Late Qing Strange Cases: A Hundred Transformations (Text and Images)

Author: Lu Qun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Mystery of a Murder Case [Old News] On the day of the Yiwudaimiao Temple's Medicine King Festival in Yingkou, men and women from far and near came together to visit. Fearing that the crowd might cause trouble, the local authorities requested the Taoist governor to send a military patrol named Ma to suppress the situation. Traditionally, men and women who entered the temple to burn incense were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, but on this day, the large number of people led to a mix of men and women. At the time, a Chen surname courtesan arrived with her companions, and the crowd grew even more crowded. The courtesan saw Ma and said, "Can you make the onlookers step back a bit so that we can move forward to pay our respects?" Ma was a familiar friend of the courtesan, so upon hearing her words, he followed her lead, trying his best to please her. Some people nearby laughed, while others whispered, but Ma couldn’t stand it. Filled with anger, he ordered his guards to beat the crowd with sticks. A man named Hu, known as the Madman, cursed and was injured. Unable to stay for a moment, Ma escaped with the courtesan in her carriage. The Madman died a few days later from his injuries. He had a young son and no other relatives to speak for him, so apart from buying a coffin and arranging his burial, only twenty taels of money were given to his son, and the matter was then forgotten. The story of the post office is roughly like this, but whether it is true or not should still be questioned by those who know about it. [New Account] In the late Qing Dynasty, the patrol officers were equivalent to today’s police chiefs. This was just a minor official in the Yingkou area, yet because he wanted to curry favor with a courtesan he liked, he abused his power, ordering his subordinates to beat the crowds with sticks to clear a path for the courtesan. Some people objected and muttered a few words, but Ma, the patrol officer, believed they were being disrespectful and beat him severely. Shortly after returning home, the Madman died. The patrol officer’s misconduct was outrageous. After injuring someone, Ma didn’t care and left with the courtesan. After the victim died, Ma spent only a small amount of money, and the matter was closed. At first glance, it seems that the victim had no one to speak up for him, but upon closer reflection, since Ma dared to act with such impunity and treated a human life as nothing, even if someone filed a lawsuit, what could be done to him? It is likely that he would still keep his job, continue to bully the people, and suffer no loss himself. Whenever a local has a patrol officer like Ma, it is usually the result of officials protecting each other and colluding in corruption. Under the bright sky and clear heavens, in full public view, a public servant acts so arrogantly—it’s hard to imagine that the local governance is still just and fair. The famous Ming Dynasty judge Kuang Zhong, known to all, once dealt with corrupt officials. After becoming the magistrate of Suzhou, he investigated the various illegal deeds of some subordinates and publicly handled them one day in the grand hall of the prefecture. Using four strong men, he tossed each corrupt official into the air and then dropped them to the ground, causing their brains to burst open and killing them one by one. Six corrupt officials were killed in one day. From then on, the officials of the Suzhou prefecture no longer dared to break the law. Kuang Zhong’s methods may not be advisable, but his determination to severely punish corrupt officials is commendable.