Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen were the two most feared secret police officials under Empress Wu Zetian. They had invented countless methods of torture and sent hundreds of innocent people to their deaths.
One day, someone accused Zhou Xing of treason. The empress ordered Lai Junchen to investigate — his own colleague.
Lai Junchen invited Zhou Xing to dinner. Over wine, he casually asked: "Most prisoners refuse to confess. What method would you recommend?"
Zhou Xing smiled: "Simple. Take a large urn, heat it with charcoal on all sides, and tell the prisoner to get inside. There is nothing they will not confess."
Lai Junchen nodded. He ordered his men to bring a large urn and pile burning charcoal around it. Then he stood, showed Zhou Xing the official warrant, and said: "There are charges against you, brother. Please — enter the urn."
Zhou Xing's face went white. He fell to his knees and confessed everything.
或告周兴与丘神勣通谋，太后命来俊臣鞫之。俊臣与兴方共食，谓兴曰：「囚多不承，当为何法？」兴曰：「此甚易耳！取大瓮，以炭四面炙之，令囚入中，何事不承！」俊臣乃索大瓮，火围如兴法，因起谓兴曰：「有内状推兄，请兄入此瓮！」兴惶恐，叩头伏罪。
或告周兴与丘神勣通谋，太后命来俊臣鞫之。俊臣与兴方共食，谓兴曰：「囚多不承，当为何法？」兴曰：「此甚易耳！取大瓮，以炭四面炙之，令囚入中，何事不承！」俊臣乃索大瓮，火围如兴法，因起谓兴曰：「有内状推兄，请兄入此瓮！」兴惶恐，叩头伏罪。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
The torturer's tools are designed for others — until they are turned upon their maker. The instruments of cruelty have no loyalty to their inventor.
The idiom "请君入瓮" (please enter the urn) means to subject someone to their own methods — poetic justice in its purest form. Zhou Xing's own invention, designed to break others, broke him instantly.
The story is also about the nature of evil. Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen were partners in atrocity — until the system turned one against the other. Their loyalty to each other was never real; it was contingent on mutual safety. The moment one became a target, the other had no hesitation in destroying him.