Executions--Crucified and carried through the streets--The execution
ground--Barbarous mode of beheading--Noble criminals--Paternal love--Shut
out--Scaling the wall--A catastrophe--A nightmare.
In Cho-sen, as in other countries, we find not only pleasanter sights,
but also those that are disagreeable or even revolting. That which I am
about to describe is one which, I have little doubt, will make your blood
curdle, but which is none the less as interesting as some of the others I
have feebly attempted in this work to describe; I mean an execution as
carried out in the Land of the Morning Calm. The penal form of death
adopted is beheading, which is not, I believe, so pleasant a sensation
as, for instance, that of being hanged--that is, when other persons are
the sufferers. Of late years, executions have not been by any means an
everyday occurrence in Corea, but here, as in other countries, there is
always to be found a good share of people who are anxious to be "off"
their heads. There is no reason why people should commit crimes, yet they
do commit them and get punished in consequence. They are punished in this
world for having broken the limits of society's laws, and yet again, if
what one hears is correct, they are punished wherever they happen to go
after their final departure from our very earthly regions. In Corea, as
is the case all over the far East, the natives are not much concerned
about this future existence and attach little importance to death and
physical pain. I have no doubt, in fact I am positive, that the Eastern
people feel pain much less than we do, partly because they are accustomed
from childhood to be insensitive to bodily agony, but chiefly because
they are differently constituted to us. In our case, the brain, by means
of which it is that we judge of the amount of pain inflicted on us, has
been trained to receive impressions so quickly, transmitted as they are
in an instant from any part of the body to the centre of our system,
that, indeed, many times we actually feel the pain before it has been
physically communicated to us at all. With the Corean, as with the Manchu
or the Chinese, a reverse action takes place. With them, the brain works
so very slowly that, supposing a bad ache is taking place in any part of
the body, whence is being conveyed to the drowsy brain the unpleasant
news of the agony that that part is undergoing; well, what in that case
happens in the Corean skull? By the time the brain has grasped the idea
that the aforesaid part of the body is really in a state of suffering,
the pain is almost gone. This, roughly stated, is I believe, a truthful
explanation of their going to death with so much bravery.
It is a common occurrence in China for criminals, kneeling in a row to be
executed, to crack jokes among themselves, and even at the executioner's
expense. In Corea, they cannot go quite so far as that, for things are
done somewhat differently. In the latter country, the prisoners are
detained in the gaols sometimes for months and even years, undergoing
judgments and sentences, floggings and milder tortures innumerable, so
that it is almost with a feeling of relief and gladness that, finally,
being proved guilty, they receive the news of their fast approaching end.
When their time is come, they are removed from prison, and dragged out
into a courtyard, within which, with the first rays of light, have been
brought some little carts with heavy and roughly-made wooden wheels, each
drawn by a sturdy bull. On the ground some wooden crosses have been set
up, and to each of these a criminal is tied with ropes, his chest and
arms being bare, and cut into by the tightened cords, and only his padded
trousers being left. Each cross with its human freight is then planted
and made firm on a bull cart; and then, when all is ready, the ghastly
procession, headed by the executioner, a few _kissos_ (soldiers), armed
with old fashioned flint locks or with spears, makes its way slowly
through the streets of the town, one of the followers proclaiming aloud
the crimes committed and the sentences passed on the crucified. Sleepy
women and children, with uncombed hair, peep out of the paper windows,
while the men hurry down to the street and join the procession in large
numbers, making fun at the expense of the poor wretches, and even
insulting them; while the latter, hang helpless and defenceless from
their crosses, their bodies livid with cold, pain and starvation.
Occasions such as these, are regular orgies for the soldiers, and those
who follow the mournful _cortége_. Not a wine-shop on the road-side is
left unvisited, and continual halts are made that wine may be freely
drunk, and food swallowed, as only Corean soldiers know how to do it.
Occasionally, a pious passer-by, moved to compassion, may, amid the howls
of the crowd, raise his wine-cup to the lips of one of the sentenced, and
help him thus to make death more merry. Once this sort of thing is
started, the example is usually at once emulated by others, and, as the
hours go by, a considerable amount of intoxicating stuff is consumed, not
only by the executioner, soldiers and followers, but also by those to be
executed. Before very long, however, the bodies of the victims thus
carried become senseless and nearly frozen to death. Their heads then
hang down pitifully, all blue and congested, and quivering with the
jerking of the cart.
"Era! Era! Picassa!" ("Get out! get away!") the drunken soldiers call out
at intervals, as they swallow their last mouthful of rice, and order the
_mapus_ to move on to the next eating-place. Crowds of men and children
collect round the miserable show and prudent fathers, pointing at the
victims, show their heirs what will be the fate of those who do what is
wrong. During the whole day are the poor wretches thus carted to and fro,
in the streets of the town, stoppages being made at all the public
eating-places, where feasting invariably takes place, though it is also
almost as invariably left unpaid for.
Only when sunset has come is it that the procession, having made its way
towards one of the city gates, finally leaves the town and winds its way
through the open country to a suitable spot for the chopping-off process.
Executions are not held at any particular spot; and in former days, even
a few years ago, it was not an uncommon occurrence to see the dead
bodies of beheaded people lying about in the streets of Seoul. Now,
however, they generally take the offenders outside the Wall, and inflict
the capital punishment miles away from the town.
The execution represented in the illustration, took place on the sixth of
February, 1891, and is a reproduction of a picture which I have done from
sketches taken on the spot. The men executed on this occasion numbered
seven, and the crime committed, was "high treason." They had conspired to
upset the reigning dynasty of Cho-sen, and had devised the death of His
Majesty the King. Unfortunately for them, the plot was discovered before
its aims could be carried out, and the ringleaders arrested and
imprisoned. For over a year they had remained in gaol, undergoing severe
trials, and being constantly tortured and flogged to make them confess
their crime, and betray the friends who were implicated with them. That,
however, being of no avail, the seven men were at last all sentenced to
death. Three of them were noblemen, and one a priest; while the others
were commoner people, though well-to-do. Here are their names;
Yi-Keun-eung, Youn-Tai-son, Im-Ha-sok, Kako (priest), Yi-sang-hik,
Chyong-Hiong-sok, Pang-Pyong-Ku.
[Illustration: A STUDY FROM STILL-LIFE]
Having undergone the final drive through the town, by the sound of the
big bell at sunset the _cortége_ passed through the "Gate of the Dead;"
then, leaving the crowded streets of the capital, it made its way towards
the spot where the execution was to take place. The place selected was on
a naturally raised ground, nearly 20 lis (6½ miles) from Seoul, a
lonely spot, overlooking a deserted plain. The high road was only a few
hundred yards distant, and could be plainly seen as a white interminable
line, like a white tape, at the foot of the distant hills.
The bull carts were stopped some little way below this spot on the flat
ground, and then, one by one, the wretched creatures were taken down and
removed from their crosses in a brutal manner, and handed over to the
executioner. Senseless, they lay on the ground, with their arms tied
behind their backs, and a long rope fastened to their top-knots in the
hair; until they were carried one after another, and laid flat on their
faces, with their chests on the little stools seen in the picture. When
they had all been thus stationed, the executioner proceeded to administer
blows with his blunt sword until the heads were severed from the bodies.
On the occasion in question, several of the bodies were hacked about most
mercilessly through the inexperience or drunkenness of this brute. The
third man in the illustration, for example, had a good part of his left
shoulder cut off as clean as a whistle, although the blow had been meant
to strike the neck; but let this suffice for these horrible details. I
have mentioned them, partly, that they may be compared with the dexterous
doings of the neighbouring Chinese, whose skill in the chopping-off line
is beyond description.
The Chinese possess very long, sharp, well-balanced swords, a single blow
of one of which will sever the head from the body. Besides, they
administer their blows as neatly as the most fastidious of customers
might desire, and the victim does not really undergo much pain. The
executioners, too, are picked out from among the strongest men, and are
so well trained that they never miss a blow. The whole affair,
consequently, is over in less than no time; a few seconds being quite
sufficient to do away with one comfortably. Truly enough, were it to be
one's lot to be executed, I would desire nothing more delightful than to
have one's head "done" by a Celestial executioner. The Coreans, on the
contrary, have not developed the same skill in these difficult matters;
and, what with their blunt and short swords, what with their misjudgment
of distances, they bungle matters most cruelly. Of course, they are,
nevertheless, supposed to kill their victims with single blows, instead
of raining them down by the dozen, hacking the unfortunate creatures in a
most fearful manner, and lopping off their arms or gashing their bodies
before the heads are finally cut off.
The little blocks, upon which the men were laid down, were so arranged
that their chests rested on the upper portions, the head in consequence
being raised several inches from the ground. The idea in this was to make
things easier for the executioner; the same reason also explaining why
the straw rope was tied to each man's top-knot; for in this way another
man could hold him fast to the stool when the decapitation was to take
place. A somewhat closer examination of the first body in the
illustration will at once show how distorted it is. This is what must
have happened: in the final struggle with death the owner had attempted
to resist his fate, when several soldiers had immediately pounced upon
him, with the inevitable result that, in his desperate struggling, the
spine had been broken; a strange, yet very natural accident, under the
circumstances. The arms being tied together at the elbows behind, the
spine had been at great tension, like a set bow, so that a violent
assault could not but result in its being fractured, especially
considering the weak and frozen condition in which the derelict before us
was. That I am probably correct in this explanation seems to be further
proved by the fact that his head, when severed, had been taken up and
swung to a distance by the angry executioner.
Now, though this way of doing away with criminals may appear a very cruel
one to European minds, it is, nevertheless, a decided improvement on the
older method of executing prevalent in Corea, as practised for example,
many years ago, on some French missionaries and their followers.
The execution of these martyrs was preceded by terrible floggings and
tortures, and when they were led to the execution-ground they had two
arrows thrust into their flesh, like modern St. Sebastians.
The executioner and soldiers, after having accomplished their bloody
work, and converted the execution-ground for the time being into a
shambles, retraced their steps to the nearest wine-shop, where the rest
of the night was spent in drinking and gorging. The bodies were left as a
repast for dogs and leopards; for no Corean with a sound mind could be
induced to go near the spot where they lay, lest the spirits of their
departed souls should play some evil trick upon them. So much, in fact,
were they scared at the idea of passing at all near to the dead bodies
that, though the execution took place a few hundred yards away from the
high road, the superstitious Coreans preferred going miles out of their
way on the other side of the hill range to being seen near (they called
it "near") a spot where so many people had perished.
The morning following this execution I took many sketches of the ghastly
scene and the mutilated bodies. I did not leave until darkness began to
set in, when, as I was busy packing up my traps to return to Seoul, I was
rather startled by the sudden appearance near me of an old man, sad,
pale, and worn-out with anxiety. As he crept up to my side, in a most
suspicious manner, he looked round, and then, with a violent effort,
directed his gaze to the bodies lying a little way off. He was shivering
like a leaf, his eyes were staring and his fingers outstretched, yet he
could not remove his glance from the dreadful sight. As he was in this
tragic position, two coolies, carrying a coffin, appeared cautiously on
the scene; but, when still a long way from the bodies, they refused
positively to approach any nearer, and all the expostulation of the old
man who went down to meet them, all the extra strings of _cash_, the last
ones he possessed, were not sufficient to induce them to stir another
inch. This fright which had taken possession of them was thus great,
partly because of the natural superstitions which all Coreans entertain
regarding the souls of dead persons, and also because the fact of being
seen or found near these political criminals might in all probability
lead to the loss of their heads as well. At last, however, when their
terror was somewhat overcome, they promised to go near the bodies if
large sums should be paid them; whereupon the old man who had not another
_cash_ in the world, seemed to act as if he were in a state of thorough
despair. I watched his face and thought that he was actually going to
collapse. Not a word of complaint, however, did he utter to me. Intense
grief was depicted on his face, and I had pity on him. He was old, too,
and his features were refined. He opened his heart to me.
"That," lying dead there, with his head Heaven only knew where, was his
son! He had been a nobleman; that one could see at a glance, but was poor
now, "cashless," having spent his fortune in his efforts to bribe the
officials to let his son be released. His money had come to an end, and
there his son lay dead. The risk he was running, he well knew, was very
great, in thus coming to remove the body of the one he loved. Were the
officials only to know that he had visited the spot, he would straightway
be imprisoned, accused of complicity, tortured, and then put to death;
notwithstanding this, however, he felt sure that darkness would protect
him, and so in his anxiety he had come to remove his son's body, that he
might during the night bury it on one of the distant hills. He had given
the coolies the little money he had to help him in his enterprise, and
now that he was only a few yards from his beloved he could not get them
to proceed. He was himself too weak to move the body.
I took him by the arm, and we approached the bodies. The near view of
them made him shudder and turn pale, and as he rested on my arm he was
shivering all over. Not a word did he utter, not a lamentation did he
make, not a tear did he shed; for, to show one's feelings is considered
bad form in the land of Cho-sen. I could well see, however, that his
heart was aching. He bent over the bodies, one after the other; then,
after a lengthy examination, he pointed to one, and murmured:
"This is my son, this is my son! I know him by his hands. See how they
are swollen, and nearly cut by the rope?"
Next, after a good deal of uncertainty, for the face was smeared and
streaked with blood, we found the head pertaining to the body. The old
man, with paternal love, then proceeded, if he could, to stick the head
on the body again, but--this was impossible.
"Please, sir," he begged of me, in a tone of lamentation, "help me to
take my son as far as the coffin."
I consented, and, with the utmost trouble, we carried the body down the
hill, afterwards coming back for the head. In two mats, which had been
carried inside the hearse, we wrapped the corpse up as well as we could,
and then bundled him into the coffin. All this time a careful look-out
was maintained, to see that no one else was about to spy over the deed,
but once the corpse was in its coffin, the coolies quickly took the
hearse on their shoulders, and all sped away, not without repeated
"kamapsos" (thanks) being given me by the old man.
That was the only body which was removed, all the others being left to
rot or to be eaten up by wild animals.
When I examined the expressions on the faces of the beheaded wretches, it
did not seem as if any of them had at all enjoyed what had taken place;
on the contrary, rather than otherwise, there was plainly depicted on
their now immovable features an expression of most decided
dissatisfaction. Without doubt, they had undergone a terrible agony. In
some cases the eyes were closed, in others they were wide open, staring
straight in front. The pupils had become extremely small. The lips of all
were contracted, and the teeth showed between, tightly closed. Streaks of
blood covered the faces, and it was very apparent that the noses, ears,
and sometimes the outside corners of the eyes, had been bleeding, this
being probably due to the violent blows received from the sword. In a
word, the expression which had become stereotyped upon their faces was
that of great pain and fright, although none of them, with the exception
of the one who had resisted at the last moment, showed it in any other
way. The muscles of the arms also were much contracted, and the swollen
fingers were of a bluish colour with congested blood, and half-closed and
stiff--as if made of wood.
By the time that the old man, his coolies and their sad burden had got
well out of sight, on their way up one of the distant hills, I had
finished packing up my sketches and painting materials. Then, as I
retraced my steps towards Seoul it became quite dark. On the way,
however, I purchased, for the large sum of three _cash_ (the tenth part
of a penny), a small paper lantern, with a little candle inside--the
latter leading me to the extravagance of an extra _cash_; and, armed
with this lighting apparatus, all complete, I proceeded towards the East
Gate.
This little lantern, which was exactly similar to those used by the
natives, came in very handy on this occasion. These lanterns are the most
ingenious things that can be imagined for the money. Each has a wooden
bottom, and a bent cane acts as a handle. A nail is provided in the
centre of the wooden bottom, wherein to stick the candle, and the flame
is protected by white tissue paper pasted all round the lantern.
[Illustration: A NATIVE LANTERN]
In due course I reached the East Gate, but only to find it closed, for it
was now long after sunset. I then tried the "Gate of the Dead," having no
objection to enter the town for once as a "deceased"; but, although the
"departed" have the privilege of leaving the town after dark, they are
not allowed to come in again; for which reason it really seemed as if I
had before me the fine prospect of having to put up at one of the dirty
native inns just outside the Gate until it should please Phoebus to show
his welcome fire-face again above the mountain line.
I had learned that there was, at no great distance away, a spot where, at
the risk only of breaking one's neck, it was possible to scale the city
wall; wherefore, having consulted a child as to the exact locality,
besides tempting him with a string of _cash_, I proceeded to find it, and
soon, under his guidance, reached it. The wall at this spot was, I may
mention, about twenty feet high. Having, then, fastened my paint-box and
sketches to my back by means of a strap, and slinging the paper lantern
to my arm, I proceeded, hampered though I was, to make trial of my
cat-like qualities in the matter of wall climbing. Placing the tips of my
fingers and toes in the crevices between the stones and in other gaps in
the wall, I managed with some little difficulty, to crawl up a certain
height. The wall was nearly perpendicular, mind you, and, owing to the
cold frozen nature of the stones, my fingers got so stiff that I had
hardly any power left in them. Then, too, the weight of the heavy
paint-box on my shoulders was more conducive to bringing me down again
than to helping me up. In my mind's eye, accordingly, I saw myself at
every moment coming down with a bang from my high position to the frozen
ground below, and began to think that I should be fortunate if I
succeeded in coming out of my wall-climbing experience with only half the
ribs in my body reduced to atoms, and one or two broken limbs in
addition. Making a special effort, however, I got a few feet higher, when
I heard a mysterious voice below murmur: "You have nearly reached the
top." I received the news with such delight that, in consequence of the
fresh vigour which it imparted to me and which made me try to hurry up,
one of my feet slipped, and I found myself clinging to a stone, with the
very ends of my fingers. Oh what a sensation! and what moments of
anxiety, until, quickly searching with my toes, I got a footing again.
That slip was fatal, for, owing to the jerk it gave me, the unsteady
candle inside the paper lantern fell out of its perpendicular position
and produced a conflagration. Then, indeed, was I placed in the most
perplexing position, for, here was I, holding on to the wall, I do not
know how, with the lantern and my sleeve on fire and my arm getting
unpleasantly warm, and yet utterly unable to do anything to lessen the
catastrophe. Only one thing could be done; and I can assure you, the few
remaining feet which had to be climbed were got over with almost the
agility of a monkey. Thus, at last, I was on the top.
This adventure made a very good finish for what had been a most exciting
day; and, now that the faithless lantern was burning itself out, and
dwindling away down below, and that the fire in my sleeve was put out, I
had to remain in darkness. I stumbled along the rampart of the wall until
I could get down into one of the streets, where, having roused the
people, I was able to purchase another light, and reach home again in
safety. After the hearty meal which I then partook of, I need scarcely
add that a greater part of the night was spent in dreaming of numberless
bodyless heads rolling about around me, and of people being burned alive,
until I finally woke up next morning with a fearful shock, and the
thought that I was being precipitated from the top of the Tower of Babel.