As described by "The Death Penalty in Traditional China," China implemented a penal system on prisoners called the Wu hsing translated to the "Five Punishments." Which of the Five Punishments categories you got depended on your crime. Before the Qin dynasty, the five punishments were: tattooing, amputation of the nose, amputation of one or both feet, castration, and death. But the Five Punishments evolved so that by the time of Sui Dynasty (581-618 C.E.), there was beating with a light stick, beating with a heavy stick, penal servitude, exile, and death by strangulation or decapitation.
Within each punishment there were different degrees. For example, a prisoner who was sentenced to be beaten with a light stick could be sentenced to up to five degrees of punishment which dictated how many blows would be delivered (between 10 to 50). Even exile was subject to degrees so that the more severe the crime the farther the convict went afield.
As for execution, decapitation was considered worse than strangulation. This may seem strange since strangulation, in which the executioner used a rope on the throat, was exceedingly brutal and long. Meanwhile, a beheading called for only a skilled sweep of the sword. Yet, beheading was considered more disrespectful and demeaning to a body that had been bequeathed by a person's ancestors, and thus a more disgraceful way to die.
