五刑 wǔ xíng

DEFINITIONS

  1. imperial five punishments of feudal China, up to Han times: tattooing characters on the forehead 墨[mo4], cutting off the nose 劓[yi4], amputation of one or both feet 刖[yue4], castration 宮|宫[gong1], execution 大辟[da4 pi4]
  2. Han dynasty onwards: whipping 笞[chi1], beating the legs and buttocks with rough thorns 杖[zhang4], forced labor 徒[tu2], exile or banishment 流[liu2], capital punishment 死[si3]

CHARACTERS

五 wǔ five; surname
刑 xíng punishment, penalty; law