The American public was fascinated by the Chinese culture in the early 1900s, and were particularly interested in their forms of torture and punishment. Below are some of the accounts describing the use of the cangue in the early 20th century China.
1. Most Common Punishment
In a 1900 newspaper account published in Virginia, the cangue was described as China’s most common form of punishment. The text accompanying the image portraying five men locked in cangues reads:
“One of the most common punishments, usually used for the mildest offenses, is that of the cangue, which is a kind of portable pillory, as shown in the illustration. A square board about four feet across and two or three inches thick has a hole in the center, into which the culprit’s neck is fitted.” [1]
2. Used to Settle an Agreement
In 1907, it was reported that two brothers in China had jointly inherited some land from their father, but soon began to quarrel over the piece of land. They went to the local magistrate to settle the issue, but the magistrate both agreed and disagreed with both of the brothers. Instead of making a ruling, the magistrate placed the brothers in cangues and made them sit face to face.
At first, the brothers were stubborn and refused to talk to each other, but by the second day, in their weary state, they began speaking about what to do with the property. On the third day, the brothers reached an agreement and were set free. [2]
3. Described as a Slow Torture
While the cangue might not look like an instrument of torture, it was described as a slow torture. Weighing about 50 pounds or more, the wooden board slowly, but surely broke the spirit of a man:
“When it is so locked it rests directly on the muscles of the neck and on the bones of the shoulder, and it is so constructed that it cannot be shifted even a tenth of an inch, nor can the weight be relieved with the hands. In addition, the collar has a sharp rim underneath. At first the victim does not suffer much, except from inconvenience. He is turned loose as soon as the cangue is locked on him, and for an hour or two he waddles around in fair comfort. But gradually, as the sharp edge of the collar cuts deeply into the flesh of his neck, and all his muscles are drawn more and more tense, pain begins to conquer him, and in a week the torturers have the felicity of seeing a maddened wretch stumble and fall around blindly, weeping and yelling with anguish.” [3]
4. Public Humiliation
Besides the slow creeping pain associated with the wearing of the cangue, there was also public humiliation.
The criminal’s name and his crime was pasted on the board for all to see. Sometimes the criminal was forced to stand at the place where he committed his crime. For example, if he stole from a store, he would have to stand outside that store with the wooden collar so that everyone could see his shame and learn about his crime. [4]
5. Starvation
While wearing the cangue, it was impossible for a man to feed himself. He could not even get himself a drink. Instead, he was left to the mercy of the public, and there were cases of death by starvation.
“At one time in Mongolia some wealthy merchants were found guilty of effecting a corner in corn and their names and the nature of their offense being stated on the cangue. The public took drastic revenge upon the criminals. They allowed these wealthy men to starve to death, claiming that the corn merchants had deliberately tried to starve the people to death.” [5]
6. The Barrel Shaped Cangue
A barrel shaped cangue was described in 1900:
“There is one species of the cangue made in the shape of a barrel with a hole in the top. The head of the criminal is outside the top, but his body is squeezed inside, his neck just filling the hole. In such punishments there are often holes for the criminal’s hands in the sides of the barrel. The holes are just large enough for the wrists. They do not permit the man to scratch his nose or feed himself. His friends or relatives must have charity upon him, or he is liable to die before the punishment is over.” [6]
7. The Korean Cangue
Koreans, according to a report published in 1894, had their own version of the cangue:
“The Korean cangue is a plank, often longer than the man himself, with a hole in one end of it, in which the neck can be locked. If the man wishes to move about he must hold up this plank with his hands, and when he sits down, its heavy weight rests upon his neck.” [7]
