The Marmot’s Hole

Doing some research into punishment in the Far East I came across a reference to Mongolia that I thought ???The Marmot?? might enjoy. Korea and China had their versions of severe punishment, often very similar, and there is a reference to a Korean prince being sealed in a box by his father, but this is the first time I have read of this particular punishment. It resembles the European punishment of placing prisoners in iron-cages and it appears to have been very popular but was abolished in 1920.

An American wrote about it during his adventures in Mongolia around 1919:

A prisoner was placed in a heavy wooden coffin about four and one half feet long by three feet wide and as many high. He could neither lie down nor sit erect. In this cramped position he might stay for days or weeks or even years according to his sentence. Through a round hole six inches wide in the side of the box food was passed ?? when the jailors did not forget it! In the prison I saw a dozen coffins and all were occupied.

One of the inmates told me that he had been there five years; his was a life sentence. At first he used to be taken out every week for a little exercise but soon his legs and arms had atrophied and he could no longer walk. Still he lived. Many coffins on the street corners contained men who had committed minor crimes. They would remain inside for perhaps a week or two and could be given food by any who wished. I saw one poor fellow in a box whose legs and hands were tightly manacled as well.

Seeing that I wrote about the Mongolian punishment I might as well list some of the Koreans. Below are some of the punishments that Hamel, the Dutchman wrote about during his stay in Korea. A great source of information concerning Hamel can be found on Henny Savenije??s website.

Another great source is ???Hamel??s World?? published through the efforts of Samsung, and the Dutch government. Even though they are relatively well-known, many of the readers might not have read them and may find his descriptions interesting.

??High treason and other serious criminal offences against the King, or the state, are very harshly punished. The entire family of the culprit is destroyed. His house is razed to the ground and on that site never again a proper house may be constructed. All his goods and his slaves are confiscated. They are either used in the service of the country, or given away to others.

If someone finds fault with a sentence pronounced by the King, or on his behalf, he will be put to death. In our time it happened that the sister-in-law of the King was very skilful with the needle. The King ordered her to make a coat for him. It so happened that this woman despised the King, so she sewed some charm in the lining of this coat, so that whenever the King wore it he could find no rest. The King ordered the stitches to be pulled out and the garment to be inspected. The evil stuff hidden inside was discov?ered. He had the lady confined in a room with a floor of copper plates under which a fire was lit until she died. An acquaintance of this lady, at that moment a high-ranking official of noble birth, highly respected at the court, protested. He wrote to the King that a woman, and moreover a lady of distinguished position, could have been punished in another way. The king summoned the high official. He received in one day 120 strokes on his shins and was then beheaded. All his goods and slaves were confiscated. Such an offence, and other offences to be mentioned later, are deemed personal offences; the family of the culprit is not punished as well as occurs in cases of high treason.

A woman who kills her husband is buried up to her shoulders along a highway over which many pass. Beside her is placed a wooden saw with which all passers-by, except nobility, must saw once at the head until she dies. The town in or near which the murder occurred loses for some years the right to have its own magistrate. During such a period the town is ruled by the magis?trate of a nearby town, or by a nobleman. The same penalty is applied if someone complains about his magistrate, and the court finds him in the wrong. A man who kills his wife goes free, if he can prove he had any reason, such as adultery or the like. A man who slays a female slave has to pay the master of the slave threefold her worth. Slaves who kill their masters are tortured to death. A master may kill his slave for a minor offence. Murderers are killed in the same way as they killed their victims, but first several lashes are administered to the soles of their feet. Anyone who is guilty of murder is punished as follows: the corpse of the victim is washed all over with vinegar and dirty, stinking water. This mixture is poured through a funnel into the mouth of the criminal until his body is full, then they beat his swollen belly until it bursts.

Theft and burglary are severely punished, but there still is much stealing. Thieves generally are beaten under the soles of their feet until slowly they die. Anyone who commits adultery with or abducts a married woman is led through the town together with that woman, sometimes naked, or clad in thin small drawers, faces covered with lime. An arrow is pierced through both their ears. Behind them a small drum is tied on which a servant of the law beats, crying: ‘They are adulterers!’ Having been led thus through the town they receive 50 or 6o blows each on the buttocks.

Anyone who fails to pay the King’s tax on time is beaten twice or thrice a month on the shinbones, until he pays the delinquent sum, or else dies. If he dies his relatives have to settle the debt, thus the King of this country never misses his income.

The standard punishment consists of flogging on the naked buttocks, or on the calves. This is considered no shame, for even a lightly spoken word can lead to such punishment. An ordinary magistrate may not condemn someone to death, without the concurrence of the provincial governor. Crimes concerning the state cannot be prosecuted without informing the King.

Beatings on the shins happen as follows: the condemned is seated on a stool with his legs bound together. On his shins they put two stripes, one about the width of a hand above the feet, and like?wise under the knees. In between he is struck with a wooden rod as long as an arm made of oak or ash, two fingers wide in front,as thick as a one-crown piece and rounded behind. After more than 30 blows the condemned is given a rest of 3 or 4 hours, after which the punishment continues until justice is achieved. Those they intend to kill are beaten with heavier sticks 3 104 feet long, as wide as an arm, and the beating is done directly under the knees.

Beatings to the bottoms of the feet are done as follows: the condemned is seated on the ground, the great toes are bound together and a piece of wood is placed between the thighs. With round sticks as thick as an arm he receives as many blows on the soles of his feet as the judge pleases. This is also the method by which all criminals are tortured. Beatings on the buttocks happen as follows: the condemned must lower his trousers and lie prostrate on the floor, or sometimes bend over a bench to which he is tied down. For the sake of propriety, women may keep on small pants, which are wetted so as to be better hit. Flat cudgels four or five feet long are used, rounded above, as wide as a hand and thick as a little finger. One hundred strokes are considered to equal the death penalty. Beating also is done with rods or bundles of switches, an inch and one finger thick and 2103 feet long, with the man or woman standing on a little bench. This happens with so much wailing of bystanders that the noise is more frightening than the beating. Children are punished with strokes of smaller switches on their calves.??