Dip in a Pig Cage–Adultery Punishments in China

When “sink the pink” becomes “sink the pig”

It is hard to get behind a cheater at the best of times. It’s harder when you have a pig cage, a river nearby, and a precedent dating back 600 years.

Not realizing it was Friday, the 13th, I’m sure the cheater didn’t think he was testing fate or trying his wife’s patience. When that poor Chinese man slipped into bed with his scantily clad mistress last Friday morning, I’m sure he was hoping his terracotta warrior would see some action.

Instead, four men broke into the room, tied him up, and then strapped him into a pig cage. The more gentle first step in what was a badass form of Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE) street justice.

The punishment, which translates as “dip in a pig cage,” shows what the Chinese lacked in imaginative naming, they made up for in creative execution when they thought up this one.

Did they pick a pig cage because of availability? It’s hard to say but I can’t help think they would have seen some poetic justice in treating cheaters like pigs.

And what about tossing him into a river? What else would you do with a man trapped in a cage against his will but throw him in a river? Like any ill-conceived grade school prank, mistakes were made, but that doesn’t mean lessons weren’t learned. That this punishment stood the test of time seems to validate its effectiveness as a punishment.

As they say, “there’s no school like the old school.”

When you think of the pain and hurt the cheater caused, tossing him into a river might have seemed like the right thing to do. Breathing water should be the least of his worries, having shamed and humiliated his wife and family.

But stepping back a little, one begins to wonder if death isn’t a suitable punishment for adultery. Seriously, is it really up there with cow rustling? I think not.

As you could guess, the man cried out for mercy, which he got. Lucky for him the original punishment included a lot more drowning and burial than our man experienced.

While surviving the plunge, the man won’t live down his internet fame as footage of his punishment went viral across China.https://www.youtube.com/embed/f9Tpm-DCiJ0?feature=oembed