Cangue

Cangue
A man in a cangue in Shanghai, circa 1870. The label usually listed the offender's name, address, and nature of the crime. The offender had to rely on passersby for food. (Photo by John Thomson).
Salle des Martyrs at the Paris Foreign Missions Society. The ladder-like apparatus in the middle is the cangue that was worn by Pierre Borie in captivity.

A cangue is a small device that was used for public humiliation and corporal punishment in China [1] and some other parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia, until the early years of the twentieth century.

It was similar to the pillory used for punishment in the West, except that the board of the cangue was not fixed to a base, and had to be carried around by the prisoner.[1]

Forms

Although there are many different forms, a typical cangue would consist of a large, heavy flat board with a hole in the center large enough for a person's neck. The board consisted of two pieces. These pieces were closed around a prisoner's neck, and then fastened shut along the edges by locks or hinges. The opening in the center was large enough for the prisoner to breathe and eat, but not large enough for a head to slip through. The prisoner was confined in the cangue for a period of time as a punishment. The size and especially weight were varied as a measure of severity of the punishment. The Great Ming Legal Code (大明律) published in 1397 specified that a cangue should be made from seasoned wood and weigh 25, 20 or 15 jīn (roughly equivalent to 12.5, 10 or 7.5 kilograms) depending on the nature of the crime involved. Often the cangue was large enough that the prisoner required assistance to eat or drink, as his hands could not reach his own mouth.


The word "cangue" is French, from the Portuguese "canga," which means yoke - that carrying tool has also been used to the same effect, with the hands tied to each arm of the yoke. In contemporary Standard Chinese it is called a 木枷 "mù jīa",[1] or a 枷鎖 "jiā suǒ".

References

  1. ^ a b c Jamyang Norbu, From Darkness to Dawn, site Phayul.com, May 19, 2009.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cangue — [ kɑ̃g ] n. f. • 1686; port. canga, annamite gong ♦ En Chine, Carcan dans lequel on engageait le cou et les poignets du condamné. ♢ Le supplice lui même. La cangue a été abolie. ● cangue nom féminin (portugais canga, du chinois) Carcan imposé… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cangue — (k[a^]ng), n. [Written also {cang}.] [F. cangue, fr. Pg. canga yoke.] A very broad and heavy wooden collar which certain offenders in China are compelled to wear as a punishment. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cangue — [kaŋ] n. 〚Fr < Port canga, a yoke < Vietnamese gong〛 in China, a large, wooden yoke formerly fastened about the neck as a punishment for petty crime * * * cangue (kăng) n. A heavy wooden yoke borne on the shoulders and enclosing the neck and arms …   Universalium

  • cangue — s. m. 1. Milho painço da antiga Índia Portuguesa. 2. Suplício usado na China …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • cangue — [kaŋ] n. [Fr < Port canga, a yoke < Vietnamese gong] in China, a large, wooden yoke formerly fastened about the neck as a punishment for petty crime …   English World dictionary

  • Cangue — Salle des Martyrs à la Missions étrangères de Paris. Ce qui ressemble à une échelle au milieu est la cangue qu a portée Pierre Dumoulin Borie en captivité. La cangue est appelé en chinois mu jia (木枷), est un châtiment similaire au pilori en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • CANGUE — n. f. Espèce de carcan portatif dont on fait usage en Asie et surtout en Chine : il consiste ordinairement en deux pièces de bois très pesantes et échancrées au milieu, qu’on réunit après y avoir introduit le cou et les poignets du condamné. Le… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • CANGUE — s. f. Espèce de carcan portatif, dont on fait usage en Asie et surtout en Chine : il consiste ordinairement en deux pièces de bois très pesantes et échancrées au milieu, qu on réunit après y avoir introduit le cou du condamné …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • cangue — noun a heavy wooden collar or yoke borne on the shoulders and enclosing the neck and arms, formerly used in China to punish petty criminals …   Wiktionary

  • cangue — (kan gh ) s. f. Carcan portatif qui sert à une sorte de supplice usité dans l Asie et dans lequel on engage le cou et les poignets du patient …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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