[VOL I] PUNISHMENT OF THE PAN-TZE, OR BASTINADO

PUNISHMENT OF THE PAN-TZE, OR BASTINADO

Cover Image: Punishment of the Pan-Tze, or Bastinado / China / Drawn by T.Allom Engraved by W.Wetherhead – ALAMY Image ID:2X2MWC4

*“The bamboo cane punishment” was one of the ancient Chinese forms of punishment, involving the use of willow branches or large bamboo boards to whip or lash the offender.

Art thou a man?—So is the wretch that lies,
Trampled, and rack’d, and bleeding at thy feet.
Art thou a man?—Regard thy destinies;
Nor worse than hound thine erring brother treat.
The spaniel bowls and fawns while you chastise;
But hate swells vice, when man like dog is beat.

C. J. C.

DESTITUTE of the knowledge of Christian ethics—unacquainted with the science of political economy, as understood and practiced in the civilized kingdoms of the western world, the Chinese are, nevertheless, the most tractable subjects in the universe. This most desirable end has been obtained, and preserved through thousands of years, by means simple yet not secret; principles known to other countries, and acted on with equal success; and when departed from, the decadence of that state seems to have been a consequence either necessary or contingent. This principle of ruling—this basis of national subordination, political, military, and civil, is “the patriarchal theory of government.” In the infantile state, dependence and inferiority are conceded; and the parent, having obtained the silent recognition of his rule, enforces it in the more advanced stages of life; nor is the child ever supposed to be released from the bonds and obligations of filial duty and affection. To this system of parental authority the imperial government of China is analogous. The emperor is father of his people, as a parent is of his children. When he chastises them for neglect or delinquency, they are taught to believe that he acts with reluctance, and that the correction which he inflicts is for their personal benefit. His mandarins, being delegates of his power, are received with the same sentiment of filial devotion; and it is this morbid morality that saves these self-sufficient functionaries from the retaliation which their tyranny so frequently deserves. Pursuing the analogy—as parents punish, and even kill, their offspring and their slaves for disobedience, theft, or petty treason, so may the Pater Patriae, or his representatives, act under similar circumstances. And, although capital punishments are rarely inflicted, and no monarch that we read of exercises the prerogative of mercy more meritoriously than the Celestial Emperor, yet the influence of its terror, aided by the whip and bamboo, succeeded in preserving the most extraordinary and admirable tranquillity, and in the most densely peopled country in the world.

The Pan-tze, or Bastinado, is the punishment most frequently inflicted in every part of China, and for almost every species of offence, the number of blows being regulated by the magnitude of the guilt. The culprit is usually brought to some public place outside the city walls, and, in presence of a mandarin and guard of soldiers, beaten by slaves kept for the purpose. If the crime be serious, and a proportionate punishment to be inflicted, the criminal is held down by one or more slaves, while the chief actor furnished with a half-bamboo, six feet in length and about two inches broad, strikes him on the back part of the thighs. Upon the termination of this degrading ceremony, the offender, impressed with the habitual feeling that he has been flogged like a school-boy for his future benefit, falls prostrate before the attending mandarin, and returns thanks for his parental vigilance and anxiety.

The missionaries who visited the Celestial empire in the early part of last century, seemed disposed to view the bastinado as a mere gentle correction, arising solely from kindness in the inflictor; and they thought also that the peasant had no “grounds of remonstrance against its humiliating character, since the prime minister and the princes of the empire were also subjected to its wholesome discipline. But it would be vain, nugatory, and degrading, in this land of freedom and personal independence, to attempt any defence of so gross and debasing an act of despotism. It is a matter of doubt whether the prince who imposes, or the people who submit to this humiliating treatment, be the more despicable in the opinion of a Christian community.

The Pan-tze is rendered almost fashionable by the example of the court, and the universality of its application. “Each officer of state, from the ninth degree upwards to the fourth, can at any time administer a gentle correction to his inferior; and the emperor orders the bamboo to his ministers, and to the other four classes, whenever he may think it necessary for the good of their morals.” The emperor Kien-Long ordered two of his sons to be bamboozed long after they had reached the age of maturity, and one of these princes afterwards succeeded him on the throne.

It is some satisfaction to the poor, that the rich are also included under the same criminal code; but, as the administration of the Pan-tze is often entrusted to men of cruel dispositions, the highest injustice constantly disfigures the whole executive system. A Chinaman generally submits with patience to his fate, but a Tartar never gives thanks to the mandarin, recollecting that his nation subdued the Chinese, and concluding therefore that they have no right to flog him. The paternal origin and nature of the bastinado are still more distinctly shown during the ceremony, the sufferer having the privilege of exemption from every fifth blow, if he demands it as the emperor’s coup-de-grace; but what he gains by diminished numbers, he most probably loses by increased severity. This degrading secondary punishment is evidently amongst the most ancient institutions of China; and its continuance is a palpable proof that civilization has been stationary for many centuries in that great empire. There was once a savage custom in the British army, of obliging a military culprit “to run the gauntlet,” that is, to pass down between two long ranks of men, every one of whom inflicted a lash upon him as he went. As such disgrace was reserved for the most heinous offences only, the chastisement was often so severe that death was the inevitable consequence. This cruel practice, however, no longer disgraces our military code. In Russia, too, a punishment existed called the knout, similar to the gauntlet and bastinado. It was at first inflicted privately, and by order of the court, but afterwards extended generally to the whole people: civilization, however, has thence also expelled this insult to humanity. When the knout was inflicted in Russia, the forms of society and the manners of the court were in a low and rude condition; the Czar Peter was in the habit of striking his courtiers with his clenched fist; and the great Mentzikoff was frequently seen to make his exit from the royal closet with marks of violence on his countenance. Historians gravely assure us that these bruises were so many tokens of his master’s sterling friendship. It may be so: for our William the Conqueror having failed in winning the affections of the lady Matilda by a fair and gentle suit, followed her as she returned from prayers clad in her richest garments, and pushed her into a slough in the public streets. This stratagem succeeded when all other devices failed.