Roughly from 900AD to 1905 in China, the most severe types of crimes received the worst punishment: Lingchi which translates in several ways. Directly translated is a description of ascending a mountain slowly; also, the slow process, the lingering death, or as commonly known, death by one thousand cuts.

Lingchi was meted out to criminals that committed what was seen as horrific crimes such as mass killings, murdering of your master or parents, but it also was dealt to criminals that questioned the power of the government; treason was punishable by lingchi.

While the process of lingchi was different in most regions as there was no state sanctioned method or procedure, the true length, as witnessed by several Westerners in 1904, was roughly 15-20 minutes. There were, however, detailed accounts of lingchi lasting several hours, up to 3 days.

The process is slow and painful. The condemned individual would be tied to a wooden stake with their arms and legs tied behind their back; their head would be tied up so that their face was visible to the large public gathering as humiliation was a major part of the punishment. Small slices would be made above the offender’s eyes so that flaps of skin could be pulled down to act as a human hood to block what was coming next; the anticipation is its own form of punishment.

If a criminal was lucky enough to have an executioner with empathy (or was paid off by the family), the first blow would be fatal. As recorded, generally, the first cut is to the left breast; then the right. Pieces of the perpetrator’s biceps and thighs would be next. These items would be placed in a wicker basked seated at the foot of the dying.

The executioner would then start to dismember the criminals’s body at each joint: wrists and ankles; elbows and knees.

Then decapitation.

It’s over, right? Nope.

The reaper would then continue to dismantle the body as to ensure the whole self would not enter any underworld. See, lingchi was not only punishment for this life– but for all future ones to come. Based on Confucian values, the body is not to be cut because it is an unfilial act. Lingchi was not only death to the physical body, but also to the mental, the metaphysical, the family, and the family to come.

Why are microaggressions equatable to lingchi? Isn’t that a far leap- from death by public agonizing pain and humiliation to words spoken?chinese-qing-dynasty-slicing-dismemberment-death-penalty-man-02

Micro aggressions kill the soul, one word, one action at a time. It is a slow, agonizing pain that is played out in public. Microaggressions are as much honoringabout hurting the individual as they are a public spectacle. Does one slice kill? Did removing the left breast kill the condemned? Does being mistaken for the help instead of the presenter completely eviscerate me to oblivion?

Clearly not. But, an entire life of nicks, scratches, cuts, bruises, and fractures adds up. Living in the United States as a citizen and having your citizenship or right to be present is constantly questioned with seemingly minor quizzical comments leaves the psyche dripping in a pool of blood. Lingchi was also used as a public spectacle. Droves of people came out to witness the terrific lingering death.

The comparison between lingchi and microaggressions might seem like a far leap, but, if words and acts against a personhood were equivalent to a sword, because we know that the pen is mightier than the sword, what’s the difference?