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墨書 Inktalez
This is the most severe case of loss in the "Xi'an Art Circle" since the founding of the nation, and it is also the prototype for the banned television drama "Wind and Rain Detective."
In the 1990s, a shocking family massacre occurred in our country.
What is infuriating is that the ignorant murderer not only set fire to over seventy scrolls of ancient artworks, causing irreparable damage, but also brutally killed a renowned master of calligraphy and painting along with his entire family using 112 stabs.
Even more despicable is that the murderer has not yet been caught, and one of the victim's mothers staged a farce over inheritance, attempting to mislead the police investigation.
Incredibly, the reason behind this heinous crime was merely because the murderer lacked money to celebrate a lavish "30th birthday."
So what exactly happened in this tragic family massacre that left everyone mourning?
Date of the incident: November 28, 1994.
Location: Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.
*
That night, an elderly woman named Madam Meng hurriedly arrived at the family residence of the Shaanxi Province Opera Research Institute, knocking vigorously on her future in-law's door.
Her future in-law was a well-known calligrapher and painter, also the deputy director of the art research office at the Shaanxi Province Opera Research Institute, named Qin Moulang. His daughter, Qin Hong, was the girlfriend of Madam Meng's son, Wang Tao.
With Qin Moulang's support, Wang Tao had opened a large clothing store in Xi'an and was living with his family. Although Qin Moulang came from a wealthy background, he had only this one daughter. To ensure she would not suffer, he requested Wang Tao to be a live-in son-in-law and planned to marry them off on an auspicious day.
Soon, Madam Meng's knocking attracted the attention of the security department. Upon learning that no one had entered or exited the Qin household for several days, they sensed something was amiss. However, since the Qin family lived on the top floor of the building, it would be inappropriate to force open their door without further investigation.
At that moment, Section Chief Zhang from the security department noticed that one of the windows used for ventilation in the Qin household was left open. He immediately arranged for a young man to lower a rope from the rooftop and climb inside through the window. To everyone's shock, as soon as he turned on his flashlight, he screamed in terror: "There's been a murder! A murder!"
Ten minutes later, a large number of police officers arrived at the scene. When they pried open the door to the Qin household, everyone was horrified by what they saw—blood was everywhere in the room, and Qin Hong's body lay sprawled behind the front door.
According to forensic examination, she had been stabbed 31 times, with ten of those stabs inflicted on her lower body. If it weren't for the doormat behind her blocking it, blood would have flowed out onto the doorstep. Not far from her body lay Qin Moulang's corpse; he had been stabbed 43 times, and blood had soaked through the entire carpet.
Not far from him lay the body of Wang Tao, who had been stabbed twenty-five times, his right palm nearly severed in half by the blade. It was evident that he had attempted to wrest the knife from the assailant but had failed.
In the art studio, the police found Qin Moulang's wife with a towel stuffed in her mouth, having been stabbed thirteen times and lying in a pool of blood. The most horrifying detail was that her throat had been slashed multiple times, her head nearly severed.
Witnessing the gruesome scene of a family of four who had suffered a total of one hundred twelve stab wounds left the officers present in shock, as this was an exceptionally rare case of a family massacre in Xi'an since the founding of the nation. After a thorough investigation, the police determined that the four victims had likely been killed between 2:00 and 3:30 AM on November 25.
Unfortunately, while technicians managed to collect some information, they did not obtain any useful leads to identify a suspect. However, through police personnel and technical means, they eventually narrowed down the suspects.
The assailants were Zhou Ximin and Bai Junjie. Zhou Ximin had previously pursued Qin Hong but was rejected, which left him harboring resentment. Before the incident, Zhou Ximin and Bai Junjie had conspired to acquire some money for Zhou's birthday, targeting Qin Moulang's family.
On the day of the crime, Zhou Ximin and Bai Junjie arrived at the residential building where the Qin family lived. Knowing that Qin Moulang enjoyed appraising ancient paintings, Zhou planned to take this opportunity to scout out the interior layout of their home.
Although Qin Hong recognized Zhou Ximin, she opened the door without suspicion upon seeing Bai Junjie accompany him and explaining their purpose for visiting. She informed them that her father was out and would not be available until the next day.
Even though they could not enter the house, Zhou Ximin caught a glimpse of the Qin family's lavish decor through a crack in the door and realized that only Qin Hong and her mother were home that night. Crucially, as he left, he noticed a window extending out from the Qin residence that lacked security bars.
Though they lived on the fifth floor, it would be easy to climb in using a rope from the rooftop.
It is worth noting that the police did not initially consider that the assailants might have entered through the roof because security personnel had used a similar method during their investigation, leading law enforcement to mistakenly believe that any traces left on the window and roof were from them.
Returning to the main narrative, after preparing their plan, they went to a market where they purchased two butcher knives, two pairs of gloves, and a length of rope, waiting nearby for nightfall.
Soon it was 2:00 AM on November 25. Zhou Ximin skillfully climbed into the Qin residence using his rope and instructed Bai Junjie to hide it so as not to leave any evidence behind. After stowing away the rope, Bai Junjie positioned himself at the front door to keep watch while waiting for Zhou Ximin to emerge.
Unbeknownst to them, as soon as Zhou Ximin entered the art studio, his footsteps alerted Wang Tao, who called out sharply.
Although startled by Wang Tao's voice and confused about why there was a man in the house, Zhou Ximin felt trapped since Bai Junjie had taken away their escape route. Gritting his teeth, he drew his butcher knife and took advantage of Wang Tao's momentary surprise to stab him repeatedly.
Wang Tao attempted to seize the knife but was overwhelmed by the suddenness of the attack and collapsed within seconds. Hearing commotion from Wang Tao’s direction, Qin Moulang hurriedly got out of bed to investigate but was met with dozens of stabs from Zhou Ximin as he stepped out of his room, falling victim to the butcher knife.
Awakened by the sounds of struggle, Qin Hong and her mother realized an intruder had entered their home and desperately tried to escape; however, their security door proved too difficult to open in such a critical moment.
Zhou Ximin saw Qin Hong, who was panicking and trying to escape, and without a word, he lunged at her. In a twisted act of revenge for her earlier rejection, he stabbed her ten times in her lower body.
At that moment, Qin Moulang's wife suddenly began to scream frantically. Zhou Ximin quickly stuffed a towel into her mouth and pressed a butcher knife against her neck, threatening her to hand over all the money in the house.
Qin Moulang's wife believed that the assailant would keep his promise and let her go after taking the money. However, she was ultimately killed by Zhou Ximin.
When the door of the Qin family opened, Bai Junjie was stunned by the scene before him; he never expected Zhou Ximin would kill the entire family of four. But it was too late for regrets. Under Zhou Ximin's instructions, he hurriedly grabbed the stolen items from the Qin household and closed the door behind him as he fled the scene.
It was truly tragic that neither of them dared to sell the jewelry, watches, and over seventy rolls of ancient paintings they had stolen from the Qin family. To prevent the police from obtaining evidence, they burned everything in a fire.
Zhou Ximin left with 60,000 yuan, while Bai Junjie took 3,000 yuan as they began their journey on the run.
More than two months later, Zhou Ximin thought that the police had not suspected him, so he secretly returned home. However, as soon as he stepped inside, he was captured by officers who had been waiting for him. On February 26, 1995, Bai Junjie was arrested by police in Ningxia. Thus, the shocking Xi'an Art Circle Massacre was officially solved.
On the morning of March 31, 1995, the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court held a public trial for Zhou Ximin and Bai Junjie, ultimately sentencing both to death.
Although Bai Junjie appealed on the grounds that he did not participate in the murders, his actions of casing the place, purchasing tools for the crime, and assisting Zhou Ximin in entering the crime scene proved him to be an accomplice.
Given the significant impact of this case and its brutal methods, on April 10, 1995, the Shaanxi Provincial High People's Court rejected Bai Junjie's appeal and upheld the original sentence.
The next day, Zhou Ximin and Bai Junjie were executed.
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