figure (communication artefact); figure (ritual & belief: representations)

Carved wooden model depicting the punishment of 'li jia' (standing in a cangue-cage). A male offender was kept standing inside a wooden cangue cage with his head exposed above. As the cangue is taller than the offender, he would need to raise his heels. He was punished by not being able to sit down and also by dying slowly in public. This method of punishment was first used in the Wanli period (1573-1620) of the Ming dynasty. Inscriptions written on top of the cangue in black ink indicate that he is a serious offender from Taizhou, Zhejiang province.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
15.57
Date
late 19th century
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 100 mm x 46 mm x 46 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
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Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

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