In order to uphold his rule, strict laws were enforced,[9] where deception, libel, and the study of banned books became punishable by familial extermination.
[5] The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), although it inherited the concept of family execution, was more moderate in inflicting such severe punishments.
By this time, the penalty had become more regulated and different; from the Tang Code, the sentence involved the death of parents, children over the age of sixteen, and other close kindred, and was only applied to the offenses of treason and rebellion.
[1][11] Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), executed the sons of the Muslim Persian finance minister Ahmad Fanakati after finding out about his corruption in the aftermath of his assassination in 1282.
[12][13] The number of sentences during the Ming was higher than that of the Tang,[14][15] due to the policy of "showing mercy beneath the sword" (Chinese: 刀下留情), while females were given the choice to become slaves rather than be killed.
In ancient Korea, this punishment was applied during the reign of King Jinpyeong of Silla when conspirator Yi Chan-chil-suk (이찬칠숙) and his entire family and relatives to the ninth degree were put to death.
The Chinese character 族 can be translated by its original definition of "clan" or "tribe", or it can have the additional meanings of "kinship", "family" (as in 家族), or "ethnicity" (as in 民族).