In ancient times, prisoners were usually beheaded at 5:30 in the execution ground. What time was that? Why was it done at that time?

In ancient times, a day and night were divided into twelve hours, which were further divided into one hundred quarters ("engraving" originally referred to the notches on the drip bucket of time. After a bucket was dripped in one day and night, it was divided into one hundred quarters. ). "Hour" and "quarter" are actually two sets of timing system units. The conversion is troublesome. On average, each hour equals eight and one-third quarters. "Noon hour" is generally between 11 and 13 o'clock noon today. The third quarter of noon is nearly 12 o'clock noon. The sun hangs in the center of the sky, which is the time when the shadow on the ground is the shortest. This was considered by people at that time as the time when "yang energy" was at its strongest in the day.

Ancient China has always believed that murder is a "secret matter". No matter whether the person killed deserves it or not, his ghost will always come to haunt the judge who made the judgment, the official who oversaw the execution, the executioner who executed the execution, etc. He was executed by those associated with him. Therefore, executing the execution when the yang energy is at its strongest can suppress the ghosts from appearing. This should be the main reason for the customary "three quarters in the afternoon" execution.

Talking about "three quarters of noon" - French culture in Chinese classical literature

When I was a child and watched "Water Margin", I felt that the most exciting and exciting plot was "The Tribulation of the Law" "": Chapter 40 "The Heroes of Bailong Temple gathered at the Bailong Temple where the heroes were robbed and executed" in Chapter 40. Song Jiang and Dai Zong were taken to the execution ground. "There was a report: 'At three o'clock at noon!'" the supervisor and beheading official said: "Beheading is over." Report!'" At this moment, the heroes of Liangshan all broke out. "A tiger-shaped black man stood upstairs in the teahouse at the crossroads. He took off his clothes completely and held two axes in his hands. He roared loudly, but it sounded like a thunderbolt in the middle of the night. , jump down from mid-air." Another example is the 62nd chapter "Set a cold arrow, Yan Qing, the savior, Shi Xiu jumps off the building", Lu Junyi is about to be executed, it is also at the cross street execution ground, and the executioner is about to take action when he shouts "It's three o'clock at noon". Shi Xiu, who was waiting in the restaurant, yelled, "All the heroes of Liangshanbo are here!" He jumped down with his sword drawn, dragged Lu Junyi up and left.

In other classical novels, there are often plots of executions at "three quarters noon". For example, the thirty-ninth volume of "Ancient and Modern Novels" "Let the filial son become a god" tells the story of Ren Ou panicking and Xin Chou being escorted to the execution ground, "only waiting for three quarters of noon".

So, does ancient law stipulate that executions should be carried out at "three quarters of noon"? Not so. For example, the laws of the Tang and Song Dynasties stipulated that every year from the beginning of spring to the autumnal equinox, as well as the first lunar month, May, and September, the great sacrificial days, the great fasting days, the twenty-four solar terms, the synodic and first and last quarter days of each month, and the first and last quarter days of each month. No executions are allowed on the days when killings are prohibited (i.e. on the 10th, 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th and 30th days). It also stipulates that the death penalty shall not be executed when "the rain has not cleared or the night has not dawned."

Some people have calculated that according to this rule, the Tang Dynasty could execute executions less than eighty days a year. Regarding the time of execution, the laws of the Tang Dynasty clearly stipulated that executions could only be carried out between Weishi and Shenshi (approximately between 1:00 and 5:00 this afternoon). It’s not “three quarters at noon”. The laws of the Ming and Qing Dynasties only stipulated the date of execution, which was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty. There was no clear provision on the time of execution.

In fact, in the novels of the Qing Dynasty, there are not many descriptions of this kind of "three quarters noon" execution. For example, Chapter 7 of "Awakening Flowers" says: "It was the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. In the prisons of all prefectures and counties, there were those heinous prisoners who were executed at this time. On that day, Gao Jie, the magistrate of Shuangliu County, received When the imperial edict came and was read, several famous criminals were executed. At the fifth watch, they were tied to the cross streets and executed. "This means execution in the early morning.

On the contrary, there are also executions at dusk. A strange case in Meizhou is recorded in the "Dream Factory Miscellaneous Works" written by the Qing Dynasty. Cai Asan, a local rapist and murderer, was sentenced to death. When the sealing document (execution order) arrived, Zhizhou happened to be out of town, and there was only one official in the state (a minor official in charge of public security and prisons), so he could not supervise the execution. The official called the local garrison guerrilla (officer) for discussion. The guerrilla said: "We are both civil and military. Why can't I supervise the beheading? If according to the system, we ask the magistrate of a neighboring state to supervise the beheading, it will take at least three days, which will delay the time limit." The emperor opened the seal and ordered the prisoners on death row to be extracted. It was already afternoon when the two of them had discussed the matter, and it was almost dusk when the execution took place. When they arrived at the execution ground outside the city, it started to rain and the sky became darker. The soldier who was selected as the temporary executioner had never killed anyone before. Before the execution, he drank glass after glass of wine to strengthen his courage. The person holding the knife was already drunk. When he heard the sound of "cut", he swung his knife and saw the condemned prisoner fell to the ground. Report "cut off".

The officials and guerrillas hid far away and did not dare to come forward to check, so they sent a Qian Zong (officer) to check. Mr. Qian stepped forward, took a careless glance, and said, "My head and body are separated by more than ten feet, and I'm still alive?" So he ended it hastily. But the body was collected the next day, but the body could not be found. The guerrillas and officials were panic-stricken and searched near the execution ground with a reward, and finally found Cai Asan beside a latrine. It turned out that the knife struck him on the shoulder last night. He woke up in the middle of the night and struggled to escape, but he was too injured to go far. The official called the executioner to add a few more blows before the execution was over. After this matter was discovered by his superiors, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi personally interrogated and sentenced the executioner and Qianzong to "get bribes, sell off, and let go"; the officials were inattentive and sentenced to death; the prefects and guerrillas were both derelict in their duties and sentenced to be expelled from the army. .

Since there are no clear provisions in the law, the statement of execution at "three quarters of noon" in Ming and Qing novels should just be the practice of the officials at that time, or the common view of storytellers and writers. So the next question is what is the mystery of these "three quarters at noon"?

In ancient times, day and night were divided into twelve hours, and then divided into one hundred quarters ("quarter" originally referred to the drip bucket of timekeeping The notches on the bucket. A bucket is dripped in one day and night, divided into one hundred notches). "Hour" and "quarter" are actually two sets of timing system units. The conversion is more troublesome. On average, each hour equals eight and one-third quarters. "Noon hour" is generally approximately between 11 and 13 o'clock noon today. The third quarter of noon is close to 12 o'clock noon. The sun hangs in the center of the sky, which is the time when the shadow on the ground is the shortest. This was considered by people at that time as the time when "yang energy" was at its strongest in the day. Ancient China has always believed that murder is a "secret matter". No matter whether the person killed deserves it or not, his ghost will always come to haunt the judge who made the judgment, the officials who oversaw the execution, the executioner and other people related to his execution. . Therefore, executing the execution when the yang energy is at its strongest can suppress the ghosts from appearing. This should be the main reason for the customary "three quarters in the afternoon" execution.

Almost all ancient countries in the world required executions to be carried out during the day. For example, before the 20th century, executions were generally carried out "at sunrise" in European countries. The homogeneity considerations here obviously have preventive reasons, as well as reasons to deter the public. However, there are very few people who consider the factors of ghosts and spirits like in China.

Traditional Chinese culture emphasizes "retribution". Getting "blessings" is the result of the accumulation of good deeds, and getting "evil retribution" is the result of the accumulation of bad deeds. For Chinese people who emphasize "the inheritance of incense" and fear "cutting off their descendants", "retribution" is the most important factor affecting people's behavior. After the introduction of Buddhism, the combination of the teaching of cause and effect and reincarnation and the traditional concept of "retribution" became deeply ingrained among the people. The so-called proverb "Good deeds will be rewarded with good deeds, and evil deeds will be rewarded with evil deeds. It's not that there is no reward, but the time has not yet come" is the most typical expression.

According to the textbook "Gong Men Yao Lue" written by Chang Sui of the Qing Dynasty, when the judge at that time signed the execution order, the execution room clerk would place the death row prisoner's inmate's name tag (also known as a name tag) ) was presented to the chief, and the chief raised the radon, and the clerk in the execution room pushed it up, so that the name of the death row prisoner was marked with a red pen mark. This was regarded as the radon. Judge Xinrui was not directly responsible for this. That radon pill caused pain and burning, and was no longer needed. In order to ward off evil spirits, the executioners always wear full official uniforms and a red cloak when setting out to ward off evil spirits. After the execution, they always make a detour to the City God's Temple to burn incense and let the City God control the ghosts who may be following behind. After returning to the Yamen, firecrackers will be set off before the official sedan enters the gate. All the yamen officials were dispatched, lined up in the lobby and courtyard, and waved sticks to "line up the yamen" to drive away ghosts.

Chapter 110 of "Shui You Zhuan" talks about the execution of Wang Qing. "The executioner shouted, 'All the evil killers are coming', and it happened to be three quarters to noon." The so-called "evil gods are coming" is to let the deceased remember that it was the evil spirits who took his life, and not to bother the executioner. After the execution, just like after Yang Xiong was executed in the city center in Chapter 44, a group of helpers came to dress him in red and robes, played some drums and music, and went to drink in a busy hotel in the city to drive away possible followers. The ghostly energy comes.

It may be said that Chinese culture does not have a strong religious overtone, but in fact ghost factors are always reflected in the daily activities of the people and even the government. In literary works, the "three quarters of noon" killing time is this One of the examples of ghost factors at work