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五刑

Mandarin · pinyin wǔ xíng

imperial five punishments of feudal China, up to Han times: tattooing characters on the forehead 墨 mò, cutting off the nose 劓 yì, amputation of one or both feet 刖 yuè, castration 宮 gōng, execution 大辟 dà pì
Han dynasty onwards: whipping 笞 chī, beating the legs and buttocks with rough thorns 杖 zhàng, forced labor 徒 tú, exile or banishment 流 liú, capital punishment 死 sǐ

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · wu3 xing2

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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noun

(historical) Five Punishments in imperial China

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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