In the Ming court, Dai Sigong felt a faint sense of inevitability rise in his chest.
Of course it would be him.
If the screen spoke of forensic investigation, then who else could it be but Song Ci?
Although Dai Sigong served as an imperial physician, he had studied Xi Yuan Ji Lu with great seriousness before. Officials in charge of judicial inspection valued the book for its corpse-examination methods and distinctions between causes of death, but to a physician, its usefulness was far broader.
It contained records on how to distinguish the bones of women and children, how to tell internal injury from external trauma, and even discussions touching on pathological changes seen in dissections. To someone trained in medicine, those passages were invaluable.
Now, hearing the analysis from later generations, Dai Sigong found himself gaining new insights.
If later scholars praised Song Ci for setting standards in judicial procedure…
then should medicine not also possess such standards?
He unconsciously straightened, committing the young narrator's summary to memory word for word. When the phrase "professional auxiliary manual" appeared, he even murmured it to himself once, testing how it sounded.
A book written so that officials could learn a profession.
Combined with the earlier, rather difficult explanation of "division of labor," Dai Sigong felt as if he were glimpsing a road that might lead to lasting fame.
Not for himself alone.
But for an entire discipline.
---
Zhu Yuanzhang, by contrast, was not particularly fascinated by forensic theory. Yet when he glanced at his sons and saw each of them deep in thought, he felt a trace of satisfaction.
If nothing else, the screen made them think.
He pointed casually at the one who seemed most focused.
"Fifth, have you learned anything?"
Before Zhu Su could answer, Zhu Di leaned forward with a grin.
"Father, little brother's busy thinking. Why not ask me instead?"
The emperor snorted.
"You want to be a general. What use is this to you?"
But Zhu Di only nodded solemnly.
"Of course it's useful."
He gestured as if explaining military formations.
"That 'division of labor' makes perfect sense. In the army, elite troops are always trained in a single specialty. That's why they can break the enemy wherever they strike."
He paused, eyes bright.
"And now that we know later generations call judicial inspectors 'forensic officials,' I think army doctors could be treated the same way. Someone should set rules and write a book. After reading it, a man could serve as a military physician."
Zhu Yuanzhang blinked.
Then slowly nodded.
That… actually sounded reasonable.
He turned toward his eldest son.
Zhu Biao spoke calmly, as if organizing state memorials in his mind.
"Song Ci summarized the gains and losses of his lifetime in office, and thus produced this book."
He folded his hands.
"And as he himself said, officials lacking knowledge can bring suffering to the people. That problem is not limited to judicial cases."
He raised his eyes slightly.
"Father intends to compile the Hongwu Compendium, does he not? Why not begin by inviting experienced officials to record their successes and failures in full?"
He spoke steadily, methodically.
"For every post, gather dozens of case accounts. Summarize them, refine them, and compile them into structured records…"
Before he finished, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was already glowing with approval.
"Excellent."
He slapped the armrest lightly.
"You shall oversee this, Biao'er. But if we speak of the foundation of the state, agriculture must come first."
Zhu Di bared his teeth in confusion.
He truly had no interest in farming or medicine.
So why, when he heard the name Hongwu Compendium, did he feel a strange, indescribable stirring?
---
In the city of Xuchang, Liu Bei stared at the screen for a long moment before turning to his strategist.
"This Song Ci truly sounds like a good official. And from the description alone, that book must be excellent."
He hesitated.
"But the sequence of steps they described…"
Before Zhuge Liang could answer, Pang Tong laughed.
"My lord is already familiar with it."
He waved a hand toward the workshops beyond the city.
"In our territories, whether for factories or farming, we follow the same order. First set procedures. Then summarize key techniques. After printing manuals, we distribute them widely."
Liu Bei froze.
Then slapped his knee in realization.
"So that's it!"
He nodded repeatedly.
"A fine method indeed. Kongming created systems even without guidance from later generations. Truly worthy of the title Wolong!"
Zhuge Liang immediately shook his feather fan.
"I dare not accept such praise."
He counted calmly on his fingers.
"Sugar refining, papermaking, glassmaking… those techniques came from later generations."
"Workshop planning was decided by my lord together with Gongyan and Shiyuan."
"Teaching the common people to read was led entirely by Zhang Qiao."
"Managing markets and trade routes required the efforts of Zizhong and Zichu."
He lowered his hand.
"As for detailed process lists and agricultural taboos, those were recorded by the people themselves."
He gave a faint smile.
"With so many contributors, what credit belongs to Liang?"
Liu Bei and Pang Tong burst out laughing.
Guan Yu stroked his beard.
"Three years without meeting, yet the strategist still takes all burdens while refusing credit. That has not changed."
Zhuge Liang sighed lightly.
"If not for General Guan fighting bravely on the front lines, how could Liang remain in Chengdu discussing state affairs in peace?"
Zhang Fei had long grown used to this exchange of modesty. He simply poked the man beside him.
"Mengde, Mengde. That Zhang Qiao and Liu Zichu…"
Before he finished, Cao Cao said stiffly:
"I do not know them."
Zhang Fei slapped his thigh and roared with laughter.
"I hadn't even finished! Why so quick?"
He wiped tears from his eyes.
"I was only saying Zhang Qiao truly is a great talent of Yizhou, and Zichu can be called a notable of Jingzhou."
Cao Cao fell silent.
His expression suggested unmistakable regret.
---
In the Ganlu Hall of the Tang palace, Li Shimin watched Sun Simiao writing furiously.
"Medicine King Sun," he said, "everything the screen mentioned has been recorded by Dengshan already."
He tapped the desk.
"Why not compile it together? As for forensic studies, we can assign them to the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Judicial Review…"
Sun Simiao did not even wait for him to finish.
"Your Majesty!"
He spoke with rare urgency.
"My residence now lies beside the judicial prison. Entry and exit are convenient, and those I meet daily are all experienced in examining wounds and corpses."
His eyes shone.
"This subject is perfectly suited for me to compile!"
---
The screen's light shifted.
[Lightscreen]
[Xi Yuan Ji Lu holds great significance in the history of forensic science and stands as an important work in world history.
However, it still bears clear marks of its feudal era.
Previously we discussed how Song-dynasty science often existed as a subordinate to Neo-Confucian philosophy. Forensic science was no exception.
Classical doctrines were treated as sacred and untouchable. Research relied excessively on intuition and subjective judgment. These flaws are visible in Xi Yuan Ji Lu as well.
For example, in Volume Three, "Examination of Bones," the opening statement reads:
"Human bones number three hundred sixty-five, corresponding to the days of the year."
This number is obviously incorrect. Even counting nails and teeth, the total still falls far short.
Looking back through history shows this figure was not invented by Song Ci.
The imperially commissioned medical work Shengji Zonglu, compiled under Emperor Huizong of Song, clearly records:
"The joints of the human body number three hundred sixty-five, matching the cycle of the year."
Going further back, Dong Zhongshu's Chunqiu Fanlu states something even more elaborate:
Three hundred sixty-five bones correspond to the days of the year, twelve major joints correspond to the months, the five organs correspond to the five phases, and the four limbs correspond to the four seasons.
Earlier still, the Huangdi Neijing of the Han period already records:
"In counting the human body, there are also three hundred sixty-five joints."
So did Song Ci truly not know the number was wrong?
He almost certainly did.
But if he had written otherwise, it would have meant denying Emperor Huizong's commissioned text, rejecting the Confucian authority Dong Zhongshu, and even contradicting the Yellow Emperor himself.
Under such circumstances, Xi Yuan Ji Lu might not merely have failed to circulate. It might not have survived at all.
Modern scholarship suggests the Huangdi Neijing was compiled gradually from the pre-Qin to Western Han periods and has little to do with the Yellow Emperor personally.
Beyond this, the bone-examination chapter contains other obvious errors, such as:
"Male bones are white, female bones black."
"Men possess twelve ribs on each side, eight long and four short, while women possess fourteen."
"Men have splitting bones near the wrist and shin; women do not."
Yet after these statements, Song Ci goes on to record detailed distinctions in male and female pelvic structure with striking accuracy.
Compared with the crude errors in bone counts and rib numbers, this contrast is extremely sharp.
Fortunately, the most important sections of Xi Yuan Ji Lu—its practical methods and case experience—did not fall entirely into the rigid framework imposed by classical authority. This allowed Song Ci to record observations drawn from his own life.
In ancient times, people encountered corpses far more often than today. Simple matters like bone counts or rib numbers could be known at a glance.
Yet incorrect conclusions could still be treated as unquestionable truth for over a thousand years.
This, too, reveals from another angle the limitations of an age.]