Been seeing this advertisement recently and I have no idea what message the advertiser is trying to convey, however, the image depicting a man seemingly trapped in a yellow balloon stood out. It probably didn’t bother most people but certainly reminds me of a TVB drama “The Legend of the Invincible” (剑魔独孤求败) in 1990.
The antagonist Bai Chengzhong (白承忠) played by Hugo Ng (吴岱融) betrayed Liu Hanshan (柳寒山), his mentor-cum father-in-law, yet refused to give him a clean death, went on to torture the poor old man into a “人彘[zhì]”, leaving him in a jar with his limbs amputated and tongue cut off. A very disturbing scene back then.
“人彘”(literally means human pig) is not something that the TV drama invented but was well documented as a form of severe punishment in history. The Records of the Grand Historian (史记 ) has it that upon the death of the founding Emperor of the Han Dynasty Liu Bang (刘邦), his Empress Lv (吕后) ordered the punishment to Lady Qi (戚夫人), the favored concubine of Liu Bang.
Original text: "太后遂断戚夫人手足，去眼，辉耳，饮喑药，使居厕中，命曰'人彘' 。居数日。" （司马迁《史记·吕后本纪》） This translates as Empress Lv removing Lady Qi's limbs, gorging her eyes, deafening and muting her, and abandoning her in the toilet. Lady Qi was still alive for a few days until her eventual death.
The question is, why did Empress Lv commit such atrocity to Lady Qi?
For jealously. Empress Lv went through thick and thin together with Liu Bang before her husband became Emperor and in the process even suffered as a prisoner-of-war for 2 years while the husband was out there having a good time with his new-found love Lady Qi, who is 20 years younger than Lv.
For revenge. After Liu Bang ascended the throne, Lv was conferred the Empress, and their son Liu Ying (刘盈) was named crown prince, heir to the throne. But, as time passed, Liu Bang felt Ying was too soft, and Lady Qi’s son Liu Ruyi (刘如意) grew up to resemble the father more. Lady Qi seized the opportunity and persuaded the Emperor to name Ruyi his successor instead. Both women fought hard for their sons (and themselves) but eventually Empress Lv prevailed.
The rest was history. Lady Qi sealed her own fate and her son Ruyi would follow, murdered at the age of 14 by none other than Empress Lv herself.
