Xi Yuan Ji Lu (Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified) — The World’s Earliest Monograph on Forensic Medicine

The first monograph on forensic medicine in China is Xi Yuan Ji Lu (Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified), written by Song Ci in the Song Dynasty and completed in 1247. It is the world’s first systematic work on judicial examination, predating the forensic monograph written by the Italian Fortunato Fedele in 1602 by 355 years. It was later transmitted overseas, with translations in English, French, Dutch, German, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and other languages.

China has a long history of forensic medicine, and forensic examination was carried out very early. Cai Yong of the Han Dynasty, in his commentary on the “Yueling” chapter of the Liji (Book of Rites), held that damage to the skin was called “shang” (injury), damage to the flesh and blood was called “chuang” (wound), and damage to the sinews and bones was called “zhe” (fracture). However, before the Song Dynasty there was no specialized forensic monograph. Song Ci was born into an official family in Jianyang, Fujian, and served four times as a senior criminal judge. According to historical records, during his official career he handled matters fairly, judged cases clearly, supported the weak, eliminated evildoers, redressed injustices, and prohibited violence, earning the affection of the people. Through long-term practice, he accumulated rich administrative and judicial experience, and consulted many relevant documents before writing China’s first complete forensic medicine monograph Xi Yuan Ji Lu, which was also a summation of the forensic experience of successive dynasties. For 500 years after its publication, it became an indispensable reference book for officials trying cases.

The book is divided into 4 volumes, discussing physiology, pharmacology, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, first aid, and examination. Much of its content can still be used for reference today. For example, in treating fractures, splints were used to immobilize the injured or broken part; for dressing wounds, freshly peeled chicken skin was used as a bandage because of its elasticity, thereby shortening wound healing time.

Its introduction to rescuing persons who have hanged themselves is close to modern artificial respiration and generally conforms to modern principles of physiology and pathology.

In autopsy, it points out that the slight reddish spots on a corpse are “livor mortis” (cadaveric lividity), formed by the cessation of blood circulation and the accumulation and clotting of blood after death. It also inferred the cause of death from the degree of muscle rigidity in various parts of the body after death. The book held: “If a person died by cutting himself with a knife while alive, both hands would be tightly clenched.” This is also a very valuable piece of scientific reasoning.

In toxicology identification, it held: “If an earthen pit leaks fire gas and is foul-smelling, a person exposed to the fumes may die without realizing it, and the corpse remains soft and without injury...” This is exactly the same as modern cases of carbon monoxide gas poisoning.

The description of the symptoms of poisoning is also very detailed: “In all deaths by poisoning, the mouth and eyes are mostly open, the face is purple-dark or bluish, the lips are purple-black; the nails of the hands and feet are all bluish-dark, and there is bleeding from the mouth, eyes, and nose...”

As for detoxification methods, for arsenic poisoning, 10 to 20 egg whites were stirred evenly with 9 grams of alum and poured into the mouth of the poisoned person; after vomiting, more was poured. This is similar to the modern use of milk for detoxification, in which protein and alum coagulate, preventing the poison from being absorbed by the stomach. Modern gastric lavage and emetic methods are similar in action to alum. Therefore, these are all methods with sound scientific principles.

In prevention, Xi Yuan Ji Lu also provides guidance, holding that before autopsy the body must be washed and covered. After washing the corpse with Chinese honey locust (zao jiao), it was then washed and covered with distiller’s grains and vinegar, which could prevent bacterial infection during examination.

From the above records, one can understand the brilliant achievements of forensic medicine in the Song Dynasty. In the same era, European forensic medicine was still in a dark age. It was not until the 18th century that they gradually began to develop toxicology and medical chemistry. This is also a glory of China’s forensic medicine.