The strangest deaths of ancient Chinese rulers (8 photos)

From falling into the toilet to being struck by lightning, here are the strangest deaths that have befallen imperial Chinese rulers. Place your bets on which is the strangest? Especially since there are over 400 emperors in China's history, and even more generals and other famous figures.





Saved the country, but died because of a stupid joke

Of these, less than 50 percent of emperors lived to be over 50, and only 30 lived to be 60. The average reign of imperial rulers was only about five years, with constant threats of disease, assassination, and rebellion.

King Wu of Qin crushed by a bronze pot



Film still

Ying Dan, a warlord who ruled the state of Qin during the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE) and was known as King Wu of Qin, fell because of pride. He was known as a very strong man, and he was very proud of it. He loved to compete in strength contests, which he almost always won.

Around 307 BCE Ying challenged his friend Meng Yue to lift the heaviest weight. The object to be lifted was a huge three-legged bronze cooking pot. It was huge because it had been cast by a previous king to represent one of the regions under his rule.





These pots are now a national cultural relic

The king and Meng decided to lift one of the nine such pots. But when Ying began to try to lift the huge vessel, his strength ran out, the pot slipped from his hands and landed on his foot, crushing it. The king soon died of his injuries.

The saddest thing is that the officials blamed the second member Meng for the death of the ruler. And he was sentenced to death along with his entire family. There is no record showing whether Meng managed to lift the ill-fated pot.

Jing drowned in a cesspool

Ji Ju was the head of the Jin state during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), he was not a particularly remarkable ruler. But how he died! It is described in the annals.



This is what an ancient Chinese toilet looked like, pretty comfortable in principle

He once had a nightmare about a ghost who accused him of the death of his descendants. Ji was so scared that he invited a healer to his palace for advice. However, the healer did not calm the king down and, upon hearing about the dream, he only said: "You will not have time to taste the fresh wheat harvest this year." Soon the ruler became seriously ill, and even the most famous doctors in the country could not cure him.

But although he was ill, when the wheat harvest season came, he was still alive. Believing that he had escaped disaster, Ji ordered his servants to prepare him porridge from fresh wheat. And he even called a healer to brag to him (by the way, he later executed the doctor with great pleasure).



They also collect lice there, not just rice

But a few hours after this dinner and execution, he felt terrible pain in his stomach and bloating. He rushed to the toilet, fell into a cesspool and drowned in it.

I don’t know what the moral of this is. It’s really stupid.

King Wuyi Struck by Lightning

It is widely believed that King Wuyi of the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1046 BCE) was killed by divine intervention due to his sinful actions.



Someone here was being too ironic for medieval China

Wuyi deliberately insulted the gods by filling a leather bag with blood, throwing it into the air (towards the heavens where the gods resided), and shooting an arrow into it. He called this provocation "shooting into the heavens." He also made figurines of the gods out of wood and clay and staged mock battles against them.

The Chinese believe that he provoked the wrath of the gods. That is why he was suddenly struck by lightning while hunting and died instantly.

An instructive story, but not an original death.

Emperor Xiaowu was killed because of a joke

Emperor Xiaowu survived many major attacks on his territory, successfully defended everything. But he was killed for a seemingly innocent joke.



A joker will finish his joke in 1, 2, 3...

As Xiaowu's reign progressed, he spent more and more time drinking and enjoying the company of women. One day in 396, the emperor was drinking with one of his favorite concubines named Zhang. After a few drinks, Zhang began to refuse the emperor's offers of more. This prompted the emperor to joke, "You're getting old, so maybe it's time for you to retire and give up your position to someone younger."

But Zhang didn't get the joke and became terrified. When the drunk emperor fell asleep, she bribed the palace maids to smother him with a blanket in his sleep. Zhang also bribed the palace eunuchs and other servants to say that the emperor had suddenly died in his sleep. Therefore, the death was not immediately investigated afterward.



Everyone looks away from the question WHO KILLED THE EMPEROR

Moral - don't joke with women who don't understand jokes.

The strangest death, of course, is from falling into the toilet after lunch. It's a shame that he executed the doctor, in fact, he turned out to be right. Or maybe the wheat was not ripe, because the cowardly ruler hurried to harvest ahead of time.