This kind of cruel torture is recorded in classical texts only.
Tips
history
Attributed to King Zhou of Shang (商纣王, 11th c. BCE), the last ruler of the Shang dynasty. The victim was bound to a hollow bronze pillar set over burning coals. The phrase became shorthand in classical writing for extreme cruelty.
usage
Both characters take rare readings: 炮 is páo (the herbal-roasting reading), not pào ('cannon'); and 烙 is luò, used essentially only in this compound, not the everyday lào ('to brand, iron').
