Definition

1. Noun:
   • Cangue board: A specific type of cangue, a historical instrument of punishment and public humiliation, constructed from a single wooden board with a hole in the center to secure the neck of the condemned person.
   • Wooden pillory: A punitive device, essentially a portable stocks made of wood, designed to be worn around the neck, restricting movement and displaying the offender.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tên tội phạm bị đeo gông ván suốt ba ngày ở chợ. (The criminal was made to wear the cangue board for three days in the market.)
  • Gông ván là một hình phạt khắc nghiệt thời phong kiến. (The wooden pillory was a severe punishment in feudal times.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "gông ván" is almost exclusively used in historical or literary contexts to describe judicial punishment in pre-modern Vietnam, often emphasizing the cruelty and public shame involved.

Variants and Related Words

• Gông (n): Cangue; the general term for this category of punishment device, which could be made from various materials like wood or iron.

  • Hắn bị kết án đeo gông. (He was sentenced to wear a cangue.)

• Cùm (n): Stocks or fetters; a related instrument for securing the feet or hands.

  • Tù nhân bị nhốt chung với cùm ở chân. (The prisoner was locked up with fetters on his feet.)

Synonyms

• Cangue: A general term for a device consisting of a heavy wooden board worn around the neck.
• Pillory: A device for public punishment where the head and hands are locked, similar in function to shame the offender.
• Wooden collar: A descriptive synonym.

Related Idioms

• Mang gông vào cổ: To put a cangue on one's own neck; meaning to bring trouble or severe consequences upon oneself.

  • Anh ta tự mang gông vào cổ bằng những hành động phạm pháp. (He brought the cangue upon his own neck with his unlawful actions.)

• Trả nợ gông: To pay one's debt to the cangue; to suffer the punishment one deserves for a crime.

  • Hắn phải trả nợ gông cho tội ác của mình. (He had to pay his debt to the cangue for his crime.)