Debating Chinese Cruelty: Summary Execution, Judicial Reform, and Extraterritoriality in the Late Qing

Abstract: In July 1903, the Qing government executed the anti-Manchu revolutionary Shen Jin through the brutal method of bamboo blows ( zhangbi ), sparking both domestic and international outrage. This execution led to widespread condemnation of Chinese law as cruel and barbaric, further complicating the Qing court's efforts to assert jurisdiction over the Subao case (1903–1904) in the Shanghai International Settlements. The incident also raised doubts about China's commitment to establishing a modern judicial system. Drawing on Qing imperial archives, foreign diplomatic records, and contemporary media coverage of Shen's execution, this paper explores key themes in late Qing judicial reform, including extraterritoriality, the jurisdiction of Chinese nationals in foreign settlements, and the practice of summary executions. It contributes to the understanding of the Xinzheng reforms by examining the Qing state's efforts to eliminate extraterritorial privileges amid a rising culture of summary executions during the late nineteenth century. I argue that the Shen incident represented a crisis in state-building for the Qing, as two conflicting objectives collided at the execution ground: demonstrating the civilizing nature of Qing law to Western powers and swiftly dispensing justice to revolutionaries. The inherent contradictions between these goals placed the Qing state in a deeper legitimacy crisis.