Caishikou Execution Grounds (), also known as Vegetable Market Execution Ground, was an important execution ground in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. It was located at the crossroads of Xuanwumen Outer Street and Luomashi Street. The exact location is under debate today. However, contemporary sources and photographs put it across from the Heniantang Pharmacy ( zh, 鶴年堂藥店). Executions were usually carried out at 11:30 AM. On the day of the execution, the convict would be carted from the jail cell to the execution grounds. The cart stopped at a wine shop named ''Broken Bowl'' ( zh, 破碗居) on the east side of

Xuanwu Gate Xuanwumen or Xuanwu Gate may refer to: * Xuanwumen (Beijing) (宣武门), a former gate in southern Beijing that was demolished in 1965 * Xuanwu Gate Incident, a coup set in Tang Dynasty in China *Xuanwumen ( 玄武门), a gate of Xuanwu Lake as pa ...

, where the convict would be offered a bowl of

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermented and distilled from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the ...

. The bowl would be smashed after it was drunk. During the executions of infamous convicts, it was common for a large crowd to gather and watch. The torture

death by a thousand cuts ''Lingchi'' (; ), translated variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE up until the practice ended aro ...

was also carried out at the execution ground. Many members of the

House of Zhu The House of Zhu () was the ruling house of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and the Southern Ming (1644–1662) in Chinese history. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty started persecuting the Zhu clan, hence a number ...

of the Ming dynasty were purged and executed at Caishikou during the Qing dynasty. The Catholic bishop Alphonse Favier wrote about the execution ground in the 1890s:

Notable individuals executed at Caishikou

Zhu Yousong The Hongguang Emperor (; 1607–1646), personal name Zhu Yousong (), childhood nickname Fuba (福八), was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645. His era name, ''Hongguang'', ...

, or

Hongguang Emperor The Hongguang Emperor (; 1607–1646), personal name Zhu Yousong (), childhood nickname Fuba (福八), was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645. His era name, ''Hongguang'' ...

, the first emperor of the

Southern Ming Dynasty The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun forc ...

. * Zhu Changfang, a member of the royal family of

. *Zhu Cunji ( 朱存極), Ming dynasty King of Qin (秦王) *Zhu Shenxuan ( 朱审烜), Ming dynasty Prince of Jin (晉世子) *Zhu Youzou ( 朱由棷), Ming dynasty King of Heng (衡王) *Zhu Ciyue ( 朱慈爚), Ming dynasty King of Chong (崇王) *Zhu Youli ( 朱由櫟), Ming dynasty King of De (德王) *Zhu Cikui ( 朱慈煃), Ming dynasty King of Ji (吉王) *

Zheng Zhilong Zheng Zhilong, Marquis of Tong'an and Nan'an (; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Chinese admiral, merchant, military general, pirate, and politician of the late Ming dynasty who later defect ...

, father of

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

. *

Jahangir Khoja Jahanghir Khoja, Jāhangīr Khwāja or Jihangir Khoja (, جهانگير خوجة; ; 1788 – 1828), was a member of the influential East Turkestan Afaqi khoja clan, who managed to wrest Kashgaria from the Qing Empire's power for a few years ...

, East Turkic rebel leader. *

Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform (), also known as Six gentlemen of Wuxu, were a group of six Chinese intellectuals whom the Empress Dowager Cixi had arrested and executed for their attempts to implement the Hundred Days' Reform. The mos ...

, including

Tan Sitong Tan Sitong (, March 10, 1865 – September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng (), pseudonym Zhuangfei (), was a well-known Chinese politician, thinker, and reformist in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). He was executed at the age of 33 when ...

and

Lin Xu Lin Xu (; 1875 – 28 September 1898), courtesy name Tungu (), was a Chinese politician, scholar, songwriter and poet who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He was also a student of Kang Youwei, a prominent official and one of the leaders of a ref ...

. * Xu Jingcheng, Qing diplomat, during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...

. * Qixiu (启秀), Manchu pro- Boxer official *Zhong Renjie ( 鍾人傑) *Lin Fengxiang ( 林鳳祥) * Li Kaifang, Taiping rebel *Li Hanjie ( 李漢傑)

References

{{Xicheng District History of Beijing Law in Qing dynasty Execution sites in China

Notable individuals executed at Caishikou

See also

References