A whole chapter is devoted to counterfeit wounds, the means of distinguishing them from real wounds, and the manner in which they are produced. Section 2 of the thirteenth chapter is on a cognate subject, namely, to ascertain whether wounds were inflicted before or after death:—
"If there are several dark-coloured marks on the body, take some
water and let it fall drop by drop on to them. If they are wounds
the water will remain without trickling away; if they are not
wounds, the water will run off. In examining wounds, the finger
must be used to press down any livid or red spot. If it is a wound
it will be hard, and on raising the finger will be found of the
same colour as before.
"Wounds inflicted on the bone leave a red mark and a slight
appearance of saturation, and where the bone is broken there will
be at either end a halo-like trace of blood. Take a bone on which
there are marks of a wound and hold it up to the light; if these
are of a fresh-looking red, the wound was afflicted before death
and penetrated to the bone; but if there is no trace of saturation
from blood, although there is a wound, if was inflicted after
death."
In a chapter on wounds from kicks, the following curious instructions are given regarding a "bone-method" of examination:—
"To depend on the evidence of the bone immediately below the wound
would be to let many criminals slip through the meshes of the law.
Where wounds have been thus inflicted, no matter on man or woman,
the wounds will be visible on the upper half of the body, and not
on the lower. For instance, they will appear in a male at the
roots of either the top or bottom teeth, inside; on the right hand
if the wound was on the left, and vice versa; in the middle of
the wound was central. In women, the wounds will appear on the
gums right or left as above."
The next extract needs no comment, except perhaps that it forms the most cherished of all beliefs in the whole range of Chinese medical jurisprudence:—
"The bones of parents may be identified by their children in the
following manner. Let the experimenter cut himself or herself with
a knife and cause the blood to drip on to the bones; then, if the
relationship is an actual fact the blood will sink into the bone,
otherwise it will not. N.B. Should the bones have been washed with
salt water, even though the relationship exists, yet the blood
will not soak in. This is a trick to be guarded against
beforehand.
"It is also said that if parent and child, or husband and wife,
each cut themselves and let the blood drip into a basin of water
the two bloods will mix, whereas that of two people not thus
related will not mix.
"Where two brothers who may have been separated since childhood
are desirous of establishing their identity as such, but are
unable to do so by ordinary means, bid each one cut himself and
let the blood drip into a basin. If they are really brothers, the
two bloods will congeal into one; otherwise not. But because fresh
blood will always congeal with the aid of a little salt or
vinegar, people often smear the basin over with these to attain
their own ends and deceive others; therefore, always wash out the
basin you are going to use or buy a new one from a shop. Thus the
trick will be defeated.
"The above method of dropping blood on the bones may be used even
by a grandchild, desirous of identifying the remains of his
grandfather; but husband and wife, not being of the same flesh and
blood, it is absurd to suppose that the blood of one would soak
into the bones of the other. For such a principle would apply with
still more force to the case of a child, who had been suckled by a
foster-mother and had grown up, indebted to her for half its
existence. With regard to the water method, if the basin used is
large and full of water, the bloods will be unable to mix from
being so much diluted; and in the latter case where there is no
water, if the interval between dropping the two bloods into the
basin is too long, the first will get cold and they will not mix."
Not content with holding an inquest on the bones of a man who may have been murdered five years before, a Chinese coroner quite as often proceeds gravely to examine the wounds of a corpse which has been reduced to ashes by fire and scattered to the four winds of heaven. No mere eyewitness would dare to relate the singular process by which such a result is achieved; but directions exist in black and white, of which the following is a close translation:—
"There are some atrocious villains who, when they have murdered
any one, burn the body and throw the ashes away, so that there are
no bones to examine. In such cases you must carefully find out at
what time the murder was committed and where the body was burnt.
Then, when you know the place, all witnesses agreeing on this
point, you may proceed without further delay to examine the
wounds. The mode of procedure is this. Put up your shed near where
the body was burnt, and make the accused and witnesses point out
themselves the very spot. Then cut down the grass and weeds
growing on this spot, and burn large quantities of fuel till the
place is extremely hot, throwing on several pecks of hempseed. By
and by brush the place clean, and then, if the body was actually
burnt in this spot, the oil from the seed will be found to have
sunk into the ground in the form of a human figure, and wherever
there were wounds on the dead man, there on this figure the oil
will be found to have collected together, large or small, square,
round, long, short, oblique, or straight, exactly as they were
inflicted. The parts where there were no wounds will be free from
any such appearances. But supposing you obtain the outline only
without the necessary detail of the wounds, then scrape away the
masses of oil, light a brisk fire on the form of the body and
throw on grains mixed with water. Make the fire burn as fiercely
as possible, and sprinkle vinegar, instantly covering it over with
a new well-varnished table. Leave the table on for a little while
and then take it off for examination. The form of the body will be
transferred to the table and the wounds will be distinct and clear
in every particular.
"If the place is wild and some time has elapsed since the deed was
done, so that the very murderer does not remember the exact spot,
inquire carefully in what direction it was with regard to such and
such a village or temple, and about how far off. If all agree on
this point, proceed in person to the place, and bid your
assistants go round about searching for any spots where the grass
is taller and stronger than usual, marking such with a mark. For
where a body has been burnt the grass will be darker in hue, more
luxuriant, and taller than that surrounding it, and will not lose
these characteristics for a long time, the fat and grease of the
body sinking down to the roots of the grass and causing the above
results. If the spot is on a hill, or in a wild place where the
vegetation is very luxuriant, then you must look for a growth
about the height of a man. If the burning took place on stony
ground, the crumbly appearance of the stones must be your guide;
this simplifies matters immensely."
Such, then, are a few of the absurdities which pass muster among the credulous people of China as the result of deep scientific research; but whether the educated classes—more especially those individuals who devote themselves in the course of their official duties to the theory and practice of post mortem examinations—can be equally gulled with the gaping crowd around them, we may safely leave our readers to decide for themselves.