The nine familial exterminations, nine kinship exterminations, or execution of nine relations, also known by the names zuzhu ("family execution") and miezu ("family extermination"), was the most severe punishment for a capital offense in premodern China, Korea, and Vietnam. A collective form of kin punishment typically associated with offenses such as treason, the punishment involved the execution of all relatives of an individual, which were categorized into nine groups. The occurrence of this punishment was somewhat rare, with relatively few sentences recorded throughout history.