Whipping is one of the five punishments since Sui and Tang Dynasties. Caning refers to a kind of punishment that tortures prisoners with thorns or bamboo boards. As a punishment, the staff began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Southern Dynasties, Liang Wudi made a whip stick. The stick is made of Vitex negundo, which can be divided into three types: big stick, thick stick and small stick. Rod punishment is generally "take off your clothes and collect your rod", take off your underwear and spank directly with bamboo boards.

In the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty, rod punishment was listed as one of the five punishments. This was the case until the late Qing Dynasty. Song, Ming and Qing dynasties stipulated that women must "strip off and receive a stick" when committing rape, which not only caused physical pain, but also achieved the effect of humiliation.