The last prisoner to be executed in the history of China was Kang Xiaoba. What crime did he commit?

The title of the year was the cruelest death penalty in ancient China, commonly known as "Thousand Pieces". During the execution, the executioner cuts off the prisoner's flesh with a knife until the prisoner dies. Although there is no clear record of the number of knives with year titles, many people who were punished with year titles were cut more than 3,000 knives and died after many days of pain, such as eunuchs Liu Jin, Yuan Chonghuan and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the Ming Dynasty.

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Because this punishment is too cruel, only those criminals who commit the most heinous crimes will enjoy this "honor". Of course, the so-called heinous crime is only aimed at the rulers.

Kang Xiaoba's records only exist in some sporadic biographies or unofficial documents such as unofficial history's literary works. Some people say that he is a gangster who harms others, while others say that he is a Liangshan hero who is similar to the Water Margin. So it is not clear whether he is a gangster or a hero.

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Saying that he is a gangster is nothing more than saying that he has no education since he was a child. When he grew up, he used to be a thug of a landlord, and he got a pistol made in Japan. Later, he killed the landlord with this pistol. Because it was a great thing for an ordinary person to have a gun at that time, Kang Xiaoba used this gun to bully and even shoot innocent people many times, taking other people's money and becoming a famous local bully. Then one day, Kang Xiaoba went to a restaurant for dinner. There was some friction with Justice Baylor. During the quarrel, Kang Xiaoba shot and killed Lord Baylor, which led to the Qing court's pursuit. He was captured by famous Xingyiquan masters Shang Yunxiang and Ma Yutang, and was sentenced to death by the Qing court that year.

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And he is a hero, because he never kills ordinary people, but specializes in business similar to "killing the rich and helping the poor". Later, Kang Xiaoba was extremely inflated, so he really followed the example of Liangshan heroes to rob the "forbidden bar", but he failed and was captured by Shang Yunxiang with his helpers. After being arrested, Kang Xiaoba knew that he would die, and simply confessed everything, only occasionally, the Empress Dowager Cixi in the palace. So Cixi ordered Kang Xiaoba to be interrogated personally. Originally, this was an excellent chance to save his life, but Kang Xiaoba didn't think so. What he thought was not how to save his life, but how to die vigorously and immorally.

So as soon as he saw Cixi, Cixi asked him why he wanted to grab the imperial fence. He said, "Hey, a hero of Tianjinwei, if you want to rob him, rob him of the imperial grain. If you want to rape, rape the imperial concubine! " After that, she laughed at the sky. Empress Dowager Cixi flew into a rage and ordered that the original "chop decision" be changed to "annual decision", so Kang Xiaoba was executed in this way.

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In fact, it doesn't matter who the real Kang Xiaoba is now. We just need to know that he was the last person in China history to be sentenced to "old age". In addition, it may be a historical coincidence. Kang Xiaoba died in 1905. In this year, Shen Jiaben, Minister of Justice, was amended to delete the heavy sentence of that year. The Qing court allowed him to play and ordered him to play.

Therefore, the year when Kang Xiaoba died was also the year when the "year of the year" officially withdrew from the historical stage of our country. Such a coincidence is unexpected.