"The Calf Strung Up beneath The Cart" will cause you agony profound; "The Ass tied tightly to The Post" will make you scream and leap around; "The Phoenix drying both her Wings" to death itself will bring you near; "The Boy who Sits and Contemplates," the stoutest soul will cause to fear; And if "The Ape Avoids the Fire" does not produce a speedy "Yes," "The Night-imp looking at The Lake" will quickly make the wretch confess!
But Li Mian was not like the rest of them. He was all for justice and mercy, and never used these horrible methods [of torture].
The above is excerpted from "The Wonderful Adventure of Duke Li," E.B. Howell's translation (circa 1930) of a Ming-period Chinese anthology known as Jingu Qiguan ("Observations of Strange Matters, New and Old").
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