肉刑的實施由古代開始已行之久遠，傳說肉刑乃源自氏族部落的苗人，至夏商周三代即有實施肉刑，主要是一種殘害肌膚、砍斷肢體或破壞生殖機能的刑罰，其後刑名增多，直至漢文帝廢除了肉刑，在名義上則無肉刑之名，但在實施上卻仍有以肉刑作為懲罰的方式。 本篇文章即追溯了肉刑的實施和爭議，特別是針對宋代肉刑的執行方式，為獨特的「刺配法」及其施行為討論的中心，以文人對肉刑的討論為輔，來看宋代當時輿論對於肉刑的反應。

The corporal punishment had been implement since ancient China, far back in Hsia Dynasty. Corporal, which include whipping, castration, amputation (a punishment of removing kneecap, nose, ears, eyes), tattoo, and more way were developing to damage physical body till the Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty abolished Corporal punishment. But actually, After the Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, Corporal was still usually used as a way of damage. This article, are trying to focus on implementation in Song and tracing back legislation and argument of Corporal. To use the implementation of an unique punishment in Song: the Law of Tzu-Pai (刺配法) as a core of this studying surrounded by intellectuals’ opinion toward Corporal to get a full view of Song’s attitude regards to Corporal.