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Two Chinese prisoners with their necks enclosed in stocks known as the 'cangue', watched by a guard and a weeping woman. Gouache painting on rice-paper, 1780/1880?. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
The prisoners are shown being subjected to a form of pillory used in China for minor offences, known as the 'cangue' (or 'tcha' or 'kea'). This consisted of a large board with a hole cut in the middle to accommodate the prisoner's head, preventing eating or drinking and making the prisoner dependent on the benevolence of others. To either side of the men's heads are shown pieces of paper on which inscriptions describe the nature of their crimes.
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