The Washing Away of Wrongs 0892648015, 0892648007

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TilE UN I VERSITY OF MJ('H JGAN CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES

SCIENCE, '\1EDICINE, AND TECHNOLOGY IN EAST ASIA VOLU 1E 1 Nathan Sivin, General Editor

Fig . 1. Chart To Be Used In Preparing Inquest Reports. Ventral View.

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Wounds found on a corpse were entered in a chart such as this, summarizing to the more exact indications of location given on a detai l ed drawing of the body surface. From the Hsi yuan lu hsiang i (preface dated 1854).

THE WASHING AWAY OF WRONGS: FORENSIC MEDICINE IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA

trans lated by

Brian E. McKnight

Ann Arbor Center for Chine e Sturlif's The University of Michigan

1981

Copyr ight 01981 by Center for Chinese Studies The University of Michigan Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sung Tz'u, 1186-1249. The washing away of wrongs. (Science, medicine, and technology in East Asia ; v. 1) Translation of: Hsi yi.ian chi lu. Bibliography : p. Includes index. 1. Forensic pathology-Early works to 1800. 2. oroners-China-Early works to 1800. 3. CoronersC hina-His tory. 1. Mcl/

4.13a/101

1.J 1-

87 "Ironing" with packages of drugs, similar to medicinal plas ters , was a commonly used technique, e .g ., in the late T'ang work Wai t'ai pi yao jf-- ~ 1'JL!/i- by Wang T'ao _f. :j; . (Nathan Sivin, personal communication, 25 July 1977). .. ..

158

!fi;,

In deaths from fright syndrome due to ni gh tmar e (yen do not bring a light or approach near and hastily call

82/4 . 14a/101

out, for this may lead to death . Just bite the victim's heel or his big toe and sp it in his face .

Jle will then reviv e .

When someone is unconscious because of a nightmare, change his position slightly and quietly call out his name . Tlc will then become conscious. In cases of nightmare at night, if there originally was a lamp burning, l et it be, but if there was not one, you must not have one light ed . Another method : blow into the patient's ea rs throu gh small tubes .

Pull twenty-seven hairs from the patient's

head, twist them into a cord, and thrust them into the patient's nose.

Another method :

swallow hot salt water.

force the patient to

A noth er method:

sq ueeze one-

half cup of juice from leeks and pour it into the victim's nostrils.

In winter , the bulbs may be used.

Another

method : apply moxa twenty-one times on both feet, on the big toes where the hair gathers . (This means the spot on Another method : powdered soap beans, abo ut the size of a bean , blown into

Lhe Lop from which the hairs grow .)

the victim's nostrils, will stimulate sneez ing which will free the movement of ch'i.

With this method someone can

be saved even after three or four days . Attacks

by

Repulsive

Factors (chung-o

Possession by Recalcitrant Agencies (k'o-wu

tf ~- ;88 ;

!tf);

4. 15a/102

and

Sudden Death : generally, cases of sudden death preceded by illn ess and sudden death during sleep are called Attacks by Repulsive Factors.

In either case, thrust the yellow

heart of a leek six or seven inches into the nostril (the left

88

"Attacks by Repulsive Factors" was a syndrome whose main symptoms were sudden heart and stomach pains with nausea, often appare ntly due to heart attacks. "Possession by Recalcitrant Agencies" (i .e ., disorderly ghosts) was a form of fright syndrome found mainly in children. The "Sudden Death" here would r efer mainly to fainting spells and traumatic loss of consciousness associated with possession . The definit ion of chung-o given here is more restrictive than that found in most other works .

Methods for Restoring Life

159

for men, the r ight for women), causing the blood from [the

part of the nostrils] between the eyes to flow . The victim will then revive . Look along the inner edge of the upper lip for blisters like grains of millet. Use a needle to prick them . Another method : take powdered beans of the soap bean plant or powdered, untreated tuber of pan-hsia [Pinellia ternata, Breiter], about as much as a soybean, and blow it into the nostrils . Another method : use smoke from burning sheep dung to fumigate the nostrils. Another method : put cotton wool into one-half cup of good wine, and squeeze it with your hand so that the liquid enters the patient's nostrils . Elevate his hands. Do not frighten him, and in a little while he will recover. Another method : burn moxa on the navel one hundred times, blow powdered soap beans into the nose, or pour the juice from a ground leek into the ears . Another method: squeeze a cupful of juice from untreated sweet flag rhizome [ch'angi!i , . p'u j ~11J', Acarus calamus, T.], and force it down the patient.

fl

1

Murderous injur ies : when there have been murderous injuries that did not penetrate the peritoneum, take some frankincense (ju-hsiang and myrrh (mo-yao ~~ ~ ), 89 and a large soap bean, all ground until they have r:lisintegrated, one-half cup of urine, and one-half cup of good wine, and boil these together. Have the victim swallow the mixture . After that, take "dolomite powder" 90 some cuttle-fish bones, or (hua-jui shih-san -1-f/~~;f,'f~.J, dragon's bones, powder them and cover the mouth of the wound .

83/4 .7a/99

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-2?

The Prefectural Judge (t'ui-kuan ;JfJ §. ) Sung Cho .Jf-1:[.( was conducting an inquest. There were murderous injuries at two places, but respiration had not yet stopped . He ordered the leader of the labor service unit '

3

89 On frankincense and myrrh, see Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5, pt. 2, p. 137. 90 "Dolomite powder" was composed of sixteen ingredients, including dolomite. See PTKM 10 . 26.

lfiO (pao- chia ~ 'f) to take the white of a scallion, heat it in a pan unti I it was cooked, and spread it over the wounds. The victim drew in his breath sharply. When the onions were app li ed a second time, there was no pain .

rre had

already spoken of this to the Administrator of ...Lo-p'ing

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Subprefccture, Pao Ch'i

again,

Pao

remarkable!

said,

"The

white

jf!.J;jff- . of

the

When they met scallion

is

most

The men of Lo-p'ing love to fight and are

frequently injured. Each time there is a case involving murderous injuries, before doing any investigating, l first plaster the wounds with hearts of scallions.

Many men

have survived, and so the number of capital cases has diminished ." This comes from Chang Sheng-tao Prescriptions from Experience . Restless 'I!Tovement of the Fetus:

5{;:_ /lji£

,

when in women

n.G.

who have been involved in fights the fetus is restless, there arc pricking pains and distension [from ch'i] in the abdomen and labor ed noisy breathing.

Take one and one-

half ounces of Shensi lavage [Ligusticum wallichii, Pranchct] ancl one-half ounce of the root of Chinese angelica (tang-kuei }'f3J 91 ancl grind them into a fine

';t

powder .

Eacl1 dose is one-fifth of an ounce in a large cup

of wine, which is simmered until it is reduced to threefifths of its original quantity .

Adding a little raw ginger,

roa st ed

while stirring in an open pan, makes it even

better .

Another method:

take a l arge handful of ramie

;riJ._),

wash it and add it with a few

fiber root (chu-ma

slices of raw ginger to a large win e-cup of water. Simmer until reduced to four-fifths of its original volume, blend it with rice gruel, and give it to the patient to eat. When someone is dying from fright, give them a cup or two of warm wine to drink and they will recover.

91

4.15b/102

Tang-kuei is listed in Chine ·e JJUblicCJ.tions as Angelica sinensis . Publications outside \'hina often list it as Angelica polymorpha, '\1axim. It is often used to stimulate uterine contractions. See PTK\1

14.2.

The Inquest Report

161

In cases of the five deaths [i.e., death from childbirth, fright, strangulation, nightmare, and drowning] or sudden death from falls or blows where the heart is still warm, the victim may still be saved even though a day has passed. First, take the dead person and place him on the

4.15b/102

ground with knees bent, like the posture of a Buddhist

84

monk in meditation. Have someone take the dead person's hair and pull it down towards the ground. Using a bamboo or paper tube, blow a quantity of raw powdered Pinellia ternata, Breiter into the nose. If he revives, administer a dose of raw ginger juice, which will counteract the poisonous effects of the Pinellia. (In the five deaths--childbirth, fright, strangulation, nightmare, and drowning--the method of cure is uniformly to administer a dose of Pinellia).

In cases of sudden death from falling, from striking hard against things, or from the nightmare demon, if the flesh is not yet cold, quickly administer some Storax Balls and wine. If the patient swallows this, he may live.

53.

4.16a/102

Statements on the Inquest Report

All inquest report forms must record the original location of the corpse; its condition; its position relative to its surroundings; how it was dressed. One by one each of these items should be checked and written down. Does the corpse have any marks from tattooing or moxibustion? Are there any signs of past broken bones? Is the victim hunchbacked? Did he have a limp from a twisted limb? Was he bald? Of a bluish-purple, blackish, or reddish complexion? Are there tumors, swollen legs, or various signs of disease? These things should be stated aloud and noted down on the inquest form one by one, to be ready in case the witnesses at the inquest make false statements, and to provide support in any inquiry concerning the original causes [of death]. When the name of the deceased is unknown, and later on relatives submit a request [that they be given charge of the body], then the inquest report

1.4b/62

]62 will be necessary in seek ing to verify the body . If the extant inquest form is excessively brief and the writing incomplete, this will make future verifications difficult. How much more will this be the ca::;e for pos::;i bly mi streated cr iminals, sold iers, or unclaimed corpses where the assigned (

official is responsible for reaching an inquest decision. Officials will depend on the inqu est report in their investigations. How can such things be done in brief? Again, if the inquest has been in error, [the investigating offic ial] will stand guilty of a serious crime. Those who are responsible for thi s task must carefully look into it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbre viations HCP

Li Tao

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Hsu tzu-chih t'ung-chien ch'ang-pien

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