Tag Archives: The Washing Away of Wrongs

Forensics

Chinese forensics: washing away of wrongs

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[The Washing Away of Wrongs] (Xi Yuan Ji Lu) is the world’s oldest surviving forensic medical handbook, written in 1247 by Song Ci during the Southern Song dynasty in China. [1, 2, 3]

Overview and Purpose

  • Author: Song Ci (1186–1249), a Chinese judge, physician, and forensic scientist. [1]
  • Goal: Created as a practical guide for local magistrates and coroners to investigate suspicious, sudden, or violent deaths accurately and prevent judicial miscarriages. [1, 2]
  • Significance: It predates European forensic texts by centuries and establishes early principles of pathology, autopsy procedures, and crime scene investigation. [1]

Key Topics Covered

  • Crime Scene Examination: Detailed instructions on how to inspect the location of a death before the body is moved. [1]
  • Cause of Death Determination: Methods to differentiate between drowning, hanging, strangulation, poisoning, stabbings, and blunt force trauma. [1]
  • Post-Mortem Changes: Distinguishing artificial injuries (inflicted after death) from fatal wounds (inflicted during life).
  • Early Entomology: Famous early accounts of forensic entomology, including a recorded case where flies were attracted to trace amounts of blood on a single sickle, identifying the murder weapon and culprit.

Why is it called that?

The book is called The Washing Away of Wrongs (Xi Yuan Ji Lu) because its primary purpose was to clear the names of the innocent and ensure the guilty were properly punished, effectively “washing away” judicial injustices.

Meaning Breakdown

  • “Wrongs” (Xi Yuan): In ancient Chinese legal terms, Yuan refers to a miscarriage of justice, a false accusation, or an unavenged wrongful death.
  • “Washing Away”: This represents the purification of the legal process. By using objective, physical evidence rather than forced confessions, a judge could clear away the “stain” of a wrongful conviction or solve a covered-up murder.

The Philosophy Behind the Name

Song Ci believed that a single mistake by a coroner could lead to an innocent person being executed or a murderer walking free. In the book’s preface, he wrote that investigating a death with utmost care was a sacred duty, stating: “The miseries of the people arise from wrongs left unredressed.” The title reflects his mission to bring absolute truth to the courtroom.