CANGUE

cangue, or cang, the european name for the chinese _kia_ or _kea_, a portable pillory, carried by offenders convicted of petty offences. it consists of a square wooden collar weighing from 20 to 60 lb., through a hole in which the victim's head is thrust. it fits tight to the neck and must be worn day and night for the period ordered. the offender is left exposed in the street. over the parts by which it fastens slips of paper bearing the mandarin's seal are pasted so that no one can liberate the condemned. the length of the punishment is usually from a fortnight to a month. as the cangue is 3 to 4 ft. across the convict is unable to feed himself or to lie down, and thus, unless fed by friends or passersby, often starves to death. as in the english pillory, the name of the man and the nature of his offence are inscribed on the cangue.