| Nine familial exterminations | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 誅連九族 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 诛连九族 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | guilt by association of nine of a group/clan | ||||||||||||||||
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| Family execution | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 族誅 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 族诛 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Family extermination | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 滅族 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 灭族 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | tru di tộc tru | ||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 誅夷 族誅 | ||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 족주 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 族誅 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 族誅 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | ぞくちゅう | ||||||||||||||||
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Thenine familial exterminations,nine kinship exterminations, orexecution of nine relations, also known by the nameszuzhu ('family execution') andmiezu ('family extermination'), was the most severe punishment for acapital offense inpremodern China,Korea, andVietnam.[1][2][3] Acollective form ofkin punishment typically associated with offenses such astreason, the punishment involved the execution of all relatives of an individual, which were categorized into nine groups. This punishment was rare, with relatively few sentences recorded throughout history.
The punishment involved the execution of close and extended family members.[3][4] These included:
Confucian principles also played a major role in the extent of the punishment. The killing of children was disapproved underMencius's principle that "being offspring is not a sin" (罪人不孥), so that children under a certain age were often spared execution.
The first written account of the concept is in theBook of Documents, a historical account of theShang (1600 BC – 1046 BC) andZhou (1045 BC – 256 BC) dynasties, where it is recorded that prior to a military battle, officers would threaten their subordinates that they would exterminate their families if they refused to obey orders.[5]
From theSpring and Autumn period (770 BC – 403 BC), there are records of exterminations of "three clans"[2] (三族). A notable case was under theState of Qin in 338 BC: lawmakerShang Yang's entire family was killed by order ofKing Huiwen,[6] while Shang Yang himself was sentenced to death by beingdrawn and quartered. This was an ironic occurrence as it was Shang Yang who formulated such a punishment into Qin law in the first place, being commonly recorded as a lawmaker who used excessive punishments.[7][8]
During theQin dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC), punishments became even more rigorous under the first emperor of unified China,Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC). In order to uphold his rule, strict laws were enforced,[9] where deception,libel, and the study of banned books became punishable by familial extermination.[1] This increase in tyranny only helped to speed up the overthrow of the Qin dynasty.[5]
TheHan dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), although it inherited the concept of family execution, was more moderate in inflicting such severe punishments. In many cases, the Han emperor would retract the sentence, and so family executions were much rarer than under the Qin dynasty.[10]
During theTang dynasty (618–907), the family punishment was not abolished, but it was only applied to those who plotted against the rule of the emperor. By this time, the penalty had become more regulated and different; from theTang Code, the sentence involved the death of parents, children over the age of sixteen, and other close kindred, and was only applied to the offenses of treason and rebellion.[1][11]
Kublai Khan, the founder of theYuan dynasty (1271–1368), executed the sons of the Muslim Persian finance ministerAhmad Fanakati after finding out about his corruption in the aftermath of his assassination in 1282.
During theMing (1368–1644) andQing (1644–1912) dynasties, the breadth of family extermination was increased. Under theHongwu Emperor those committing rebellion and treason were punished by having their parents, grandparents, brethren (by birth, as well as "sworn brothers"), children, grandchildren, those living with the criminal regardless of surname, uncles, and the children of brethren put to death, as well as death for the rebels themselves bylingchi.[12][13] The number of sentences during the Ming was higher than that of the Tang,[14][15] due to the policy of "showing mercy beneath the sword" (刀下留情), while females were given the choice to becomeslaves rather than be killed. A rare case wasFang Xiaoru, whose students and friends were also executed as the 10th family kin by theYongle Emperor, the only case where "ten exterminations" was officially sentenced and carried out.
The punishment by family extermination during theQing dynasty was a direct imitation of the regulation under the Ming.[16] On 1 November 1728, after the Qing reconquest of Lhasa inTibet, several Tibetan rebels were killed along with their families by QingManchu officers and officials.[17][18][19][20][21] Punishment by nine exterminations was abolished near the end of the Qing dynasty,[when?] and was officially repealed by the imperial government in 1905.
There were various ethical judgements regarding group punishment in ancient times. It was typically seen as a tyrannical method of rule, unjustly punishing innocent family members for the crime of a relative.[citation needed] Like all forms of collective punishment, it was also intended as a dreadfuldeterrent for the worst crimes, rather than merely as a form of revenge.[citation needed]
In ancient Korea, this punishment was applied during the reign of KingJinpyeong of Silla when conspirator Yi Chan-chil-suk (이찬칠숙) and his entire family and relatives to the ninth degree were put to death.[22][23][24]
In Vietnam, the most prominent example is the execution of most of the family members ofNguyễn Trãi, an official who was wrongly accused of killing the king. He and his entire family were executed.[25]
In ancient times, there werenine different relations (orguanxi) that an individual had with other people, which were referred to as the "family" or "tribe" (族).[26] These relations, under Confucian principles, were bonded byfilial piety. Because members of a family remained strictly loyal to one another, they were considered responsible for crimes committed by any member due toguilt by association. It also provided the argument that the entire family would be responsible in supporting each other in the case of a rebellion against a ruler.
The Chinese character族 can be translated by its original definition of "clan" or "tribe", or it can have the additional meanings of "kinship", "family" (as in家族), or "ethnicity" (as in民族).
The hostility of the aristocracy manifested itself in a conspiracy against the throne hatched by Yichan Chilsuk and Achan Sŏkpum. The plot was revealed in 631, and Chilsuk's entire family and relatives to the ninth degree were executed.
In ancient China and Korea, when someone committed a big crime, the three sets of relatives were annihilated for the principle of guilt by association which was referred to as 'samjok myeolmun jihwa', 고대 중국·한국 등에서는 어떤 사람이 큰 죄를 범하면 '삼족멸문지화(三族滅門之禍)'라고 하여 혈연의 삼족을 형벌에 연좌(緣坐)시키기도 하였다.
In May Summer, Chilsuk the Inchan officer plotted to rise in rebellion along with Seokpum the Achan officer. Asthe king (of Silla) knew this, he captured and beheaded Chilsuk at the Eastern Market and then annihilated his nine sets of relatives. (夏五月, 伊(阿)湌柒宿與阿湌石品謀叛, 王覺之, 捕捉柒宿, 斬之東市, 幷夷九族)