Gun Control and the Death of a Thousand Cuts (Column‪)‬

You have heard the expression "death of a thousand cuts" before, and, you probably know that it refers to a slow and agonizing series of minor injuries. China appears to have invented this form of execution, also known as ling-chi, (1) with the criminal tied hand and foot to a post. "There stands in front of him the executioner with a pliant sword, and with dexterous hands he flicks from the living body fragments of flesh, thus prolonging the agony. It is called the death of a thousand cuts, because the executioner, if very skillful, may inflict a thousand separate agonies on his victim before he dies." (2) If you saw the movie The Sand Pebbles, you may recall what happens to Po-Han at the riverbank.