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MENTAL MODEL · M9389

Court Caning

Court Caning
StructureHigh supportLogic
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

Court caning, that is, beating people with thorn branches or bamboo boards in the court, was a punishment imposed on court officials. Records of court caning exist in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, etc. Zhu Guozhen believed that court caning first began in the Tang Dynasty. Before the Ming Dynasty, court caning in various dynasties was only an occasional act of the emperor's anger, improvised. In the Ming Dynasty, it gradually became a system and a common means for the emperor to punish court officials. However, unless the punishment warrant was signed by the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, caning could not be carried out. The large end of the flogging stick had a diameter of 2.7 fen, and the small end had a diameter of 1.7 fen. The large end of the interrogation stick had a diameter of 4.5 fen, and the small end had a diameter of 3.5 fen. All of the above were made of thorn wood, with a length of 3 chi 5 cun.

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Court caning, that is, beating people with thorn branches or bamboo boards in the court, was a punishment imposed on court officials. Records of court caning exist in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, etc. Zhu Guozhen believed that court caning first began in the Tang Dynasty. Before the Ming Dynasty, court caning in various dynasties was only an occasional act of the emperor's anger, improvised. In the Ming Dynasty, it gradually became a system and a common means for the emperor to punish court officials. However, unless the punishment warrant was signed by the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, caning could not be carried out. The large end of the flogging stick had a diameter of 2.7 fen, and the small end had a diameter of 1.7 fen. The large end of the interrogation stick had a diameter of 4.5 fen, and the small end had a diameter of 3.5 fen. All of the above were made of thorn wood, with a length of 3 chi 5 cun.

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Court caning was a punishment of publicly flogging ministers in the imperial court during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was both a physical punishment and a humiliation and deterrent of imperial power, often used to 'show the majesty of the emperor' and discipline the remonstrance. It reflects the relationship between monarch and minister under authoritarianism.

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BB%B7%E6%9D%96ZH · Explicit
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