Book/Printed Material Jian shi kao yao Preface/Table of Contents
About this Item
Title
- Jian shi kao yao
Other Title
- 檢屍考要 /
Summary
- In Zhu Gang's introduction notes that he collected and compiled the important aspects for the identification of corpses from "Xi yuan lu" and "Wu yuan lu", as recorded in the work entitled "Xi yuan ji shuo"; the wound marks on the bodies and the depictions of corpses were verified in accord with the new regulations by the Department of Punishment (Xing bu).
- This work was printed in the fourth year of the Yongzheng reign (1726) of Qing. The author was Zhu Gang (circa 1674-1728), courtesy name Zicong, who was a native of Licheng, Jinan. It lacks a title page and the title, Jian shi kao yao (A study of essentials for examining corpses), is taken from the spine of the book's case. This title also appears on the front page of juan 1, but without the author's name. Only page numbers are printed in the central columns of the pages. The main author and compiler was Zhu Gang and the editor was Yu Shiyuan. Preceding the text are two prefaces, both written in 1726, one by Bulantai (died 1752), a Manchu provincial governor of Shandong, Shaanxi, and Hunan, and the other by the author. In his preface, Bulantai provided a brief biography of the author and his own comments. Zhu Gang accompanied his father Zhu Hongzuo to his official postings and studied classics at a young age. He was a vice censor in chief at the Bureau of Review of the Bureau of Justice. Later he was appointed to inspect various provinces, twice as surveillance commissioner. During the Yongzheng reign (1723-35) he was provincial governor of Yunnan and Fujian. At his death he was posthumously bestowed the title of minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Zhu Gang was known for his poetry but was also knowledgeable in forensic medicine. In his preface he explained why he compiled the work. During his postings he read various works and studied methods of examining corpses. He found existing authorities incomplete and incorrect. Later he read Xi yuan ji shuo (Collected records of redressing injustice), a very detailed eight-juan work published in 1687 by Chen Fangsheng. However, because it brought together many works, Zhu Gang found it wordy. So he selected sections relating to redressing injustices or other matters; sections from Du lü bei xi (The portable bodkin for untangling the difficulties of the code); and other works that were relevant for postmortem examinations. He compiled them into a single work, convenient for reading and checking the various methods of autopsies and examining possible causes of death. Sections on injuries, illustrations, and fatal or nonlethal wounds were provided following the standards newly established by the Bureau of Justice of the time. This copy is the only existing one, and it is in good condition. World Digital Library.
Names
- Zhu, Gang, active 18th century, xuan, jiao
- Bulantai, active 1741, xu
- Yu, Yuanshi, xuan, jiao
- Chinese Rare Book Collection (Library of Congress)
Created / Published
- [China : s.n.], Qing Yongzheng 4 nian [1726]
Notes
- - 九行二十一字. Nine lines, with twenty-one characters per line.
- - 卷前有布蘭泰雍正4年（1726）序，作者朱綱同年序。布蘭泰序記朱綱簡歷及評語云："方伯朱公，昔任比部郎職司刑憲，久著賢聲。繼奉命觀察畿省中州，兩操臬政。所到之處，皆春滿園扉，光銷貫索。今旬宣楚南，復以右司缺員，煩公攝篆匝月之間，剖滯獄以百數，湖湘半壁，頌神君焉。茲出其所輯《檢屍考要》一集質於余，將謀剞劂以公世。余閱之，文簡而義該，慮周而法備，較前人所刻洗冤諸書更為扼要。因嘆公之存心仁而澤物溥也。"朱綱序述此書緣起云："於豫省臬司任内，同俞子周宿繙閱諸書，留心考核。如舊有洗冤錄、無冤錄、讀律佩觿、未信編等書，皆講論檢驗之法，然坊本多有訛誤不全。康熙丁卯年間（26年，1687）浙江仁和陳漱六者，取諸本會校，集為八卷，名曰《洗冤集說》，洵屬詳備。但因匯集諸本，未免枝言蔓語，難於觀覽 ... 今係就《洗冤集說》中所載之洗冤、無冤、讀律佩觿等書選其與驗屍關鍵之處，匯為一帙，期於一目了然，便於查閱。至其中屍傷、屍圖，致命、不致命處，係照刑部現行新例核定".
- - 清雍正4年（1726）刊本。版匡高20.3公分，寬14.1公分。 線裝.
Medium
- 1 digital file : illustrations
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2012402412
Online Format
- image