The roots of forensics, an important field for modern criminal investigations, go back to the Middle Ages. The pioneering figure behind it was Song Ci (1186–1249 AD), a famous physician and judge during the Song Dynasty in China. His groundbreaking work Washing away the injusticeserves as an important guide for law enforcement agencies in investigating and solving unusual deaths.
Song Ci stressed the importance of thorough corpse examinations to determine causes of death and identify injuries. Thanks to his expertise, he has been able to solve numerous murder cases and demonstrate his advanced forensic skills.
Discover 20 key observations Song Ci made while dealing with potential murders that reveal the depth of his forensic acumen.
1. The victim
The eyes and mouths of those who have died from fatal injuries are open and their hair is disheveled. Their hands are clenched. Where the fatal injury was inflicted, the injury is relatively large, the skin and flesh are greatly curled and protruding. If the membranes of the abdomen have been penetrated, the viscera are protruding.
2. Death by suffocation
When someone blocks the mouth and nose so that the person cannot breathe and suffocates, the eyes are open and the eyeballs bulge. A clear, bloody fluid flows from the mouth and nose. Subcutaneous blood of a reddish-black color is found all over the face, the intestines bulge, and the insides of the clothes are soaked with urine.
3. A victim defending himself
When the victim saw that the attacker was coming towards him with a sharp object to injure him, he certainly defended himself with his hands and suffered cuts on his hands.
4. Being thrown into a well
The similarities between those who jump into wells, those who are thrown into them, and those who lose their footing and fall in are very great. The differences are slight. In all these cases, the victim will have marks on the head resulting from hitting bricks or stones. There will be sand or mud in the hair and under the fingernails, and the belly will be swollen…
If the victim was thrown in or fell in accidentally, his hands will be open and his eyes slightly open. He may also have money or other valuables on him. However, if he commits suicide, his eyes will be closed and his hands will be clenched. There will be no valuables on him.
When someone deliberately jumps into a well, they usually do so feet first. If you find a body jumped in head first, it is likely that the victim was being chased or thrown in by others. If they lost their footing and fell in, you need to check the spot where they slipped to see if the ground has been disturbed.
5. Being beaten to death
If a person has been beaten to death, the corpse’s mouth and eyes will be open, hair will be disheveled, clothes will be in disarray, and hands will not be bent. Sometimes the inside of the clothes will be soaked with urine.
6. Use of a blunt instrument
If the attacker used a stick, club, or similar instrument to beat the victim, the marks are most often found on the non-fleshy parts of the body. The injured person may die within two to four hours, or after one or two days, three or five days, or even as late as seven, eight, or ten days. If hard objects classified as “other weapons” were used in the beating and death was caused, pay even more attention to the severity of the marks. If the two parties fought first and the attacker grabbed the victim by the hair and then struck him with his hand or foot, the injuries are often found on fleshy, vital parts.
Sometimes a single blow from the hand or foot is enough to cause death. If death was caused by a kick to a vital part, carefully investigate whether or not the attacker was wearing shoes to avoid later questions.
7. How do you know if someone was beheaded alive or dead?
When the head of a living victim is severed, the muscles contract and stiffen. However, when the head of a corpse is severed, the neck remains long and no contraction occurs.
8. Death by burning
When a living person is cremated, sooty ash is found in the corpse’s mouth and nose, and the hands and feet are drawn upwards. This is because the victim, while still alive, will gasp for air with his mouth open as the fire enters him. Therefore, he will inhale sooty ash that is in his mouth and nose. If the cremation was done after death, the hands and feet may be tense, but there is no sooty ash in the mouth and nose. If the elbows and knees were not burned, the hands and feet are not drawn upwards.
![](https://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/plugins/gumlet/assets/images/pixel.png)
9. A murder disguised as arson
If someone was killed with a sharp weapon and then a fire was made and the body burned to make people believe the victim died of burns, have the coroner’s assistant collect the bones and sweep away the ashes and dust. Sprinkle on the cleaned spot where the body lay a thick decoction of rice boiled in vinegar and wine. If the victim was murdered there, the spot where the blood has soaked into the ground will have a fresh red color.
10. A test for poisoning
When examining the ingestion of poison using the silver needle method, rub the needle with soap dishes and water, then insert it into the throat of the corpse. Close the mouth with paper. After a long time, remove the needle. It will have acquired a bluish-black color that cannot be rubbed off with soap dishes and water. If the victim has not been poisoned, the color will remain clear white.
If a person who died from poisoning ate food during his lifetime and kept it with him, so that poison and food entered the intestines, the needle test in the mouth will not give a result. In such cases, the test is done on the anus and the color will be visible.
11. Deaths from falls
If someone dies from falling from a tree or house, examine the location of the branches, the height of the house, the marks where the victim lost his footing, and the depth of the marks on the ground. The serious injuries should show evidence of wounds caused by bumping or hitting something. If internal injuries were the cause of death, blood will be flowing from the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. If the injuries are extremely severe, be even more careful in your examination and measure the exact height of the spot from which the victim fell.
12. Death by crushing
When someone is crushed to death, their eyes and tongue will protrude, their hands will be slightly clenched, and dead blood will ooze from their entire body, appearing purple-black in color. Blood or a watery fluid may flow from the nose. The injured parts of the body will be red and swollen due to subcutaneous bleeding. If the skin is injured, it will be red and swollen on all sides. Sometimes bones, muscles, and skin may be torn and broken.
13. Crushed to death by wagon wheels
If someone has been crushed to death by the wheels of a cart, the flesh of the corpse will be slightly yellowish, the mouth and eyes will be open, the two hands will be slightly clenched, and the hair will be neat.
14. Death by lightning
When someone is struck by lightning and dies, the flesh of the corpse is a charred yellow color. The whole body is soft and blackish, the two hands are open, the mouth is open and the eyes are bulging, the hairline behind the ears is charred yellow, and the hair on the head is disheveled. In the burned areas, the skin and flesh are hard and shriveled.
15. Death by tiger bites
The skin of those who die from tiger bites is yellowish, the mouth and eyes are wide open, the hands are clenched, the fur is ruffled and feces are excreted. The wounds are often uneven and show marks from the tiger’s tongue and teeth.
16. Deaths from excessive eating or drinking
If there are no signs of injury on the body, tap the skin of the abdomen with your hand. If it is swollen and sounds like a drum, death has occurred due to over-saturation. Excessive consumption of wine or food caused the abdomen to swell, which impaired the heart and lung function and led to death.
17. Drowning in a river
If someone jumped into a river or was thrown in by others, provided the water is relatively deep and wide, the victim will not show any signs of having hit anything while falling in, nor will there be any traces of mud or sand on the body. If the water is shallow or the place is narrow, the body will resemble the body of someone who jumped or fell into a well. Generally, a water depth of three to four feet is enough to drown people.
18. Death by scalding
The skin and flesh of corpses scalded with water burst open, the skin peels off and is white, and the exposed flesh is also white. The flesh is often rotten and reddish. When people come into contact with boiling water or fire, they have often fallen, so the injuries are found on the hands, feet, face and chest.
19. Deaths due to sexual excesses
When men die from sexual excesses, it is because their vital energies have been exhausted. When men die during sexual intercourse with women, the circumstances of the case must be investigated. If the death is indeed from this cause, the erection will not have subsided. If not, then it will have subsided.
20. How to revive someone who died from a nightmare
In cases of deaths caused by anxiety syndrome due to nightmares, do not bring a light and do not approach and shout hastily, as this can lead to death. Just bite the victim on the heel or big toe and spit in his face. Then he will come to.
The complete works of Song Ci can be found in Washing Away Injustice: Forensic Medicine in 13th Century Chinatranslated by Brian E. McKnight (Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1981)
Upper image: British Library MS Royal 20 A. II f.2v