Learning to Kidnap for Ransom

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.2

Word count: 280 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

People have seen that kidnapping for ransom is an easy way to make money, and the number of those practicing this trade is growing daily; not all of them are bandits. Students who have left school and have nothing to do also form groups of three or five and go out to make money. They find out which families of primary school pupils have wealth, lure the children out, hold them in a room, paste plaster over their eyes, and throw a letter into their home telling the family to come at night to a certain river cliff, a certain bend, with silver dollars to redeem the child. The exchange is done in secret for fear of being recognized by face. One day a villager got wind of it and reported it to the authorities. The authorities sent soldiers to arrest them. Entering their den, they saw that the gang members were all elegant young men, and they knelt and offered bribes; the soldiers could not bear to use their blades and jested with them. After the jesting, they only brought out the kidnapped person and let the gang escape far away. This too was the gang's good fortune.

Editor's review

Written in the style of late Qing and early Republican social news, this note records a case of kidnapping schoolchildren for ransom, concise in wording and vivid in detail. Its value lies not in the case itself but in the author's observation of the kidnappers' identities—not all were bandits; some were students who had left school and, idle and loafing, banded together in small groups to make money. This detail reflects the hidden worries of educational disorder and the vagrancy of youth during a period of social transition. Most intriguing in the narrative is the scene after the soldiers enter the den: seeing that the gang members were all elegant young men who knelt and offered bribes, the soldiers could not bear to use their blades, jested with them, and in the end only brought out the kidnapped person while letting the gang escape. This tone, both serious and playful, exposes both the laxness of local security and the corruption of officialdom in the late Qing, while preserving the worldly flavor characteristic of note literature. Suitable as supplementary reading for readers interested in modern social history, note fiction, and historical materials on security and crime, and also usable as a small entry point for understanding grassroots governance and youth problems in the late Qing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late Qing and early Republican social history and grassroots security
Literary readers who enjoy short note-style pieces and attention to worldly detail
Researchers studying modern juvenile crime and education
Teachers needing short historical materials as teaching or writing material

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete case investigation or suspenseful deduction
Beginning readers unfamiliar with classical Chinese note-style narration
Readers hoping for systematic criminological theory

Reading tips

First read through once to feel the narrative rhythm, then go back and mark social-historical details such as the kidnappers' identities and the ransom transaction method.
May be read alongside security cases in notes of the same period to compare similarities and differences in how soldiers handled matters.
After reading, connect the phenomenon of youths banding together in the text with the background of educational reform at the time and write a hundred-character note.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
学绑票

FAQ

What event does this note mainly record?

It records a case in which a gang kidnapped a wealthy family's primary school pupil, pasted plaster over his eyes, and sent a letter demanding ransom, as well as the course after a villager reported it to the authorities: soldiers entered the den to arrest the criminals but jested and let them go because the kidnappers were all young men.

What is special about the identities of the kidnappers in the text?

The author specifically points out that they were not all bandits; quite a few were students who had left school, idle and loafing, banding together in small groups to make money. This observation lifts the case beyond an ordinary bandit narrative.

Why did the soldiers not severely punish the kidnappers?

The text says that when the soldiers entered the den and saw that the gang members were all elegant young men who knelt and offered bribes, they could not bear to use their blades; after jesting with them, they only brought out the kidnapped person and let the gang escape, reflecting the arbitrariness and laxness of grassroots law enforcement at the time.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.