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Criminal underworld in ancient China: The many names of thief and burglar
🕑 Added 2021-01-21 14:31:42 +0000 UTCI came across this information by chance. Although not directly related to Chinese military history, I thought this is interesting enough to share. A stern word of caution though: these were the names of petty criminals, not some kind of mysterious forerunner of ninja practising a hitherto unknown Chinese Art of Stealth. Chinese "ninja", or forerunner of ninja, never existed.
I have to make this clear to prevent information from this article (or from my Patreon/blog) from being misappropriated into orientalist horsecrap like Lin Kuei.
Criminals exist in every society. In fact, the more complex a society becomes, the more sophisticated and specialised its criminals will be. Thus, it is no surprise that China, with its long history, vast geographical span, and complex society, had many, many types of thieves. These thieves had their own specialised skills and preferred method of committing crime, and generally different thieves did not mingle with each other.
The list below is mostly taken from Anthology of Petty Matters in Qing (《清稗類鈔》), categorised by method, location, season/time, and target. It is by no means exhaustive, and more will be added as I learn more.
BY METHOD
Fān Gāo Tóu (翻高頭)
A thief that climbs over fence and roof to steal. These "flying thieves" can be further divided into Shàng Shǒu Bà Zi (上手把子, can be roughly translated as 'Skilled handler') and Xià Shǒu Bà Zi (下手把子, can be roughly translated as 'Unskilled handler' ). The former were skilled thieves that could climb empty-handed, the later were thieves that used climbing aids such as vaulting pole.
Kāi Tiān Chuāng (開天窗, lit. 'Sky window opener')
A thief that made an opening in the roof to commit burglary.
Kāi Yáo Kǒu (開窰口, lit. 'Kiln opener')
A thief that dug through walls to commit burglary. Some Kai Yao Kou specifically targeted bedroom and kitchen, and were known as Xī Yáo (稀窰, lit. 'Rare kiln') and Huān Xǐ Dēng (歡喜燈, lit. 'Joyful lamp') in thieve's cant respectively.
Kāi Táo Yuán (開桃園, lit. 'Peach garden opener')
Another name for wall-digging thief.
Pái Sāi Zéi (排塞賊, lit. 'Unclogging thief')
A thief that pried open doors or windows to commit burglary.
Chuǎng Yáo Táng (闖窰堂, lit. 'Kiln hall intruder')
A burglar/a thief that preferred housebreaking.
Chī Qià Zi (吃恰子, lit. 'Lock eater')
A lockpicker.
Chā Shǒu (插手, lit. 'Sticking hand')
A pickpocket or cutpurse. Cha Shou can be further divided into Qīng Chā (清插, lit. 'Clear sticking') and Hún Chā (渾插, lit. 'Muddy sticking'). The former were pickpockets that stole with only his bare hands, the latter were pickpockets that stole with the aid of tools such as scissors.
Pá Shǒu (扒手) / Pá Shǒu (掱手) / Bā Pá (扒掱) / Jiǎn Liǔ Zéi (剪綹賊, lit. 'Drawstring cutting thief') / Xiǎo Lì (小利)
Some other names for pickpockets and cutpurses.
Duì Mǎi (對買, lit. 'Equal buyer')
A professional shoplifter, or a thief that could secretly swap the valuables of his mark with a similarly weighted dummy.
BY SEASON/TIME
Zǎo Chuǎng (早闖, lit. 'Morning intruder')
A burglar that committed housebreaking early in the morning. A subtype of Chuang Yao Tang.
Bái Rì Chuǎng (白日闖, lit. 'Daylight intruder')
A burglar that committed housebreaking in broad daylight. A subtype of Chuang Yao Tang.
Huáng Hūn Chuǎng (黃昏闖, lit. 'Evening intruder')
A burglar that committed housebreaking in the evening. A subtype of Chuang Yao Tang.
Tà Zǎo Qīng (踏早青, lit. 'Morning stroller')
A thief that committed thievery before dawn.
Pǎo Dēng Huā (跑燈花, lit. 'Snuff runner')
A snatch-and-run thief that specifically targeted unsuspecting mark in the evening.
Yè Yàn (夜燕, literally translates to 'night swallow', but actually means 'bat')
A thief that stole during the cold winter night.
BY LOCATION
Cǎo Qiè (草竊, lit. 'Grass pilferer')
Countryside thief.
Shì Tōu (市偷, lit. 'City stealer')
City thief.
BY TARGET
Shōu Shài Láng (收晒郎, lit. 'Dried laundry-collecting man')
A thief that stole hanged laundry.
Shí Zhàng Tóu (拾帳頭, lit. 'Debt collector')
A chicken thief.
Qiān Bí Tóu (牽鼻頭, lit. 'Nose puller')
A cow thief.
Jué Zhǒng (掘塚, lit. 'Grave digger')
Grave robber.
Zhuī Mái (椎埋, lit. 'Mallet burier')
Another name for grave robber. Note that this name can also refer to murderer.
MISCELLANEOUS
Tiě Suàn Pán (鐵算盤, lit. 'Iron abacus')
A thief that disguised himself as a visiting beggar to scout his mark before committing burglary.
RIVER THIEVES
Zuān Dǐ Zi (鑽底子, lit. 'Bottom driller')
A thief that sneaked into the cabin of a ship to steal.
Wā Yāo Zi (挖腰子, lit. 'Waist digger')
A thief that used a long bamboo pole to lift away the valuables of the passengers on a ship through its window, without physically entering the ship.
Diào Bāo (掉包, lit. 'Swapper')
A thief that disguised himself as a passenger to board a ship. A subtype of Dui Mai.
