The most terrible tortures (18+)

Scolopendra is an armored arthropod that belongs to the genus of labiopods, also called Chilopoda or centipede arthropods. It lives in a variety of climates, but prefers tropical climates. Various individuals can live in the desert, mountains, forests, limestone caves and many other places. In those regions where it is not too warm, the centipede grows from a centimeter to ten centimeters in size, but in the tropics an individual can reach 28 centimeters in length!

Chinese bamboo torture

A notorious method of terrible Chinese execution throughout the world. Perhaps a legend, because to this day not a single documentary evidence has survived that this torture was actually used.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. Some of its Chinese varieties can grow a full meter in a day. Some historians believe that the deadly bamboo torture was used not only by the ancient Chinese, but also by the Japanese military during World War II.

Bamboo grove. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) Sprouts of living bamboo are sharpened with a knife to form sharp “spears”; 2) The victim is suspended horizontally, with his back or stomach, over a bed of young pointed bamboo; 3) The bamboo quickly grows high, pierces the skin of the martyr and grows through his abdominal cavity, the person dies for a very long time and painfully.

Like torture with bamboo, the “iron maiden” is considered by many researchers to be a terrible legend. Perhaps these metal sarcophagi with sharp spikes inside only frightened the people under investigation, after which they confessed to anything.

Who was tortured?

This type of punishment was subjected to all people disliked by the higher ranks. Such manipulations and murders were commonplace. Like most countries of that period of time, the Celestial Empire invented its own methods of executions. Their prevalence was explained by the fact that monetary compensation or placement in prison to serve a sentence were considered unworthy punishments. Anyone who broke the law was subjected to torture. At that time they were:

the thieves;
spies;
people who did not believe in God;
women who gave birth to children without a husband;
representatives of non-traditional orientation;
those who cheated on their husband or wife;
people disliked by the government.

"Iron Maiden"

The “Iron Maiden” was invented at the end of the 18th century, i.e. already at the end of the Catholic Inquisition.

"Iron Maiden". (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) The victim is stuffed into the sarcophagus and the door is closed; 2) The spikes driven into the inner walls of the “iron maiden” are quite short and do not pierce the victim, but only cause pain. The investigator, as a rule, receives a confession in a matter of minutes, which the arrested person only has to sign; 3) If the prisoner shows fortitude and continues to remain silent, long nails, knives and rapiers are pushed through special holes in the sarcophagus. The pain becomes simply unbearable; 4) The victim never admits to what she had done, so she was locked in a sarcophagus for a long time, where she died from loss of blood; 5) Some Iron Maiden models had spikes at eye level to poke them out.

The name of this torture comes from the Greek “scaphium”, which means “trough”. Scaphism was popular in ancient Persia. During the torture, the victim, most often a prisoner of war, was devoured alive by various insects and their larvae who were partial to human flesh and blood.

Skafism. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) The prisoner is placed in a shallow trough and wrapped in chains. 2) He is force-fed large quantities of milk and honey, which causes the victim to have profuse diarrhea, which attracts insects. 3) The prisoner, having shit himself and smeared with honey, is allowed to float in a trough in a swamp, where there are many hungry creatures. 4) The insects immediately begin their meal, with the living flesh of the martyr as the main course.

Pear of suffering

This cruel tool was used to punish abortionists, liars and homosexuals. The device was inserted into the vagina for women or the anus for men. When the executioner turned the screw, the “petals” opened, tearing the flesh and bringing unbearable torture to the victims. Many then died from blood poisoning.

A pear of suffering. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) A tool consisting of pointed pear-shaped leaf-shaped segments is inserted into the client’s desired body hole; 2) The executioner little by little turns the screw on the top of the pear, while the “leaves” segments bloom inside the martyr, causing hellish pain; 3) After the pear is completely opened, the offender receives internal injuries incompatible with life and dies in terrible agony, if he has not already fallen into unconsciousness.

copper bull

The design of this death unit was developed by the ancient Greeks, or, to be more precise, by the coppersmith Perillus, who sold his terrible bull to the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris, who simply loved to torture and kill people in unusual ways.

A living person was pushed inside the copper statue through a special door. And then Phalaris first tested the unit on its creator - the greedy Perilla. Subsequently, Phalaris himself was roasted in a bull.

Copper bull. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) The victim is closed in a hollow copper statue of a bull; 2) A fire is lit under the bull’s belly; 3) The victim is roasted alive; 4) The structure of the bull is such that the cries of the martyr come from the mouth of the statue, like a bull’s roar; 5) Jewelry and amulets were made from the bones of the executed, which were sold at bazaars and were in great demand.

Torture by rats was very popular in ancient China. However, we will look at the rat punishment technique developed by the 16th century Dutch Revolution leader Diedrich Sonoy.

Torture by rats. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) The stripped naked martyr is placed on a table and tied; 2) Large, heavy cages with hungry rats are placed on the prisoner’s stomach and chest. The bottom of the cells is opened using a special valve; 3) Hot coals are placed on top of the cages to stir up the rats; 4) Trying to escape the heat of hot coals, rats gnaw their way through the flesh of the victim.

The most terrible tortures (21 photos). Chinese torture: what they were Instruments of torture in China

The death penalty in modern China is provided for by 55 (before May 2011 - 68) articles of criminal law. Among the articles for which such punishment can be imposed are violent crimes, damage to national security, distribution or possession of drugs

,
bribery
, pimping, counterfeiting banknotes,
concealing taxes
, selling counterfeit medicines, storing or stealing weapons or explosives,
financial fraud
, organizing an escape from custody, damaging electrical wires, unauthorized excavations of ancient burials,
drinking alcohol while driving
, resulting in the death of people.

Public executions are practiced in the PRC, and observation of the execution is also available to minors. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, in China there is no presumption of innocence, testimony obtained under torture is valid (does this remind you of anything?), and there is no requirement for a lawyer to be present during interrogations. In China, there are two methods of carrying out the death sentence: firing squad and lethal injection. But we should not forget how backward peoples easily slip into savagery. 5-10 years - and not a trace remains of the previous raid of European borrowings.

Let us remember how China’s punitive system was structured 100-120 years ago.

Each judge preferred to invent his own types of reprisals against criminals and prisoners. The most “favorite” were: sawing off the foot (first one foot was sawed off, then the second time repeat offender), removal of the kneecaps, cutting off the nose, cutting off the ears, branding. Criminals were burned at the stake, torn into two or four parts by chariots, their ribs were broken out, boiled in cauldrons, crucified (often they were simply forced to their knees, their hands tied and left in the sun).

Burying alive in the ground with the head left on the surface was especially popular - it was believed that slow death in the main square of the city was a good edification for people.

Castration was widely used; a significant part of those punished simply died soon after the operation from blood poisoning.

In China, what was called “zhou xing” in Chinese - “mutilation punishments” reigned: axes and axes, knives and saws for sawing off limbs, chisels and drills for removing kneecaps, sticks, whips, needles - all this was used in the local justice system.

In an effort to make the punishment more severe, the judges came up with an execution called “carry out five types of punishment.” The criminal should have been branded, his arms or legs cut off, beaten to death with sticks, and his head put on display in the market for everyone to see.

They did not keep convicts in prisons - it was too expensive. If relatives had money, then so be it; they could take their loved one for support (usually he sat in an earthen pit). But a tiny part of society was able to afford it. Therefore, the main method of punishment for minor crimes (theft, insulting an official, etc.) was the stocks. The most common type of last is “kanga” (or “jia”). It was used very widely, since it did not require the state to build a prison, and also prevented escape. Sometimes, in order to further reduce the cost of punishment, several prisoners were chained in this neck block. But even in this case, relatives or compassionate people had to feed the criminal.

Beheading was considered the most terrible execution - the Chinese believed that in the afterlife they would look the same as they met their death.

Therefore, at the request of relatives, and more often for a bribe, other types of executions were more often used:

Removal. The criminal was tied to a pole, a rope was wrapped around his neck, the ends of which were in the hands of the executioners. They slowly twist the rope with special sticks, gradually strangling the convict. The strangulation could last a very long time, since the executioners at times loosened the rope and allowed the almost strangled victim to take several convulsive breaths, and then tightened the noose again.

- “Cage”, or “standing stocks” (Li-chia) - the device for this execution is a neck block, which was fixed on top of bamboo or wooden poles tied together in a cage, at a height of about 2 meters. The convicted person was placed in a cage, and bricks or tiles were placed under his feet, and then they were slowly removed. The executioner removed the bricks, and the man hung with his neck clamped by a block, which began

strangle him, this could continue for months until all the supports were removed.

Sawing in half. To do this, the body of the criminal was tightly clamped into an unclosed coffin, which was then placed vertically upside down. After this, they sawed from top to bottom with a long two-handed saw. The saw entered the crotch and slowly moved down, tearing muscles and viscera, crushing bones. For a bribe, this process could have been a little more humane - sawing the criminal across.

Lin-Chi 凌遲 - "death by a thousand cuts" or "sea pike bites" - the most terrible execution by cutting small pieces from the victim's body over a long period of time. Such execution followed high treason

and parricide, was used from the Middle Ages until 1905, during the Qing Dynasty. For the purpose of intimidation, executions were carried out in public places with a large crowd of onlookers. In some cases, the victim was pumped with opium to prolong the torture, from which it happened that the victims even began to laugh without feeling the unbearable torture.

36, 72, 120 and 1000, or even more pieces of flesh were torn off. In this case, the weeping covered the victim's body with a fine mesh net. The mesh was pulled tighter, and the executioner's assistant used tongs to grab a small piece that protruded in the cell and pulled it out. After that, another executioner grabbed it with a sharp knife.

Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries in China, execution was considered a preferable punishment compared to prison because imprisonment turned out to be a slow death. The stay in prison was paid for by relatives, and they themselves often asked that the culprit be killed.

China was no exception in this sense. The variety and sophistication of torture used in this state caused attacks of horror even among the most experienced warriors. What’s interesting is that when torture was carried out in the squares, in order to warn everyone else about the consequences of the crimes, a huge number of onlookers gathered to “gaze” at the torment and death of a person. In this case, it becomes clear where such terrible pictures of abuse and death of criminals arose in the minds of Chinese executioners: the majority of the population of that time, especially the common people, was prone to causeless violence and curiosity about the suffering of others.

Story

Since the time when the Qin dynasty ruled the Celestial Empire, Chinese torture has been considered a traditional way to punish a person for a crime. The code of the ruling dynasty included at least four thousand crimes that deserved punishment.

Punishment for some included beatings with light or heavy bamboo sticks, exile, or hard labor. However, this was only applied to those whose crimes were, to use modern terminology, of light gravity. Those who were sentenced to death experienced terrible agony from torture before their death. And these tortures were so cruel that even now they make my body tremble.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese rulers and judges did not have a clear understanding of what the presumption of innocence and the prosecution were. That is why those confessions that a person gave under torture were considered irrefutable evidence of guilt. In addition, not only criminals were subjected to ancient Chinese torture, but also witnesses to their crimes. The Chinese executioners simply did not take into account the fact that a person could slander himself, if only his torment would stop.

Who was tortured?

In ancient times, torturing or killing a person was almost commonplace. Like most ancient countries, the Celestial Empire invented its own proprietary methods of Chinese torture and execution. They were so common because fines or imprisonment of convicts were not considered worthy punishment. And they could torture any criminal: a thief, a murderer, a liar, a spy, a blasphemer, women who gave birth out of wedlock, gay men, someone who cheated on their spouse, or simply a person disliked by the government.

Ancient China: types of torture

The variety of ancient Chinese tortures amazes modern people. The cruelty and composure with which the executioner carried out his work excites minds to this day. Torture in the Middle Kingdom was not just a way to “beat” a confession out of a criminal; over time, it turned into an art. How else can we explain the ingenuity with which judges and executioners came up with punishments for their victims?

It is not possible to list all the many options for ancient Chinese torture, however, here are some of them:

They clamped their feet in steel sandals.
They squeezed the knees with a special vice.
They hit us on the calves with bamboo sticks.
They pierced the fingernails and toenails with thin bamboo sticks.
They put the criminal on the so-called tiger bench: they tied him to the back of the bench and stretched his legs in different directions.
They put him on a block bed. Several tortured people were placed on one narrow bed so that they could not move and they were pressed on top with a wooden lid.
They crushed the finger bones with a special vice.
They put red-hot steel shoes on the feet of the guilty person.
They tightened the iron hoop tightly on the criminal's head and gradually squeezed it even tighter.
They put their bare knees on metal chains.
The kneecaps were cut out with a sharp knife.
As an upper punishment, the face was branded and the nose was cut off.
As a lower punishment, they were castrated.
They threw them into the water with eels.

And this is only a small fraction of what the justice of Ancient China was capable of.

Usually all torture took place in special rooms. Chinese torture chambers were cold, damp rooms with no windows or lighting. Lamps or candles were brought there only during torture; the rest of the time the criminal was in complete darkness. Often people imprisoned there died from hypothermia.

The worst Chinese tortures include:

Water torture.
Torture with drops of water.
Torture using bamboo.
Torture with boiled meat.
Torture with scolopendra.

Water as a means of torture

The tradition of using water torture dates back to the Middle Ages. Therefore, despite the fact that one of its most popular variants is called “Chinese water torture,” it was not invented by Chinese executioners.

In ancient times, Chinese water torture was one of the most cruel. Torture museums around the world put on public display, which at first glance seems unpresentable and boring, an instrument of water torture. It is a funnel made of copper or wood, which is covered with leather. Compared to the instruments of torture surrounding it (for example, collars with spikes curved inward, blocks with gouges), this funnel looks, at least, harmless.

However, if you look closely, you can discern a huge number of clear dents on its base. They remained from the teeth of criminals who were subjected to this type of torture, which was considered neat, humane and not violating decency. It is for these supposed qualities that Chinese waterboarding was often used as a punishment for women, since it did not require them to be undressed or dismembered.

How did she act?

The essence of Chinese water torture was that the victim was tied with his back to a bench or bed. They lifted her head, forced the narrow edge of the funnel into her throat, and poured water into it. There was a lot of water. In addition to the fact that the tortured person felt suffocation and pain in the stomach, from the fact that he was bursting with the infused liquid, this torture could last for a very long time. Gradually the victim weakened, her consciousness became clouded, and complete submission and pliability appeared.

In addition to the traditional version, this Chinese torture had alternatives. One of them was pouring water not into the throat, but into the nose. In this case, the person either immediately confessed to everything (what he did and did not do), or choked.

Is a drop of water so scary?

In the cinema of the 20th century, there was a stereotype that running (or walking) in the rain was a lot of fun. Perhaps this is so, but only if you then go into a warm house in which the wood is crackling in the fireplace. In all other cases, it is not particularly desirable for water to drip onto your head for a long time. And in eastern countries, torture with dripping water was considered one of the most effective.

At first glance, the ancient Chinese water drop torture seems harmless enough. Well, what’s wrong with drops falling on a person? It seems nothing terrible, but the executioners used Chinese drop torture with enviable regularity, since its results were stunning and, importantly, effective.

How did the bullying happen?

The Chinese drop torture procedure began with the offender being tightly tied to either a chair or a bed so that he could not move and, more importantly, itch. In the case of the chair, the victim’s head was also tilted back and also secured in a motionless state. A flask or some other vessel with water, in which there was a very small hole, was suspended above his head. It constantly (without breaks) dripped water onto the victim's forehead.

The first impression of such Chinese torture is that it is a strange and harmless procedure. However, in fact, constantly dripping drops on the forehead is one of the worst types of psychological torture. The bottom line is that after prolonged exposure to drops of water on the victim’s forehead, she begins to experience nervous tension and, as a result, a mental disorder. The reason for this is the feeling that the victim has that when falling at the same point on the forehead, a drop forms a notch at the point of impact.

It is the psychological component of Chinese drop torture that influences its effectiveness and the positive results of interrogating criminals in Ancient China.

China: link between bamboo and torture

The first place among the most cruel tortures used in the Celestial Empire is rightfully occupied by Chinese torture with bamboo and water, which gradually turns into execution. This terrible procedure is notorious in all corners of the world. However, there is an opinion that this is just one of the local frightening legends, since not a single documentary evidence that such Chinese torture existed and was used has survived to this day.

Many people have heard about bamboo as one of the fast growing plants. Some of its Chinese varieties can grow almost a meter in just one day.

There is an opinion among historians that the deadly Chinese bamboo torture was used not only by the ancient Chinese, but also by the Japanese military during the fighting of World War II.

How did the torture take place?

This torture was applied to people whose crimes, in the opinion of the judges, were very serious (espionage, high treason, murder of high-ranking officials).

Before the torture began, a bed of young bamboo was sharpened with a knife so that the stems became sharp as spears. After this, the victim was suspended over the garden bed in a horizontal position, so that the pointed bamboo shoots were either under the stomach or under the back. The bamboo was well watered for rapid growth and waited.

Since bamboo shoots, especially young ones, grow at an incredible speed, soon the sharp shoots pierced the body of the criminal, causing terrible agony to the victim. As the bamboo grew, it grew through the peritoneum and killed the person. Such a death was very long and painful.

food torture

According to the rules of healthy eating, it is preferable to eat boiled meat, and it is recommended to avoid fried meat altogether. However, you should not overeat even boiled meat. The Chinese criminals, who knew from their own experience the consequences of such nutrition, would agree with this.

They tortured thieves with boiled meat most often because they were trying to steal food sold in street shops: vegetables, fruits, rice.

In addition, in addition to the Chinese torture with boiled meat, there was another, no less sophisticated torture. The condemned man was regularly fed rice and clean water. However, it was not completely cooked, but only half cooked. That is, the criminal ate a stomach full of half-raw rice and washed it all down with water. As a result, his stomach became swollen from the rice that had swelled in it, and his intestines and stomach simply ruptured, giving the criminal unbearable pain. The result was profuse internal bleeding and a long, painful death.

Process

Chinese meat torture could last a whole month. Throughout this time, the victim suffered greatly.

The criminal was locked in a narrow and low cell. In it he could only be in a sitting or lying position, crouched. He was given clean water to drink. They fed the criminal well-cooked meat, which lacked sinews, bones and fat. A month later, a dead body was found in the cage.

According to Chinese judicial reference books, the effectiveness of this torture directly depends on the nationality of the convicted person. The reason for this is the nutritional habits of different peoples. Since the Chinese often ate foods of plant origin, such a change in diet was very noticeable for them and, in the end, led to death. But the Mongols or Huns, accustomed to eating exclusively meat in the morning, lunch and evening, would even like such torture.

According to modern doctors, there may be several reasons why the victim died during such torture. First of all, insufficient production of enzymes that facilitate the digestion of food of animal origin may be to blame. The result of poor digestion will be a malfunction in the functioning of the entire body. The second reason may have been immobilization in the cage for a long time. As you know, to digest heavy food, a person needs to move so that there is no stagnation in the intestines. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle and eating meat can lead to the accumulation of nitrogenous products in the blood. As a result, tachycardia, swelling and other pathologies of the body that can lead to human death.

Insects in the service of executioners

Another way to “torture” a convicted person was the Chinese centipede torture in the ear. Thus, they often mocked criminals who were accused of espionage. Like water drop torture, this torture had a significant effect on a person's mental state, since the insect moving in the ear canal made the victim nervous and increased the level of anxiety. And if you take into account the fact that its claws are connected to poisonous glands, the presence of an insect in the ear also causes severe pain. Simply running over the body, the scolopendra leaves behind a trail of burning mucus. What can we say about a place where she will feel uncomfortable.

For this sophisticated mockery of a person, the executioners always had a couple of red Chinese centipedes hidden, which practically did not feed, so that the insect always remained aggressive and hungry. At the first order, the executioner took the centipede out of the box, which, feeling free, began to behave actively, and once again got into the confined space of the ear canal, it went berserk.

Insect torture

The purpose of Chinese torture with a red scolopendra in the ear is complete psychological exhaustion of the victim, in which she agrees to do anything just to stop the torture.

Preparation for torture involves completely immobilizing a person by tying him to a bed or cot. The head is also fixed so that the criminal cannot shake the centipede out of his ear. Afterwards, the executioner inserts the scolopendra into the victim’s ear hole. By irritating the receptors in the ear, the insect can cause attacks of nausea and vomiting, as well as dizziness. This causes considerable discomfort to the victim and increases his level of anxiety.

Since the centipede loses its sense of direction while in the ear canal, it begins to behave restlessly and may knock on the eardrum. In some cases, if she behaved calmly and did not move, the executioner deliberately disturbed and irritated her so that she began to show aggression. As a result of such actions, it often gnawed through the eardrum and continued its path through the ear canals, making its way deeper and deeper into the head. At the same time, the victim felt terrible pain, her mind became clouded, and if she remained alive for some time, she went crazy.

Torture of women

Despite the cruelty of Chinese torture, it was very often used to abuse women. The rulers of Ancient China did not see the difference between criminals and criminals. This is not surprising, since some women were not inferior to men in the severity of their crimes. They robbed, spied, and sometimes killed, but most often the women were tortured and executed for being unfaithful to their husbands.

Chinese torture of women was also distinguished by its originality, and the executioners showed particular ingenuity.

However, representatives of the fairer sex could be tortured and killed simply for trifles. For example, there is a known case when, at the court of the rulers of the Ming dynasty, two cooks were subjected to monstrous execution. And their fault was that the rice that they served to the table of the nobles “was not as white as the wisdom of their master.” Such an “omission” made when working for the rulers of the Celestial Empire cost the cooks their lives. They were stripped and hung by the arms on rings, and sharp saws were fastened just below the pelvis, between the legs. The convicts, unable to hang on bent arms for a long time (in order not to touch the saw, they had to pull themselves up), began to gradually lower themselves onto the blade. However, unable to sit still on the sharp saw, the women began to fidget and squirm, not realizing that by doing so they were causing themselves even greater pain. Thus, gradually the victims sawed themselves to the chest and died. Metal saws were often replaced with bamboo ones, as the latter caused more pain.

There were cases when, instead of a woman sawing herself, she was put on a so-called “horse”. This instrument of torture was a triangular log with legs. The top of the triangle was the place on which the woman was seated, having previously provided the seating area with sharp spikes. Thus, feeling discomfort and pain, the woman fidgeted and cut her genitals.

The same fate befell a servant at the emperor’s court, who “dared to complain about the bad weather and thereby ruined the mood of her masters.”

A woman who committed a serious crime was imprisoned on a pyramid. The criminal was undressed and forced to sit on the tip of a metal pyramid standing on a chair or some kind of bench. At the same time, she did not just sit down, but first spread her legs so that the top of the pyramid fell directly into the genitals. If a woman did not confess to the crime, the executioner would force her onto the pyramid until the very end, thereby tearing it apart. After this, the victim most often died from blood loss or painful shock.

Wives who cheated on their husbands or gave birth to a child out of wedlock were often impaled on a bamboo stake. This was done in the square so that every woman could see what the end awaited her if she decided to “go left.”

Another very terrible punishment for unfaithful wives was mockery in which snakes were used. The essence of this execution was that the woman was laid on a flat surface and tied so that she could not move. After this, milk was poured into her genitals. And, as a conclusion to the preparation, a snake was thrown at her feet. Feeling the smell of milk, the snake crawled inside the woman, causing unbearable pain. As a result of this torture, the victim died.

Prohibition of torture

Both young and old were subjected to the terrible tortures that were used in Ancient China, regardless of gender and position in society. Despite the fact that criminals were tortured in ancient times in almost all countries of the world, Chinese torture was considered the most sophisticated and cruel, before which even seasoned European soldiers and executioners trembled.

At present, the Chinese authorities have not practiced the use of such terrible, and even brutal, torture. However, extracting confessions from criminals using cold, hunger or beatings was also carried out in the 21st century. And only on November 21, 2013, the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China announced a statement calling on all judicial authorities. It dealt with the exclusion of evidence and evidence that was obtained through torture and exhaustion of the defendants. Torture and coercion under the influence of low temperature, hunger and fatigue became prohibited at the state level. It would seem that this is a matter of course, but in Chinese prisons and temporary detention centers they did not hesitate to beat and abuse criminals just five years ago.

For the faint of heart and impressionable, please do not read!

Each country had different types of torture at different times. In my opinion, the most difficult and cruelest towards people were in China. Moreover, the victims of torture were not only criminals, convicted people, but also innocent people who simply did not please the government. In the code of the Qin Dynasty, there were more than 4 thousand crimes that deserved punishment. I will give you a few examples of torture in Ancient China.

The criminal was put in a cold, dark room. They tied him up so that he could not move at all, not even with his head. While he was sitting in the room, drops of water were dripping onto his head. The water dripped until the last moment. If the criminal did not confess, then from such torture he either froze or became crazy.
First, they prepared a sheet of metal studded with sharp needles and rolled it into a barrel shape with the needles facing inward. One of the executioners grabbed this iron “barrel” with his hands, and the other took the victim by the hair and dragged him through it. The needles cut the flesh, while the executioner, standing next to a cup of salt water, slowly sprinkled it on the torn, bloody body.
Another type of torture is literally called “death by a thousand cuts.” Deep, small cuts were made to the executed person using special knives. He could have died from several causes, either from blood loss or from painful shock, as the cuts were made one after another without stopping. At the end of such an execution, as a rule, not a single living patch of skin remained on the human body.
A bound person was seated on bamboo shoots, and within a few days the bamboo grew through the person.
There was also an upper execution and a lower execution. During the upper execution, a person was branded on his face or his nose was cut off. During the lower execution, a person's kneecaps were cut out or castrated.
The criminal was fed undercooked rice porridge for a very long time. The porridge swelled in the person’s stomach and ruptured the stomach walls, followed by a terrible, painful death.
A very terrible punishment was for unfaithful women: the guilty one was tied with her legs spread apart so that she could not move, and milk was poured into the vagina. They threw a snake at my feet. The snakes smelled the milk and crawled inside the woman. Subsequently they died.
If the criminal did not confess for a long time, then two executioners took and spread his legs, the third executioner inserted a dagger into the anus. Moreover, the dagger was very sharp.
The criminal was laid bound on the ground and doused with molten lead. Mainly on the shoulders and back.
"Hanging embroidered balls." The blacksmith was specially commissioned to have a small sword with four or five small hooks on the blade. It entered the human body like clockwork, but the hooks clung to the flesh, and when the executioners pulled out the sword, pieces of human flesh flew to the sides.
One of the humane forms of torture is nail piercing. The criminal's fingernails were pierced with a bamboo stick. If he didn’t confess, the stick would go right through.
The female criminal was forced to sit on an iron triangle, and not just sit, but spread her legs and sit on her vagina. If the woman did not say anything, then she was forcibly imprisoned until the end, thereby tearing her apart.
Torture by rats was very popular in ancient China. Cages with hungry rats were placed on the stomach and chest of the tortured person and the bottom was opened. The rats were encouraged by fire...

Torture is still practiced in China, although not as severe. After the overthrow of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the use of such torture during interrogations was prohibited by a decree of the President of the Republic of China dated March 2, 1912.

There is a period in the history of every state that can be characterized by particular cruelty towards defenseless citizens, and China is no exception. In this country, torture simply horrified even the most experienced and brave warriors.

During the Qin Dynasty, terrible torture in China was considered a traditional punishment for a crime. The most humane among them were blows with bamboo sticks, the more cruel were grueling hard labor and exile. But the most serious crimes were then punishable by death.

One of the types of torture in Ancient China was the long stay of the criminal in an unbearably cold room. He was tied up in such a way that all possible movements, including even his head, were limited as much as possible. In this kind of situation, the culprit of the crime remained for quite a long time in absolute darkness, while droplets of cold water fell on his head. As a result of such torture, the criminal either completely lost his mind or froze to death. Another no less cruel reprisal against the villain was the use of bamboo for punitive purposes. This torture in China involved placing the offender on young bamboo shoots. As you know, bamboo grows very quickly and thus simply tears the criminal into small pieces. I think you will agree that this kind of punishment is immeasurably cruel to a person, no matter what type of crime he has committed.

Torture in Ancient China varies from one another and differs from each other in different degrees of cruelty and the terrible torment that the condemned person experienced. By the time the moment of death arrived, he himself was already praying that everything would end as soon as possible. For example, you can take torture with rice. For quite a long time, the person being punished was fed only undercooked porridge, which over time swelled in the stomach and, accordingly, ruptured it.

We can add many more cases and examples of how people were brutally tortured in Ancient China. But as often happens, among the victims of such bullying were not only criminals, but also witnesses or completely innocent people who fell out of favor with the ruler. Finally, we need to remember the punishment to which unfaithful wives were subjected. The tightly bound cheater's legs were spread wide, a liter of milk was poured into her vagina and a snake was placed next to her. Feeling the smell of milk, this reptile crawled inside the woman, as a result of which, from simply unbearable torment, the unfaithful woman died.

Having learned about this method of punishment, you begin to involuntarily be surprised and realize how the Chinese managed to achieve their goals in the rapid development of the country.

Cradle of Judas

The Judas Cradle was one of the most torturous torture machines in the arsenal of the Suprema - the Spanish Inquisition. Victims usually died from infection, due to the fact that the pointed seat of the torture machine was never disinfected. The Cradle of Judas, as an instrument of torture, was considered “loyal” because it did not break bones or tear ligaments.

Cradle of Judas. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1) The victim, whose hands and feet are tied, is seated on the top of a pointed pyramid; 2) The top of the pyramid is thrust into the anus or vagina; 3) Using ropes, the victim is gradually lowered lower and lower; 4) The torture continues for several hours or even days until the victim dies from powerlessness and pain, or from blood loss due to rupture of soft tissues.

Who is a centipede

The centipede or millipede is an invertebrate with a terrifying appearance.

Scolopendra.

They have a flat body and a large number of limbs that end in claws.

Animals are active predators, feeding on small insects, cockroaches, aphids and even rodents. They help gardeners and gardeners fight garden pests. But some of them can attack people.

Most species live in humid and warm conditions. They are more often found in tropical and subtropical climates. There are animals in Crimea.

Rack

Probably the most famous and unrivaled death machine of its kind called the “rack”. It was first tested around 300 AD. e. on the Christian martyr Vincent of Zaragoza.

Anyone who survived the rack could no longer use their muscles and became a helpless vegetable.

Rack. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1. This instrument of torture is a special bed with rollers at both ends, around which ropes are wound to hold the victim’s wrists and ankles. As the rollers rotated, the ropes pulled in opposite directions, stretching the body; 2. Ligaments in the victim’s arms and legs are stretched and torn, bones pop out of their joints. 3. Another version of the rack was also used, called strappado: it consisted of 2 pillars dug into the ground and connected by a crossbar. The interrogated person's hands were tied behind his back and lifted by a rope tied to his hands. Sometimes a log or other weights were attached to his bound legs. At the same time, the arms of the person raised on the rack were turned back and often came out of their joints, so that the convict had to hang on his outstretched arms. They were on the rack from several minutes to an hour or more. This type of rack was used most often in Western Europe 4. In Russia, a suspect raised on a rack was beaten on the back with a whip and “put to the fire,” that is, burning brooms were passed over the body. 5. In some cases, the executioner broke the ribs of a man hanging on a rack with red-hot pincers.

What does scolopendra look like? (description and photo)

These insects live alone. The insect's legs end in poisonous spines. This is precisely why scolopendra, running across a person’s body, can cause irritation. The head includes a head plate with ocelli, a pair of antennae and venomous jaws. They are located under the head, but at the same time they are part of the body. The insect's forelimbs transform into fangs, with their help the scolopendra captures the victim. Each body segment has a pair of legs. The last legs are used during reproduction or as an anchor when capturing large prey.

The color of scolopendra can be different, depending on the species, they are gray, brown, with a yellowish tint. Partially the insect may have a greenish, orange and blue tint. With age, an individual can change colors; pigmentation depends on its habitat.

Scolopendra is soft-bodied and dense in the back. The plate body is connected using a flexible membrane. The exoskeleton consists of chitin. This layer is inanimate and does not grow. To continue to grow, the centipede must undergo a molt.

The following article answers the question how many legs does a centipede have?

Shiri (camel cap)

A monstrous fate awaited those whom the Ruanzhuans (a union of nomadic Turkic-speaking peoples) took into slavery. They destroyed the slave's memory with a terrible torture - putting a shiri on the victim's head. Usually this fate befell young men captured in battle.

Shiri. (pinterest.com)

How it works?

1. First, the slaves' heads were shaved bald, and every hair was carefully scraped out at the root. 2. The executors slaughtered the camel and skinned its carcass, first of all, separating its heaviest, dense nuchal part. 3. Having divided it into pieces, it was immediately pulled in pairs over the shaved heads of the prisoners. These pieces stuck to the heads of the slaves like a plaster. This meant putting on the shiri. 4. After putting on the shiri, the neck of the doomed person was chained in a special wooden block so that the subject could not touch his head to the ground. In this form, they were taken away from crowded places so that no one would hear their heartbreaking screams, and they were thrown there in an open field, with their hands and feet tied, in the sun, without water and without food. 5. The torture lasted 5 days. 6. Only a few remained alive, and the rest died not from hunger or even from thirst, but from unbearable, inhuman torment caused by drying, shrinking rawhide camel skin on the head. Inexorably shrinking under the rays of the scorching sun, the width squeezed and squeezed the slave's shaved head like an iron hoop. Already on the second day, the shaved hair of the martyrs began to sprout. Coarse and straight Asian hair sometimes grew into the rawhide; in most cases, finding no way out, the hair curled and went back into the scalp, causing even greater suffering. Within a day the man lost his mind. Only on the fifth day did the Ruanzhuans come to check whether any of the prisoners had survived. If at least one of the tortured people was found alive, it was considered that the goal had been achieved. 7. Anyone who underwent such a procedure either died, unable to withstand the torture, or lost his memory for life, turned into a mankurt - a slave who does not remember his past. 8. The skin of one camel was enough for five or six widths.

Varieties of centipedes and their habitat

There are a lot of varieties of centipedes, almost all of them are similar in body structure and a large number of legs. Let's look at the most famous species of centipedes and their habitat.

Common flycatcher (scutigera)

The cutiger flycatcher is a centipede from the order Scutigeromorpha of the class Labiopods. The adult is 35 to 60 mm long, yellow-gray in color with long striped legs.

Feeds on small insects. Lives in Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. They are also found in the territory of Ukraine, the Caucasus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and southern Russia.

The natural habitat of the common flycatcher is dry fallen leaves. With the onset of cold weather, it begins to seek shelter, so it may end up in an apartment, especially in damp rooms - a bathroom, toilet, basement.

Scolopendra scutigera - the common flycatcher eats a fly on a person's hand

It is practically safe for humans, as it cannot bite through the skin of humans and pets. The maximum harm that scolopendra scutigera can cause to a person is redness and swelling of the skin; its bite is comparable to the sting of one wasp.

It also does not cause any harm to exposed food and furniture, and in some regions it is generally considered a rare beneficial species of arthropod that cannot be killed. Therefore, do not be afraid if you meet her at home, carefully pick her up with a net or other tool and send her “for a walk” outside the window.

Giant centipede - the largest centipede

The giant scolopendra lives most often in the west and north of South America, on the islands of Trinidad and Jamaica. They feed on insects in the same way as other species of centipedes, but there are known cases of giant centipedes attacking lizards, toads, mice and even birds.

The strongly built body consists of 21-23 segments of brown or red color with a pair of bright yellow legs. Poisonous jaws can cause harm to a person in the form of swelling, redness and severe pain, and occasionally fever, weakness and fever. For an adult, the venom of the giant scolopendra is not fatal. The poison consists of the following substances: contains acetylcholine, serotonin, histamine, lecithin, thermolysins, hyaluronidases.

Ringed scolopendra (Crimean)

The ringed scolopendra is the most common species of centipede in Southern Europe and the countries of the Mediterranean basin, including Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Greece, and Crimea. He also lives in North Africa: Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco.

It is inferior in size to the giant centipede, reaching an average of 10-15 cm. The venom of the ringed centipede is also not as toxic as that of its “big brother”. A very fast and agile predator, it hunts almost all living creatures that are smaller in size - insects, lizards.

Chinese red scolopendra

The Chinese red scolopendra lives in eastern Asia and Australia. Unlike many other species of centipedes, it is less aggressive and more social, it can live in peace with its relatives in communities (most species of centipedes are solitary).

In Chinese medicine, this type of scolopendra is used to speed up the healing of skin diseases and injuries.

California scolopendra

The California scolopendra lives in arid areas of the United States and Mexico, although other scolopendra species prefer wetter habitats.

A bite from a California scolopendra or touching its legs when disturbed can cause minor harm to a person in the form of inflammation. There have even been cases of rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure after being bitten by this centipede.

Scolopendra Lucas

Lucas's centipede, like the ringed one, lives in the southern part of Europe. Distinctive features are the heart-shaped head and rusty color. The harm from contact with it is identical to most other centipedes.

Spanish water torture

In order to best carry out the procedure of this torture, the accused was placed on one of the types of racks or on a special large table with a rising middle part. After the victim's arms and legs were tied to the edges of the table, the executioner began work in one of several ways. One of these methods involved forcing the victim to swallow a large amount of water using a funnel, then hitting the distended and arched abdomen.

Water torture. (pinterest.com)

Another form involved placing a cloth tube down the victim's throat through which water was slowly poured, causing the victim to swell and suffocate. If this was not enough, the tube was pulled out, causing internal damage, and then inserted again and the process repeated. Sometimes cold water torture was used. In this case, the accused lay naked on a table under a stream of ice water for hours. It is interesting to note that this type of torture was considered light, and the court accepted confessions obtained in this way as voluntary and given by the defendant without the use of torture. Most often, these tortures were used by the Spanish Inquisition in order to extract confessions from heretics and witches.

Spanish armchair

This instrument of torture was widely used by the executioners of the Spanish Inquisition and was a chair made of iron, on which the prisoner was seated, and his legs were placed in stocks attached to the legs of the chair. When he found himself in such a completely helpless position, a brazier was placed under his feet; with hot coals, so that the legs began to slowly fry, and in order to prolong the suffering of the poor fellow, the legs were poured with oil from time to time.

Spanish armchair. (pinterest.com)

Another version of the Spanish chair was often used, which was a metal throne to which the victim was tied and a fire was lit under the seat, roasting the buttocks. The famous poisoner La Voisin was tortured on such a chair during the famous Poisoning Case in France.

Gridiron (grid for torture by fire)

This type of torture is often mentioned in the lives of saints - real and fictitious, but there is no evidence that the gridiron “survived” until the Middle Ages and had even a small circulation in Europe. It is usually described as an ordinary metal grate, 6 feet long and two and a half feet wide, mounted horizontally on legs to allow a fire to be built underneath.

Sometimes the gridiron was made in the form of a rack in order to be able to resort to combined torture.

Saint Lawrence was martyred on a similar grid.

This torture was used very rarely. Firstly, it was quite easy to kill the person being interrogated, and secondly, there were a lot of simpler, but no less cruel tortures.

Story

During the reign of the Tang Dynasty, important changes took place in the state that affected all areas of life. The drafted legislation did not undergo major changes and lasted until the 20th century. These laws regulated punishments for crimes. Not much is known about torture and executions in China, because surviving sources lack drawings and detailed descriptions of the process.

Some were punished by being beaten with bamboo sticks, forced labor, or expelled. But only people who committed minor crimes were subjected to this. For others, the punishments were more severe. Those sentenced to death were subjected to torture. Death occurred before the intended execution. The cruelty of these actions even today makes one shudder.

Until the beginning of the last century, Chinese law officials had no concept of the presumption of innocence and accusing parties. Confessions obtained during torture served as evidence of an illegal act. These manipulations were subjected not only to suspects, but also to witnesses to the violation. In those days, it was not taken into account that a person could agree to everything in order for his suffering to end. Later they began to use firing squads and did not use the old executions.

Bloody Eagle

One of the most ancient tortures, during which the victim was tied face down and his back was opened, his ribs were broken off at the spine and spread apart like wings. Scandinavian legends claim that during such an execution, the wounds of the victim were sprinkled with salt.

Bloody eagle. (pinterest.com)

Many historians claim that this torture was used by pagans against Christians, others are sure that spouses caught in treason were punished in this way, and still others claim that the bloody eagle is just a terrible legend.

Spanish boot

This is a fastening on the leg with a metal plate, which, with each question and subsequent refusal to answer it, as required, was tightened more and more in order to break the bones of the person’s legs. To enhance the effect, sometimes an inquisitor was involved in the torture, who hit the fastening with a hammer. Often after such torture, all the bones of the victim below the knee were crushed, and the wounded skin looked like a bag for these bones.

Spanish boot. (pinterest.com)