人类历史上最残酷的刑罚：英语精读讲义

French philosopher Michel Foucault starts his book

法国哲学家米歇尔·福柯在他的著作

Discipline and Punish The Birth of the Prison

《规训与惩罚：监狱的诞生》的开篇，

with a chapter about an unfortunate Frenchman

讲述了一个倒霉的法国人的故事，

named Robert Francois Damiens.

他叫罗伯特·弗朗索瓦·达米安。

Damiens had tried and failed to assassinate King Louis XV 短語搭配

达米安曾试图刺杀国王路易十五，但以失败告终，

and for it he was severely punished.

为此他受到了严厉的惩罚。

He was burned with molten wax and lead

他被烧融的蜡和铅灼烧，

and had boiling oil poured into his open wounds. 語法

滚烫的油被倒入他敞开的伤口中。

He was then quartered by horses pulling at his limbs

随后，他被马拉扯四肢进行车裂，

and then his torso was burned at the stake.

最后他的躯干被绑在火刑柱上焚毁。

Some of the crowd cheered

人群中有些人欢呼雀跃，

but one commentator wrote

但一位评论员写道：

I was several times obliged to turn away my face 用詞

“我有好几次不得不转过脸去，

and to stop my ears as I heard his piercing shrieks.

捂住耳朵，因为我听到了他那刺耳的惨叫声。

Half of his body having been torn from him.

他的一半身体已经被硬生生撕裂了。”

Things slowly changed regarding the harshness of punishments

随着时间的推移，惩罚的残酷程度渐渐发生了改变，

but today we'll look back at the brutal past. 短語動詞

但今天，我们将回顾那段残暴的历史。

In this episode of The Infographics Show,

在本期《信息图解秀》节目中，

The Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind.

我们要讲的是：人类历史上最糟糕的惩罚。

We should explain that this list

我们需要说明的是，这个清单

is in no particular order of nastiness 短語搭配

并没有按照残忍程度进行特定排序，

because you'll see that all these punishments meted out 短語動詞

因为你会发现，这里所有施加的惩罚

are barbaric to the nth degree. 習語

都已经野蛮到了极点。

It would be hard to say which is the worst 語法

很难说哪一种是最糟糕的，

as they are all incredibly horrific.

因为它们都令人毛骨悚然。

We'll let you decide which punishment

我们将让你来决定，哪种惩罚

you think is the most heinous.

在你看来是最令人发指的。

We will also add that some of you might believe

我们还要补充一点，你们中有些人可能会认为，

that prolonged agony

漫长的折磨，

such as solitary confinement for 20 years 文化背景

比如被单独监禁20年，

might actually be worse than excruciating pain

实际上可能比死前持续几秒或几分钟的

that lasts a few seconds or minutes before death.

剧痛还要糟糕。

But we'll focus more on barbaric acts today.

但今天我们将更多地关注这些野蛮的行径。

The Rack.

拷问台。

We'll start with one punishment

我们将从一种惩罚开始讲起，

you have all probably heard of.

你们可能都听说过它。

The Rack was a fairly simple device

拷问台是一种相当简单的装置，

consisting of a rectangular frame and a series of levers, 語法

由一个矩形框架和一系列杠杆、

pulleys, and ropes.

滑轮和绳索组成。

There are different versions of the Rack

拷问台有不同的版本，

dating from antiquity to Middle Ages Europe. 短語動詞

其历史可以追溯到古典时代至中世纪的欧洲。

The idea was to stretch the prisoner by the joints 語法

其理念是拉伸囚犯的关节，

until the muscles were torn and the joints popped.

直到肌肉撕裂，关节脱臼。

Eventually all the joints would be dislocated.

最终，所有的关节都会脱位。

Hanged, drawn, and quartered. 文化背景

绞刑、剖腹和分尸（英式车裂）。

This is close to what happened to Damiens

这与达米安的遭遇很相似，

but was better known as a very gruesome form of execution

但它作为一种非常可怕的处决方式更为人所知，

in Middle Ages England

在中世纪的英格兰，

when someone had committed high treason, 文化背景

当有人犯下严重叛国罪，

aka treason against the state. 用詞

也就是背叛国家的罪行时，就会受到这种惩罚。

The prisoner would be hanged until almost dead,

囚犯会被吊起直到奄奄一息，

then he would be taken down

然后他会被放下来，

and disemboweled while still alive

并在活着的时候被开膛破肚，

and also have his manhood cut from his body.

他的命根子也会被切下来。

He would then be chopped into pieces

接着，他会被砍成碎块，

and often his head was chopped off

通常他的头也会被砍下来，

and hung someplace where the public could see it.

挂在公众可以看到的地方。

The punishment was abolished in England in 1870.

这种惩罚于1870年在英格兰被废除。

Judas Chair, also known as Danny's Chair

犹大椅，也叫丹尼椅

or Judas Cradle,

或者犹大摇篮。

it's not known exactly when this was used 語法

人们并不确切知道这是何时开始使用的，

but there are sketches of it in existence 短語搭配

但有它的草图流传下来，

and it also is on display in some museums.

它也在一些博物馆中展出。

This gruesome device was a chair

这个可怕的装置是一把椅子，

with a sharp pointed pyramid shape

椅面上有一个

on the seat of the chair.

尖锐的金字塔形状。

Websites writing about medieval history tell us

记录中世纪历史的网站告诉我们，

people would be sat atop this spike

人们会被安排坐在这个尖刺上，

and lowered by ropes which was extremely painful

然后通过绳索慢慢降下，这极其痛苦，

as it entered the orifice.

因为尖刺会刺入下体孔洞。

But sometimes they would be dragged down on it

但有时他们会被重物

with the use of weights

猛拉着坐倒在上面，

while application of oil would make things worse.

同时涂抹油脂会让情况变得更糟。

They would die slowly as they were further lowered

随着他们被进一步降下，他们会慢慢死去，

or perhaps die even more slowly from infection.

或者可能由于感染死得更慢。

This could take hours or days

根据我们找到的两份资料，

according to two sources we found.

这可能会持续几个小时或几天。

Some sources say it was used during the Spanish Inquisition 表達脈絡

有些资料说它是在西班牙宗教裁判所期间使用的，

but other sources refute that.

但其他资料反驳了这一说法。

Boiling.

烹刑。

Again we turn to England and this time to the 1500s.

我们再次将目光转向英格兰，这次是16世纪。

It's said the often irascible King Henry VIII

据说经常暴怒的国王亨利八世

made this a form of capital punishment 用詞

将其定为一种死刑方式，

but it seems to also have been popular at some point in time

但在某个时期，它似乎也在

all around Europe and Asia.

欧洲和亚洲各地流行过。

As you can guess,

正如你能猜到的那样，

the torture and usually the eventual death

这种折磨以及通常导致的最终死亡，

was a result of someone being boiled alive 講解

是因为一个人被活活煮死而造成的，

in a large cauldron or kettle full of water,

容器通常是一个装满水、

oil, or tar.

油或焦油的大锅或大水壶。

The Catherine Wheel, also known as the Breaking Wheel,

凯瑟琳轮，也叫碎骨轮，

it's thought this simple method of bodily destruction

人们认为这种简单的摧残身体的方法

was used mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries

主要在18和19世纪被使用，

in Europe and parts of Asia.

分布在欧洲和亚洲部分地区。

The French writer Voltaire writes about the punishment

法国作家伏尔泰在18世纪出版的一本书中

in a book published in the 18th century.

提到了这种惩罚。

Prisoners were tied and splayed on a large wooden wheel.

囚犯会被绑在一个巨大的木轮上，四肢张开。

The executioner would then take a heavy object,

刽子手随后会拿一个重物，

sometimes an iron cudgel,

有时是铁棍，

and break the person on the wheel

在轮子上打断受刑者的骨头，

until the body was completely almost in pieces.

直到身体几乎完全碎裂。

Sometimes, however,

然而有时，

it would take a few days for the victims to die from their injuries. 語法

受害者需要几天时间才会因伤死去。

The Head Crusher.

碎头机。

This should be self-explanatory.

这个名字应该就不言而喻了。

Imagine a metal dish strapped to your skull

想象一下，一个金属盘压在你的头骨上，

and a metal plate under your chin.

下巴下面有一块金属板。

You can't move as it is all secured.

你动弹不得，因为一切都被固定住了。

The dish can be lowered using a large screw that can be turned.

可以通过转动一个大螺丝来降下金属盘。

As it lowers,

随着它下降，

it breaks the bones in your head and eventually crushes the skull.

它会压碎你头部的骨头，最终压碎头骨。

We can't find too many reliable sources 表達脈絡

我们找不到太多可靠的资料

telling us when this was used

来告诉我们这是何时使用的，

but again it's thought it was a contraption of the Middle Ages.

但人们再次认为它是中世纪的一个装置。

History.com tells us it was a real thing

History.com告诉我们这确实存在，

and that it appears in a book called The Big Book of Pain, Torture,

并且它出现在一本名为《贯穿历史的痛苦、折磨

and Punishment Through History.

与惩罚大全》的书里。

Flaying.

剥皮。

If you've seen Game of Thrones, 語法

如果你看过《权力的游戏》，

you'll be familiar with this punishment. 短語搭配

你会对这种惩罚很熟悉。

The torture comprises of cutting off all of a person's skin, 語法

这种酷刑包括割下一个人所有的皮肤，

although it's said in China sometimes it was just the facial skin.

尽管据说在中国，有时只割面部皮肤。

Sometimes the person may have been burned first

有时这个人可能会先被烧伤，

to make the cutting easier

以便更容易地剥皮，

or just perhaps to add more nastiness.

或者只是为了增加残忍度。

It was around as late as the 18th century 短語搭配

直到18世纪它还在被使用，

and Michel Foucault discusses it in gory detail 短語搭配

米歇尔·福柯详细探讨了这血腥的过程，

in the book we mentioned, Discipline and Punish.

就在我们提到的《规训与惩罚》一书里。

It's said the English did it to thieves in the 13th century

据说英国人在13世纪对小偷使用过它，

but such punishment happened all over the world throughout the ages.

但这种惩罚在各个时代都在世界各地发生过。

It's said that the Chinese emperor Hongwu

据说中国皇帝洪武

ordered the flaying of 5,000 women in 1357,

在1357年下令将5000名妇女剥皮，

although a book called Skin and Bones puts the date at 1396. 短語搭配

尽管一本名为《皮与骨》的书将日期记为1396年。

Death by a Thousand Cuts.

千刀万剐（凌迟）。

Sticking with China and a similar period comes this brutal torture. 表達脈絡

继续说中国和类似时期出现的这种残酷折磨。

Also known as lingchi,

也被称为凌迟，

a book called Death by a Thousand Cuts

一本名为《千刀万剐》的书

says it was a common form of punishment in China

说它是中国的一种常见惩罚方式，

in the 14th century

在14世纪，

but was around in the country for many centuries. 用詞

但在这个国家已经存在了好几个世纪。

The prisoner's entire body would be sliced

囚犯的全身会被切片，

but it would take a long time to die

但他要花很长时间才会死去，

as you would expect from small slices

正如你能从小块切片中预料到的那样，

but nothing was spared from the knife 習語

没有什么能逃过这把刀，

and eventually this would kill the unfortunate victim.

最终这会杀死那个不幸的受害者。

However, while this form of punishment became infamous outside of China,

然而，虽然这种惩罚方式在中国以外变得臭名昭著，

some historians tell us that it wasn't as prolonged 語法

一些历史学家告诉我们，它的持续时间并不像

as some people originally said

最初一些人所说的那样长，

and that some of those cuts actually meant dismemberment

其中一些切割实际上意味着肢解，

making death arrive faster. 語法

让死亡来得更快。

Sawing.

锯刑。

Looking at sketches of this from the 15th century,

看看15世纪关于这个的草图，

it is in some ways the most barbaric as it's so basic.

在某种程度上，它是最野蛮的，因为它太原始了。

A person is hanged upside down from some gallows

一个人被倒吊在绞刑架上，

with their legs forming a V shape. 語法

他们的腿呈V字形。

Two men would then take a large saw

两个男人会拿着一把大锯子，

and cut the man in half from his groin area.

把这个人从腹股沟区域锯成两半。

He would apparently live through much of this. 短語動詞

显然，他会在这一过程中经历大部分清醒的痛苦。

According to one source we can find,

根据我们能找到的一份资料，

this was only infrequently used in medieval Europe

这在中世纪的欧洲并不常使用，

and in China

而在中国，

where sawing horizontally through the middle

从中间横向锯开

was an alternative.

是另一种选择。

Looking around the web,

在网上随便看看，

sawing took all kinds of forms all over the world during many centuries. 短語搭配

在许多世纪里，锯刑在世界各地以各种形式出现。

In any case, people were sawed apart 表達脈絡

无论如何，人们被锯开，

but the method may have taken many forms.

但方法可能有很多种。

Rats.

老鼠。

You might be thinking right now,

你现在可能会想，

what on earth was wrong with people in the past 語氣意圖

过去制定甚至纵容这种行为的人

that enacted or even endorsed such behavior?

到底出了什么毛病？

Because humans understand pain so well,

因为人类如此了解痛苦，

were we not blessed with a built-in morality? 語氣意圖

难道我们没有天赋的内在道德吗？

If you haven't already thought that,

如果你还没有这样想过，

perhaps you will in a second

也许你很快就会这么想了，

as death by rats really takes the biscuit. 習語

因为老鼠吃人真的登峰造极。

It was apparently used in medieval Europe and China.

显然它被用于中世纪的欧洲和中国。

Some sources tell us that starved rats

一些资料告诉我们，饥饿的老鼠

are poured into a box with a naked prisoner

被倒进一个装有裸体囚犯的盒子里，

and they slowly eat the person.

然后它们慢慢地吃掉这个人。

Other sources say the belly of the person

其他资料说，这个人的肚子

is first partially opened so the rats can get at the insides. 短語動詞

会首先被部分剖开，以便老鼠能钻进内部。

It's written about in a 1931 book called Merrily I Go to Hell,

一本1931年出版、名为《快乐下地狱：

Reminiscences of a Bishop's Daughter.

一位主教女儿的回忆录》的书里写到了这一点。

Another book called The Dictionary of Torture

另一本名为《酷刑辞典》的书

tells us that this happened in Germany.

告诉我们这发生在德国。

Yet another book tells us that in China

还有一本书告诉我们，在中国

the rat would be trapped on a victim's stomach under a metal pot.

老鼠会被困在受害者的胃部，用金属锅盖住。

This pot would be heated until the rat had no other choice 短語搭配

这个锅会被加热，直到老鼠别无选择，

than to try and gnaw its way through the person's body. 語法

只能试图咬穿这个人的身体来逃生。

We can't say what the outcome of this would be

我们无法断言这会导致什么结果，

and perhaps it's not so plausible

也许这不太合理，

that a rat could eat its way through a body.

即一只老鼠能完全咬穿一具身体。

Some of the sources that say that was the case

一些声称情况确实如此的资料

don't offer evidence of it happening that way. 短語搭配

并没有提供证据证明它是那样发生的。

Okay.

好的。

So, there's a short history of some human barbarity.

以上就是一些人类野蛮行为的简短历史。

Let's be glad we have evolved somewhat since those times. 語法

让我们感到庆幸的是，自那些时代以来，我们已经进化了一些。

Can you think of a heinous punishment that we didn't mention here?

你能想到我们这里没有提到的某种令人发指的惩罚吗？

Let us know in the comments.

请在评论区告诉我们。

Also, be sure to check out our other video

此外，一定要去看看我们的另一个视频，

called Worst Prison Experiments Conducted on Humans.

名为《在人类身上进行的最糟糕的监狱实验》。

Thanks for watching and as always,

感谢观看，像往常一样，

don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

别忘了点赞、分享和订阅。

See you next time.

下次见。