Case of Chu Lingyin Zichang Executing Fei Wuji and Yan Jiangshi

Fei Wuji and Yan Jiangshi were notoriously corrupt ministers in the State of Chu. They slandered and framed loyal officials such as Wu She and Xi Wan, forcing Crown Prince Jian into exile and driving Wu Zixu to defect to the state of Wu. Their actions triggered widespread public outrage and destabilized the court. When Zichang (Nang Wa) became prime minister, ongoing murmurs of dissent threatened his authority. Advisor Shen Yinxu warned Zichang that the public blamed him for tolerating the two malefactors and urged him to act. In the ninth month of 515 BC, Zichang ordered the summary execution of Fei Wuji and Yan Jiangshi and exterminated their entire clans. The drastic move instantly silenced public criticism and temporarily restored stability to the Chu government.

Fei Wuji and Yan Jiangshi were summarily executed, and all members of their clans were killed on the orders of Lingyin Zichang, effectively endorsed by King Zhao of Chu.

Whether the execution was a legitimate punishment for treason and defamation or an extrajudicial political purge driven by populist pressure; the morality and legality of collective clan punishment as a tool for appeasing public anger.

The execution immediately quelled public dissent and consolidated Zichang's political power, but it also established a precedent where mob pressure could dictate state violence. Although it removed two hated figures, it did not reform the underlying structures that enabled their corruption, foreshadowing further instability in Chu.