A Collection of Historical Mysteries and Lessons from Ancient China

Author: Li Xingui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
First, call the wife's name to find the person and uncover the truth. In the years of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, there were two merchants in Huizhou: one named Zhao San and the other Zhou Sheng. One day, Zhao San invited Zhou Sheng to go into business together. Zhao San's wife, Sun Shi, did not allow it, and as a result, Zhao San and his wife argued for several days. The day of departure arrived, and Sun Shi had no choice but to agree to Zhao San's request. At dawn, she urged her husband to set off. Zhao San bid farewell to his wife and arrived at the riverbank, where he boarded the boat that had been prepared in advance. At this moment, Zhou Sheng had not yet arrived. The boatman, Zhang Chao, saw that Zhao San's cargo was well-packed and immediately felt malicious. He seized the opportunity to push Zhao San into the river and pretended to be asleep by the riverbank to wait. Shortly after, Zhou Sheng arrived at the riverbank, boarded the boat, and woke up Zhang Chao. After waiting for a long time without seeing Zhao San, he sent Zhang Chao to Zhao's house to urge Zhao San to leave. Zhang Chao went to Zhao's house, knocked on the door, and directly called Zhao San's wife, asking why Zhao San had not set off yet, as Zhou Sheng had already been waiting on the boat for half an hour. Sun Shi, hearing this, was greatly startled and quickly replied, "Zhao San left at dawn, so how is it that he hasn't boarded the boat yet?" After Zhang Chao returned to the boat, he calmly relayed Sun Shi's words to Zhou Sheng. Zhou Sheng then instructed Zhang Chao and Sun Shi to search separately, but after three days of searching, they found no trace of Zhao San. Fearing that he might be implicated in the matter, Zhou Sheng grew very scared and reported it to the county magistrate.
Upon hearing the account, the county magistrate suspected that Sun Shi had already planned to murder her husband and ordered the guards to bring Sun Shi to the court for interrogation. Seeing Sun Shi kneeling in the court, her face covered in tears but still a young and charming woman, and noting that the plaintiff, Zhou Sheng, was also a handsome man in his thirties, the county magistrate, based on their appearances and the fact that they had known each other for a long time, subjectively concluded that the murderer of Zhao San was Sun Shi and Zhou Sheng. Sun Shi and Zhou Sheng were terrified and shouted their innocence, defending themselves. The county magistrate threw down the bamboo switches and ordered them to be beaten twenty strokes each and then locked in the death cell.
After the court session, one of the county magistrate's assistants thought that the murderer who killed Zhao San might actually be the boatman, Zhang Chao, rather than Sun Shi and Zhou Sheng. He believed this for the following reasons: First, Zhao San's body had not been found to this day, and it was likely thrown into the river to be destroyed, as all possible locations had been searched, leaving only the river as an unsearchable area. Second, according to reports from Zhao San's family and neighbors, Zhao San and Sun Shi were upright and honest people, and even if Zhou Sheng had wanted to pursue a relationship, Sun Shi would never have agreed. Third, even if Zhou Sheng had been unfaithful, he would not have acted before Zhao San's departure and would not have reported it himself. Fourth, the boatman Zhang Chao was fat and coarse, and it was reported that he earned a living by rowing boats and was cruel by nature. He had both the opportunity to commit the crime and the reason to call Sun Shi "Zhao San's wife" when knocking on Zhao's door—clearly indicating that he already knew Zhao San was not at home. Therefore, the clues to solving the case could be traced back to Zhang Chao.
The county magistrate listened and nodded repeatedly in agreement. He then ordered the court to bring Zhang Chao in for interrogation. Zhang Chao initially tried to deny his involvement, but when the county magistrate asked why he had only called Sun Shi "Zhao San's wife" when knocking and not referred to her as "Zhao San's mistress," Zhang Chao was speechless and unable to answer. Under the strict interrogation of the county magistrate, Zhang Chao was forced to confess to the crime of murder for profit. An innocent case was cleared, and the true culprit was brought to justice.
[Commentary] Solving a case requires logical analysis and reasoning based on common sense and habits. The smooth resolution of this case clearly illustrates this principle. In their practical work, those who adjudicate cases should pay attention to accumulating such knowledge, as it is urgently needed for their work.