A cangue is a device that was used for public humiliation and corporal punishment in China and some other parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia until the early years of the 20th century. A typical cangue would consist of a large, heavy flat board with a hole in the center large enough for a person's neck. The board consisted of two pieces. These pieces were closed around a prisoner's neck, and then fastened shut along the edges by locks or hinges. The opening in the center was large enough for the prisoner to breathe and eat, but not large enough for a head to slip through. The prisoner was confined in the cangue for a period of time as a punishment. The size and especially weight were varied as a measure of severity of the punishment. Image taken from page 179 of "Social Life of the Chinese" with some account of their religious, governmental, educational and business customs and opinions by Justus Doolittle, 1867.