Exile is a very ancient punishment, which has existed since the pre-Qin period. The most famous exile at that time was when the Shang Dynasty powerful minister exiled the king Taijia , and asked him to think about his mistakes behind closed doors. In history, it was called " yi Yin put Taijia ". Exile was originally targeted at the powerful class, and most of the exiled were political prisoners, and later it began to target ordinary people. By , Tang Dynasty , exile became one of the five punishments of "fighting, cannon, migration, flowing, and death" , and was used until Qing Dynasty .
In ancient times, exile was a serious crime, second only to the death penalty. People today may not understand, because there is nothing scary about exile, it is just a different place to live. This was not the case in ancient times. Even if the ancients who moved to the court became high-ranking officials, they would have to return to their hometowns to retire after retirement, which was very unacceptable for leaving their hometown.
The choice of places for exile in ancient times was that the more serious the crime, the farther the exile was. It was generally exiled to remote and backward bitter and cold places or remote islands with smoke and heat. The exile place has backward economy, scarce medical care, harsh environment, and very poor living conditions. The journey to the exile land was difficult and bumpy, and many people died of illness on the road. When the severely punished prisoners arrive at the exile, they either do hard labor or become military officers. Political prisoners who commit minor crimes or are demoted can live freely when they arrive in the exile, but it is also extremely difficult.
What are the main exile places in ancient times? Here are some ancient exile "holy places".
Fangling is currently under the jurisdiction of Shiyan City, Hubei Province. Most of the people who were exiled to this place were the powerful. For example, when Qin destroyed Zhao, he exiled King Zhao here, and the royal relatives who committed crimes during the Han Dynasty were also exiled here, and Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was also exiled here by his mother Wu Zetian . In history, there were 16 monarchs who were exiled in Fangling, and countless nobles were prominent.
Lingnan is today's , Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. Although this place is now economically developed, it was a backward "wild land" in ancient times. Han Yu was exiled to Lingnan at that time. When he arrived in Chaozhou, he was scared by the local food - Oh my God, what kind of monsters are they eating? No, I want to go back! Then he wrote a letter of repentance to the emperor, and soon he was pardoned by the emperor. In fact, the dish that scares Han Yu is oysters. Today is a delicious dish, but in Han Yu's era, it was a monster that most people had never seen before.
Song Dynasty had a ancestral teaching "not killing civil servants and sects", so most of the civil servants who committed crimes were exiled. Their main exile place was Hainan Island in Lingnan, and Su Shi is the representative of it. There is a "holy land" of exile in Hainan called Yazhou, which is today's Yazhou District in Sanya City.
The Northeast was called Manchuria during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Qing government prefers to exile prisoners to Manchuria because it is the "Land of Dragon Rise" for the Manchus, which is a military restricted area and is relatively safe. In addition, Manchuria is sparsely populated and can’t even run away. The most famous "holy land" of exile in the Northeast is the Ningguta in Hailin and Anning area of Heilongjiang today. When watching palace dramas in Qing Dynasty, you often hear officials committing crimes and being sentenced to "exiled to Ningguta" and "armored people as slaves." If you add another sentence "You will never be allowed to enter the pass", it will basically be sentenced to death.
To "slave the armored person" means to be a slave to local soldiers and do hard labor every day, and may be tortured to death in two or three years. There are many people who have died on the way to Ningguta. It is said among the literati of the Qing Dynasty: People say Huangquan Road . If you arrive at Ningguta, you will not be afraid of ten Huangquans!
In ancient times, there were many prisoners exiled to Sichuan, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Cangzhou, Hebei, and they all went to remote and backward places. Many people will wonder: Why don’t the exiled prisoners run away? First, they cannot run out, the exile is remote and there is no one around, so they may starve to death on the way. In addition, severe prisoners will tattoo their faces before being exiled, and they will be recognized wherever they run.Generally, the crime of stabbing the left face and the place name exiled on the right face. The most unlucky thing was when the Qing Dynasty wanted to assassinate the Manchu and Han Dynasty. The picture hurts even if you think about it.
