The Flogging of Fan Ju by Wei Qi

Fan Ju, a retainer of the Wei State, accompanied envoy Xu Jia to the Qi State. Impressed by Fan Ju, the King of Qi gave him gifts. Suspecting Fan Ju of leaking state secrets, Xu Jia reported this to Chancellor Wei Qi upon returning. Without any investigation or trial, Wei Qi ordered his men to flog Fan Ju savagely, breaking his ribs and knocking out his teeth. Fan Ju feigned death and was thrown into a latrine, where he was further humiliated by drunken guests. With the help of Zheng Anping, Fan Ju changed his name to Zhang Lu and fled to the Qin State. He eventually rose to become the Chancellor of Qin, wielding immense power. When Xu Jia later visited Qin, Fan Ju spared his life for a small act of past kindness but relentlessly pursued Wei Qi, forcing him to flee and ultimately commit suicide.

There was no formal trial or legal verdict in the Wei State; Wei Qi carried out a summary, extrajudicial flogging. The ultimate resolution was personal and political: decades later, under immense pressure from the powerful Qin State where Fan Ju served as Chancellor, the fugitive Wei Qi was cornered and committed suicide.

The core dispute lies in the complete denial of due process and the imposition of brutal punishment based purely on unfounded suspicion, representing a classic case of judicial abuse. A secondary moral and legal controversy revolves around Fan Ju’s later act of vengeance, where he used his newly acquired political power to destroy his old adversary, raising questions about the line between justice and revenge.

This case became an iconic tale of endurance and delayed retribution in Chinese culture, cementing the proverb, "A gentleman may wait ten years to avenge an insult." It vividly illustrates the brutal, lawless nature of political life during the Warring States period and has served for centuries as a moral fable on the corrupting influence of power and the cyclical nature of violence.