I know I always had a sort of vague and childish image of people "merely" being cut into repeatedly as a method of torture that may or may not lead to death due to loss of blood.
Oh, that it were that simple. Also known as "slow slicing," língchí in Chinese, what is really involved is the slow removal of body parts over a period of time. Each bit was removed by a series of slices; although the practice was referenced in Chinese law, not much detail was given and the actual methodology probably varied. Pictures, however, show both women and men with breasts removed, thighs cut to the bone, etc., with the people still being forced to stand upright. This was then escalated to removal of limbs or parts of limbs. The victim was often finished off by being stabbed in the heart or beheaded--with earlier death being given to people whose families could afford to pay it.
Mercifully, most would pass out early in the process, although opium was sometimes used to cut the pain and keep the victim awake. There are varying reports about how long the process took, but what seems to be clear is that it's often performed in front of a large crowd as a form of humiliation.
This seems to have been used as a form of punishment for murderers, especially those who killed members of their own families or government officials (or other acts of treason).
This practice was wildly exaggerated in Western accounts (although to me it seems not to need exaggeration), especially during the 19th century, which led to its being defended by Westerners as "not as bad as you think." The practice was officially abolished in China in 1905, with the last recorded execution in this manner being that of a guard who killed his master.
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