Abstract: The mentally occupied a special place in society. Due to their disabilities they sometimes caused harm to property and could be a danger to others. In order to prevent such incidents, the Qing government instituted a policy of “registration and confinement”(baoguan suogu). According to this practice, the families of insane persons were ordered to register them with their magistrates, after which the relatives kept the insane persons confined at home under strict surveillance. At first, the Qing government treated insane criminals leniently, even killers were set free without trial, but during the Qianlong reign, attitudes toward insane offenders increasingly hardened. Eventually, the Qing government not only imposed the death penalty on homicides committed by the mental1y ill, but also for those who were accused of “seditious writings”( ni ci).