"The Washing Away of Sins" Translated into English

Author: Song Ci Luo Shi Run Tian Yi Min Shi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The Southern Song Dynasty circuit intendant Song Ci, hailed as the "greatest forensic medicine expert in the world," compiled the world's first forensic medicine monograph——《Washing Away of Suspicions (Xi Yuan Ji Lu)》。Throughout his life, Song Ci investigated numerous doubtful and unresolved cases. The forensic examination methods and scientific knowledge he employed were truly astonishing! This book adopts creative techniques such as annotation, full translation, and commentary, combining modern forensic medicine theory and vivid case studies to reinterpret this monumental work. CCTV's Da Song Ti Xing Guan (Judge Song of the Great Song Dynasty) was inspired by this book. Washing Away of Suspicions (Xi Yuan Ji Lu) is an ancient Chinese forensic medicine work written by Song Ci during the Southern Song Dynasty and published in the seventh year of the Chunyou era (1247), making it the earliest systematic forensic medicine monograph in existence. The earliest version of this book is the self-published edition by Song Ci at Hunan's Circuit Office during the Dingwei year of the Chunyou era, which was later officially promulgated nationwide but is now lost. The earliest surviving version is the Yuan Dynasty edition of Song Ti Xing Xi Yuan Ji Lu; the reprinted version by Sun Xingxian of Lanling, known as the Dai Nan Ge Cong Shu edition; as well as a two-volume edition compiled from the Yong Le Da Zuan. There are also multiple Qing Dynasty editions identical to the Yuan Dynasty version, as well as the 1937 edition of the Cong Shu Ji Chuan (Initial Edition) published by the Commercial Press. The more commonly used versions today include: the annotated edition of Washing Away of Suspicions published by the Legal Press in 1958; the translated and annotated edition of Washing Away of Suspicions by Yang Fengkun published by the Masses Press in 1980; and the annotated edition of Washing Away of Suspicions by Jia Jingtao published by the Shanghai Scientific and Technical Press in 1981.
Song Ci (1186–1249), styled Huifu, was a forensic medicine expert from Jianyang, Fujian, during the Southern Song Dynasty. He studied under Wu Jimen of the same county, deeply influenced by Zhu Xi's Kaotang School (also known as Min Xue). In the tenth year of the Jianding era of the Southern Song Ningzong (1217), he passed the imperial examination and held positions such as assistant county magistrate, county magistrate, and deputy magistrate. In the sixth year of the Jiaxi era (1239), he was promoted to Circuit Intendant of Guangdong's criminal affairs and later transferred to the Circuit Intendant of Jiangxi, concurrently serving as the magistrate of Ganzhou. During the Chunyou era, he was appointed as a direct member of the Secretariat and Circuit Intendant of Hunan's criminal affairs, also serving as an assistant to the Hunan Pacification Commissioner in handling military and administrative affairs. Song Ci was an incorruptible and upright official who cared deeply for the people, feared no powerful figures, and made decisions decisively. Over his 20-year career in public service, most of his time was spent on criminal affairs. He firmly believed that "the most important aspect of criminal cases is the execution of capital punishment, the most critical part of which lies in the initial investigation, and the most crucial part of the initial investigation is the examination." He considered examination to be the "foundation of life and death in a case and the key to distinguishing right from wrong." Thus, he meticulously reviewed every case, "never daring to be even slightly negligent." When he discovered officials' cunning deception or abuse, he immediately corrected them. If doubts remained unresolved, he would reflect deeply and never act rashly. Through careful and prudent practice, he concluded that "errors in case details often arise from initial mistakes, and errors in examinations stem from insufficient testing." Therefore, he extensively collected and corrected works such as Nei Hu Lu and Zhé Yù Guān Jiàn, incorporating his own practical experience to compile a book titled Washing Away of Suspicions, published at Hunan's Circuit Office to serve as a reference for forensic officials in the province, guiding them in case examinations to achieve the goal of "cleansing innocence and alleviating suffering."
After Song Ci's death, Emperor Lizong inscribed an imperial epitaph on his tomb in recognition of his contributions. His close friend Liu Kezhuang (Houcun) praised him in his epitaph: "When he was dispatched to the four circuits, he served as the chief judicial officer, listened to cases with clarity, made decisions with decisiveness, showed great kindness to the virtuous, and great severity toward the unscrupulous. Officials under his jurisdiction, even in the most remote villages and deep mountains, felt as if a Song Circuit Intendant was before them."
This book consists of five volumes and 53 chapters, totaling approximately 70,000 words. It begins with the author's preface. Volume 1 includes regulations, general discussions on examinations, and miscellaneous topics; Volumes 2–5 are organized by types of post-mortem and injury examinations. Under the chapter "Regulations," it compiles 29 regulations issued by the Southern Song Dynasty over the years, all of which outline the discipline and precautions for forensic officials. The remaining 52 chapters are arranged somewhat chaotically, with content interspersed, but upon careful analysis, their content can be broadly divided into three aspects: 1) the attitude and principles that forensic officials should uphold; 2) methods for examining and distinguishing various post-mortem and injury types; 3) the protection of victims and emergency treatments. The book presents relatively scientific observations and summaries on post-mortem phenomena, asphyxiation, injuries, scene investigations, and post-mortem examinations, with some reaching a remarkable level of precision. Its major achievements include: the occurrence and distribution of lividity; the manifestations and influencing factors of decomposition; the relationship between post-mortem phenomena and the time of death; the discovery of childbirth within a coffin; the classification of hanging nooses; the characteristics and influencing factors of h?matoma; the differentiation between suicide, homicide, and simulated suicide; the post-mortem findings of drowning and death by external compression of the mouth and nose; the discovery of asphyxial rose teeth; the differentiation between ante-mortem and post-mortem fractures; the injury characteristics of various blade wounds; the differentiation between ante-mortem, post-mortem, suicide, and homicide; the identification of fatal injuries; the distinction between death by fire and cremation; and the scene investigation methods for various death scenarios. Under the 52nd chapter "Emergency Treatments," it collects dozens of rescue methods and folk remedies for hanging, drowning, heatstroke, freezing, injury, and fetal movement, all of which have been proven effective through experience.