was talking about. Can Yu Shi Zhongcheng (referring to Chen Qun) state his father's argument? ”

Chen Qun said: "His subordinates' father thought that the Han Dynasty abolished corporal punishment and increased whipping and cane beating, which was originally intended to reduce the punishment of prisoners out of compassion, but he did not expect that more and more people would die. It is nominally reduced but actually aggravated. Because the punishment is nominally reduced, the common people are easy to ignore and commit crimes, but in essence, the punishment is increased, and the common people are more likely to be harmed. The Book of Shang says: 'Only by reverence and prudence in the use of the five punishments can we develop the three virtues. ’

The "Zhou Yi" also records the criminal law of cutting off the nose, cutting off the foot, and cutting off the toes, which are all used to assist politics and religion and punish evil. Moreover, killing for one's life is also in accordance with the ancient system; It is not reasonable for criminals who have injured or mutilated other people's bodies to simply shave their hair and tie their necks to serve their lives. If the ancient punishment is continued, so that the adulterer ~ adulterer is punished by the palace, and then the prisoner is locked in the silkworm room, and the thief is punished, then there will never be a bad thing such as fornication ~ indiscriminate theft. It is said that in ancient times, there were more than 3,000 kinds of criminal acts that applied the five punishments, and although they could not all be restored, such punishments as rape ~ adultery and theft should be carried out first because rape ~ adultery and theft are common disasters nowadays. According to the law of the Han Dynasty, criminals who committed the most heinous crimes should be beheaded, which could not take into account the so-called benevolence and righteousness. However, corporal punishment may be imposed on other prisoners who are just enough to be killed or not. In this way, the punishment received can be offset with the crime committed. Nowadays, the criminal law of whipping and cane punishment instead of corporal punishment really only values the physical part of the human body and despises the human life! ”

[Opposition]

Relatively speaking, there were more figures who opposed the resumption of corporal punishment during the Three Kingdoms period, including Kong Rong, Fu Gan, Wang Lang and others.

Kong Rong said about the resumption of corporal punishment: "In ancient times, people were thick and simple, there was no difference between good and evil, officials were upright, criminal law was clear, and there were no political mistakes. The people are guilty of their own crimes. In the last days, the atmosphere is corrupted, politics is disturbed, and the laws of the country harm the people. Therefore, if the monarch does not have the way to be a king, the people will be disobedient and want to use the ancient criminal law to mutilate their limbs, which is not a way to eliminate evil and grow good.

Cutting off the calves of those who wade in the morning is said to be tyrannical and unreasonable. Once upon a time, there were 1,800 vassal states in Zhou, and the people of the world had to raise 1,800 monarchs, and if each of them cut off one person's foot, there would be 1,800 beneath him. If you want to have pure customs, you will never be able to do it. And those who have been punished have the desire not to live, and the determination to die. Most of them take risks and do not return to the right path. The sand is chaotic, Yi'er is in trouble, Zhao Gao and Yingbu are the great disasters of the world. Not only can it not prohibit people from doing bad things, but it also cuts off the way for people to do good. Even if he is as loyal as a fist, persistent as Bian He, wise as Sun Bin, wronged as an alley uncle, talented as Sima Qian, and accessible as Zizheng, once he is sawed with a knife and dies, he will be ashamed to laugh. Therefore, Taijia's thoughts are often said, Qin Mu made Qin dominate Xirong, Nan Sui's bones stand, Wei Wugong's "First Feast" drank and repented, Chen Tang sent troops, beheaded Zhi Zhi Shan Yu Dulai Water, Wei Shang's border guard, etc., no need to raise it again. The Han Dynasty opened up the road to change evil, and most of them were like this. Therefore, the wise and virtuous king, thinking deeply, discarding the short and taking the long, does not carry out reforms casually in political measures. ”

【Ending】

There have been at least four controversies within the Cao Wei clique over whether to reinstate corporal punishment.

The first time was before the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Zhong Xuan and others asked for the resumption of corporal punishment, but they were opposed by Kong Rong and others, and the discursors thought that corporal punishment was not a way to make the people happy, so they gave up.

The second time was after the establishment of the Wei State, Cao Cao discussed with everyone whether to resume corporal punishment, at that time Chen Qun and Zhong Xuan both strongly persuaded Cao Cao to resume corporal punishment, and Cao Cao also deeply agreed with Zhong and Chen's views, but because of the continuous war, and taking into account everyone's discussions, so the matter was put aside for the time being.

The third time, when Cao Pi was in power, he re-issued an edict saying: "The great ideal is to restore corporal punishment, this is indeed the law of the Holy King, and all the ministers should discuss this proposal together." The discussion was undecided, and it coincided with the outbreak of war, so the discussion was stopped.

The fourth time was when Cao Rui was in Cao Rui, Zhong Xuan again went up to ask for the resumption of corporal punishment, and more than 100 people participated in this discussion, most of whom had the same opinion as Wang Lang (who thought it was not appropriate to resume corporal punishment). Cao Rong suspended the discussion on the grounds that Wu and Shu had not yet been pacified.

After the discussion of corporal punishment, Zhong Xuan's death gradually came to an end.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the main reason why there was a discussion about corporal punishment was that after the abolition of corporal punishment, there was a gap between imprisonment and the death penalty, the prison sentence was too light for some criminals, the death penalty was too heavy, and the heavier whipping and cane beating were difficult to control the proportion, and the shape was unbalanced, so there were calls for the resumption of corporal punishment in public opinion.

But at that time, corporal punishment had been abolished for three hundred years, and because corporal punishment itself was relatively brutal, the ruler must consider the will of the people when resuming corporal punishment, so even if Cao Cao, Cao Pi and others intended to restore corporal punishment, they were hesitant and unable to make up their minds in the face of strong public opinion pressure.

With the continuous development of the productive forces and the continuous progress of human society, the punishment itself tends to be relaxed, and the abolition of corporal punishment is a trend and an inevitable result of historical development.

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, Confucianism began to penetrate into the legislative field, setting off a climax of citing scriptures and commenting on the law. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Confucianization of Chinese law was completed. At this time, the feudal five punishments (flogging, rod, apprentice, stream, death) appeared, and were inherited by later dynasties, among which the exile itself was only sporadically used in the Qin and Han dynasties, and after the Sui Dynasty, it began to be popularized on a large scale, and played a role in replacing corporal punishment.