When and where was the origin of the quote 'death by a thousand cuts'?

The idea of 'death by a thousand cuts' was used in the Indian context was announced in 1965 via Late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was the then Foreign Minister in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The phrase used by him was 'a thousand-year war against India'.

In 1977 he was deposed by his army chief general Zia-ul-Haq in a military coup before being tried and executed who then starting working on the "bleed India through a thousand cuts" doctrine, using covert warfare and militancy.

Recently, on December 5, 2025, India's biggest ever Hindi movie success till date, a movie titled 'Dhurandhar' reminded the whole country of this decades older but civilizationally critical piece of information.

The phrase "death by a thousand cuts" originates as a Western (English-language) description — and somewhat sensationalized mistranslation — of the Chinese execution method known as lingchi (凌遲), literally meaning "slow slicing" or "lingering death."

Historical Origin of the Practice (Lingchi)Lingchi was a real form of torture and capital punishment used in imperial China (also adopted in Vietnam and Korea). It involved tying the condemned person to a frame or cross in a public place and methodically removing portions of flesh with a knife over an extended period, eventually leading to death. It was reserved for especially heinous crimes such as:

• Treason
• Patricide (killing one's parents)
• Mass murder

The practice dates back to roughly the 10th century CE (around 900–1000 CE), with roots possibly in earlier periods, and the first clear codification appearing during the Liao dynasty (Khitan-led, 10th–11th centuries). It continued through various dynasties (Yuan, Ming, Qing) until it was officially abolished by the Qing government in 1905, as part of penal code reforms influenced by both internal criticism and Western pressure. 

The number of cuts varied widely in historical records (from a few dozen to hundreds or even thousands in extreme legendary cases), but the actual process was often shorter and less prolonged than Western myths suggested, sometimes hastened by opium or quick fatal blows.