In fact, the emperors and officials of ancient China were very meticulous in their planning, ensuring that prisoners did not dare to act recklessly.
In ancient feudal Chinese society, aside from various forms of punishment for prisoners such as imprisonment, execution, or being cast adrift at sea, there was another relatively common form of punishment: exile.
You may wonder why exiled prisoners did not attempt to escape. Wouldn’t it be better than starving to death in the wilderness or remote areas?
Initially, the author thought the same, until reading a book about ancient punishments, which revealed that what I considered had already been foreseen by the emperors and officials of the past.
Before the Song Dynasty, prisoners were often exiled to border regions. However, due to prisoners from the Northwest frequently fleeing to other countries, the government later stopped exiling prisoners to the Northwest and instead sent them to present-day Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. Being exiled to these areas meant being surrounded by the sea; how could the prisoners escape?
Historically, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan were not comparable to their current state; not only were they surrounded by the sea, but they also had dense, untamed forests. If a prisoner attempted to flee into the woods, it would be tantamount to seeking death. Even the top predator in the food chain would succumb in such a wild forest.
Don’t believe it? Take a few buns and try walking from Guangzhou to Kunming and see if you can make it!
Moreover, in ancient times, there were no trash bins or places to scavenge for leftover food. Frugality is a tradition among the Chinese, and even the most skilled survivalist would find it challenging to navigate through dense wilderness.
Prisoners being escorted into exile must wear shackles. (Illustrative photo).
But the issues did not stop there. During the Song Dynasty, exiled prisoners were branded on their faces. For example, Lin Chong, when accused and recaptured, faced harsher penalties.
Consider a type of punishment from the Tang Dynasty:
For prisoners who attempted to escape during exile, escaping for one day resulted in 40 lashes, three days of escape added a heavier penalty, and running away for 19 days could lead to 100 strikes with a baton.
Being struck with a baton is entirely different from being whipped; 100 strikes could potentially be fatal. If they survived, even if they had escaped for 59 days, they would still face a long exiled journey of 3,000 miles (approximately 1,500,000 meters) waiting ahead.
By the time of the Qing Dynasty, the areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan began to develop, and the location for exiling prisoners changed to the Ninggu Tower in the north, which was dubbed the “land of hell” during the Qing period.
Even thinking about escape was futile because to escape, prisoners had to solve six following problems:
- 1. Prisoners being escorted into exile must wear heavy shackles which they cannot remove alone.
- 2. The exile route was exceedingly desolate; for dozens of miles, one could hardly see another person. Food was only available through the dry rations provided by the guards, and without knowing the way, they would have no chance of finding food.
- 3. In ancient times, there were travel passes; to go through city gates required a pass, and detouring could take at least half a month.
- 4. Prisoners would not understand the local dialects at their place of exile and would not be able to ask for directions.
- 5. If the entire family was exiled, what would happen to the family if one person attempted to flee?
- 6. Being exiled themselves, if they attempted to escape, their loved ones back home would be implicated.
Even if one was alone at home and managed to escape, there would be no way to return to their original home, or even to the country; they could only wander in deep mountains or seek refuge with foreign tribes, which was the only hope for survival.
However, if that were the case, how different would it be from exile? It would be better to accept the punishment and wait for a day when the government might grant amnesty or when family members could “plead for mercy” to escape punishment.
