Under a tyrannical rule, even private conversation or whispering with another person could lead to capital punishment, emphasizing extreme suppression of speech and thought.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
In the 34th year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's reign, adopting the counsel of Prime Minister Li Si, the emperor deemed Chunyu Yue's memorial advocating for the re-establishment of feudal states as private scholarship slandering the imperial court. He then ordered all historical records, except for the 'Qin Ji', to be submitted and burned.
Furthermore, discussions about classics like the 'Book of Songs' and the 'Book of Documents' were strictly forbidden. If anyone was caught engaging in such private conversations, they would be immediately executed and their bodies exposed to the public. This series of events led to the tragic incident of 'burning books and burying scholars alive'.