The Tang Dynasty’s Female Forensic Doctor

“Provincial Governor Liu heard that Mr Sang is very experienced in autopsies and writing plaints. Mr Sang is invited to join us in conducting official work. Let us go.” With a smile that was not really a smile, Ran Yan looked at Sang Chen’s rapidly paling face, and stuffed the toolbox in her hands into his bosom. 

“Thank you for your trouble, Mr Sang.” Liu Pinrang studied Sang Chen, looking at his shaking legs, he could not help feeling bewildered, why did this Sang Chen look like he was just a fool that only knew how to read books, and did not seem like an expert in autopsies and writing plaints? 

The runners saw Sang Chen"s appearance and sn.i.g.g.e.red. 

Exiting the estate, a horse carriage was already waiting there for a long time. It seemed that Liu Pinrang was confident in obtaining her agreement. Ran Yan was glad that she had gave a straightforward response[1], even if it did not gain her any favours, it still would not cause this petty old man, Liu Pinrang to carry a grudge in his heart[2].

In the carriage, Ran Yan told Liu Pinrang about all her suspicions in order to solve the case quickly. 

“Yin Miaomiao? On the day of the case, I remember that she was together with all of you. There should not have been enough time for her to commit the crime, right?” 

Ran Yan recollected briefly, “On the day, I heard Yan Fangfei say, Yin Miaomiao purposely instructed two of her servants to hide in the garden, thus the Misses secretly observed the young Masters through the Banks’ rose canopy. Following that, everyone split up. At that time, I only saw Yan Fangfei, Tenth Miss Qi, as well as two other Misses. I did not see Yin Miaomiao.” 

Liu Pinrang nodded his head, stroked his grizzled white beard and said with satisfaction, “I trust that you definitely will be able to help this old man, I never misjudge people.” 

Liu Pinrang relied on his ability to understand people to obtain recognition over and over again. He was able to tell which people were willing to use flattery to get what they wanted, which people were honest and just. He was able to decide on the way he presented himself based on their different personalities. It was a well tried and tested method of his, thus he had never questioned his own judgement. 

“Many thanks for Provincial Governor Liu’s trust.” Ran Yan smiled indifferently. In her mind however she recalled the situation where she saw Yin Miaomiao for the first time that day. Yin Miaomiao got up and held her hand, and even poured a cup of tea for her… the scene in Ran Yan’s mind stopped at her hand holding the cup, (YMM"s hands were) clean and fair, her fingernails well-groomed and suffused with a natural pink l.u.s.tre, it was not coloured with red polish. 

She was not the one that wanted to kill Wan Lu. But Ran Yan still felt that it was a little strange, but at the moment she could not piece together the whole story, so temporarily she did not try to think about this matter.  

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the mortuary. The moon was suspended in the sky overhead, but the moonlight was not bright. Everything was shrouded within the colour of the night[3], the shadows of the trees overlapping one another. When a breeze blew, the vague shadows of the trees danced threateningly[4], making the mortuary seem eerie and frightening.

Liu Pinrang gave orders for the side door to be opened, and led the way in. Sang Chen wavered at the doorway, still undecided. Everyone else had already gone in. A gust of cold wind blew past, without even thinking Sang Chen rushed into the building like a rabbit. Catching sight of R

an Yan, he approached her, trembling with fear he said, “Miss, did, did you bring ginger slices? Later on, could you give me a few pieces?”

After all, the government mortuary was not a foster home, not just any corpse could be kept in here. Therefore, the mortuary did not have many corpses, but even so, those present felt still felt a little scared, each holding their breaths with rapt attention, and were not in the frame of mind to mock Sang Chen. In their hearts they resented Provincial Governor Liu. At such an advanced age, he was not afraid of inducing illness through fright. Instead of coming in broad daylight, he just had to come to this type of eerie place filled with Yin energy in the middle of the night. 

Liu Pinrang was not unfamiliar with seeing corpses, but coming to the mortuary in the middle of the night, it was also his first time. If it were not because he suspected that Yang Panci’s death was related to certain powerful forces, he would not have carried his weary old body to this place to seek hardship. Out of the corner of his eyes, Liu Pinrang glimpsed Ran Yan who had a face of indifference, felt admiration in his heart, as well as some puzzlement, “Is Seventeenth Miss not afraid?” 

Ran Yan paused her steps before saying, “The living are usually more frightening than the dead, is it not so? Comparing both, I am more afraid of living people.” 

“Your words make sense.” Liu Pinrang had gone through ups and downs in the bureaucracy for over forty years, there were many cases of people trying to cheat and outwit one another. However, he himself had gone through these life experiences, it was nothing much for him to understand these matters. Whereas a little Miss that just reached marriageable age, how could she have those kinds of experiences? 

Liu Pinrang instructed the runners to light up all the torches in the building, causing the dark shadowy building to be brightly lit.

Within the building there were a total of two coffins, both without coffin lids. One of the coffins previously contained Han Shan’s body, it was already empty, the Han family probably brought him back to be burried. Whereas within the other coffin lay a middle-aged man about 8-feet tall, his figure tall and st.u.r.dy, with sharp brows and a high nose bridge. Even though his current face was greenish black and swollen, and livor mortis could be seen on his body, one could still tell that when he was alive he was definitely a man br.i.m.m.i.n.g with a heroic bearing. 

“This is Yang Panci, he was young and promising, and was even a successful candidate of the highest imperial civil service examination in the 10th year of Zhenguan[5]. Ai, such a pity…” Liu Pinrang came from a poor and humble family. During this era filled with numerous rich and influential large clans, coming from humble origins, if one wanted to stand out and excel, it really was as hard as trying to ascend the skies. Therefore, towards Yang Panci who similarly did not have any status or background, his feelings were different compared to that towards a regular subordinate.

“Yang Panci normally did not have any hidden illnesses[6]?” Ran Yan took a general inspection of the corpse, before taking her toolbox from Sang Chen’s hands and placing it on floor. First, she took out Cangzhu[7] and Chinese honey locust, placed them on the floor and burned them. Afterwards, she took out a ginger slice and held it in her mouth. She hesitated briefly after pa.s.sing a slice over to Liu Pinrang, before throwing the cloth bag containing the ginger slices and the blank notebook to Sang Chen whose face had turned green. Following that, she wore a new mask and gloves, preparing to start the autopsy.

Liu Pinrang suppressed his surprise, and answered, “That is correct. Even though he was a scholar, he usually liked practicing martial arts to keep fit and healthy, no one has heard of him having a hidden illness.” 

After saying that, Liu Pinrang also placed the ginger slice in his mouth. 

Ran Yan made a sound of acknowledgement. Even though he did not have any secret illnesses, it still cannot be concluded that it was a homicide, there were many sudden onset hidden illnesses that were able to cause death, for example acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), cerebrovascular rupture (stroke), dying from s.e.xual excitement[8], etc all could cause sudden death.

“Does Provincial Governor Liu wish to be present to observe?” Ran Yan was holding a piece of ginger in her mouth but it did not affect her speech in the slightest. 

“Alright.” When Liu Pinrang was a County Deputy, every time there was a murder case, he would definitely go in person to investigate, and did not solely rely on the coroner. Therefore, after some time, he trained himself to have steel guts, otherwise he would not have dared to come to this place in the middle of the night. 

Ran Yan rapidly undid the clothes on the deceased’s body. The corpse’s rigor mortis was already gradually disappearing[9] and the lateral side of the body was covered in dark red livor mortis. It could be inferred that he had been dead for at least two days.

The deceased’s clothes were completely removed. It could be seen that Yang Panci had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with bulging chest muscles. His abdomen was filled with putrid gases[10], it was slightly bloated, but faintly one could see his six-pack.

The age in the thirties, was precisely a man’s golden time period. Suddenly dying overnight, it really was a pity. 

Ran Yan looked at Sang Chen, and saw that he was hiding beside a runner, with a brush in his hand, he was already prepared and ready (to scribe). She turned back and started the examination from the deceased’s head, from her observations of the state of his dental occlusion and abrasion, as well as other aspects, she determined that, “The deceased is about 33 years old, height 8 feet. There are no visible wounds on his face and head, no external injuries present on his chest, abdomen, legs and back. Livor mortis is a dark red colour, concentrated at the back of the head[11], the back, waist, two sides of his b.u.t.tocks, and the backs of the four limbs. Some areas show signs of turning green. Estimated time of death is between 9-11pm on 27th May.”

After examining the whole body, she could not find any external injuries, and there were no signs of poisoning. Ran Yan focused on the deceased head, neck and some of the other parts of the human body that were more easily injured. 

Liu Pinrang became even more curious regarding Ran Yan. He saw that her exposed eyes were deep and serene, carrying an expression of rigorous strictness and solemnity. She meticulously examined the frightening corpse, without neglecting a single inch or hair. Even the seams of the toenails and fingernails and strands of his hair were all carefully examined. 

Ran Yan’s gaze rested on the index finger on his left hand. The pulp of the index finger was stained with black mark the size of a soybean, there was also a small trace on his fingernail as well. She turned towards the toolbox to retrieve thick vinegar and used a sc.r.a.p of cotton cloth to soak some up, before lightly wiping, and easily wiped away the black stain on the pulp of the finger. She lifted her head and asked, “Yang Panci’s place of death was the study room?” 

“That is right. At that time, he was lying face down over the table, before him were doc.u.ments that he needed to process in the next few days.” Liu Pinrang answered.

“What was the state on the table?” Ran Yan said.

“On the table?” Liu Pinrang at this reminder, immediately said, “The suspicious point I mentioned is precisely here. Yang Panci was holding a brush in his hand, and there is some ink stains on the table surface. However, the doc.u.ment did not have a signature on it, all of the doc.u.ments on the table were also yet to be signed, as if just as he was prepared to sign the doc.u.ments, his hidden illness suddenly flared up. But all of the coroners determined that his time of death was between Haishi (9-11pm) and Zishi (11pm-1am). Moreover, according to his wife Madam w.a.n.g, Yang Panci entered the study after his evening meal, and instructed that he was not to be disturbed by anyone. After such a long period of time, how is it that not a single doc.u.ment was read over?” 

The calluses on the joint on Yang Panci’s ring finger and index finger of his left hand was especially obvious, whereas there were none on his right hand. To cause friction at these two places, it definitely was from holding a brush. Moreover, his left shoulder was slightly st.u.r.dier than his left shoulder. It could be seen that he was left-handed.  

“The calluses on the deceased’s left ring and index finger are obvious, his left shoulder is slightly thicker, I speculate that he usually uses his left hand. The pulp of left hand’s index finger and the fingernail seams were stained with some ink.” As Ran Yan spoke, she eliminated “death from s.e.xual excitement” as a possibility. 

So called death from s.e.xual excitement was also known as sudden death from s.e.xual excitement, and referred to cases where during s.e.xual intercourse, at the peak of stimulation, the heartbeat abruptly stops. It is usually more likely to happen in elderly people, or those taking aphrodisiacs and stimulant drugs may also occasionally have this situation occur. 

Yang Panxi’s conjunctivas did not have blood clots, thus mechanical suffocation could be ruled out. Then, how did he actually die? Was it really acute myocardial infarction? Or cerebrovascular rupture? Or was it rupture of a hidden tumour somewhere? Or could it be that someone used some secret method to murder him?

Ran Yan examined him again carefully, striving to not miss a single spot. Finally, she flipped over Yang Panci’s p.e.n.i.s, at his s.c.r.o.t.u.m she saw a tiny slit of a wound and subcutaneous bleeding under flaky skin. In order to look at it clearly, Ran Yan called over a runner carrying a torch, before she bent over into coffin, leaning close to see it clearly. 

Liu Pinrang’s mouth gaped in shock, the ginger slice in his mouth nearly falling out, his elderly face a little flushed. 

“I think, there is indeed possibility that Yang Panci died from being murdered.” Ran Yan straightened her body, and gave her conclusion. 

“Oh? You’ve found the cause of death?” Liu Pinrang quickly put away the awkwardness on his face, and asked grimly. 

“The cause of death was not found.” Ran Yan saw Liu Pinrang’s doubtful gaze, pointed at that tiny wound, and continued speaking, “But I’ve verified that Yang Panci was attacked prior to death, moreover it was a case of a groin attack destroying the ability to bear children[12]. If one does not carefully and earnestly search for it, this type of wound is very difficult to discover.”

“Ahem.” Liu Pinrang made an effort to force himself to ignore that he was discussing a man’s private part with a young Miss, and maintained a relatively calm and collected att.i.tude, “If it was a groin attack, why would there be only such a small injury?” 

“This area is extremely sensitive to painful stimulus. If the strength used is not very large, or the attacker controls their strength well, it would not leave a large wound, but the victim would experience unbearable pain. In serious cases they might even faint.” Ran Yan explained. Falling victim to a groin attack and pa.s.sing out, in forensic science it was known as reflex syncope or neutrally medicated syncope[13], she was merely using wording that a person from ancient times could understand.

All this was determined based solely on Ran Yan’s experience, with about 99 % certainty, but if Ran Yan wished to have a 100% certainty, she definitely would dissect the s.c.r.o.t.u.m to investigate. However people from these times were extremely superst.i.tious, dissection was still difficult to accept, what more if it was causing damage to the place most important to men? 

Ran Yan had always been rigorous, strict and cautious regarding autopsies, she could not help herself, and suggested in a soft voice, “If it is dissected, we can judge the results through direct observation…” 

Before she finished speaking, Liu Pinrang immediately rejected it, “No!” 

She already knew what the outcome would be, therefore Ran Yan did not insist, and continued saying, “For the moment I can only find out this much, if you wish to know in further detail, I can conduct dissection on the corpse to investigate, we can certainly find out the cause of death then.” 

A person would not die without cause or reason, as long as there was a cause of death, it definitely would show up on the corpse, this was scientific law. 

[1]冉颜庆幸自己还算爽快: this sentence translate more to: RY rejoiced that she still could be said to be straightforward. But I thought it might sound awkward. Maybe "RY rejoiced that she was a straightforward person" would be more accurate?

[2] 耿耿于怀: to take troubles to heart (idiom); brooding

[3] 夜色: literally night colour – refers to the night scene/the dim light of the night

[4] 张牙舞爪: to bare fangs and brandish claws (idiom); to make threatening gestures

[5] 贞观十年: Zhenguan: t.i.tle of the reign of the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty (627-649). The 10th year of Zhenguan is the year 626.

[6] 隐疾: again, not sure if this means hidden illness, unmentionable illness or venereal disease

[7] 苍术: black atractylodes rhizome. A few sources have reported antimicrobial activity when burned as incense link

[8] 性兴奋死: according to my dictionary 性兴奋 means heat (s.e.xual excitement).

[9] Rigor mortis (stiffening of the corpse) occurs 4 hours after death. The muscles starts to relax again after decomposition (46-60 hours after death).

[10] 尸气: literally corpse gas. Gases excreted by bacteria when digesting the corpse, resulting in bloated abdomen (occurs in putrefaction)

[11] 枕部、顶部: occipital and apex area 

[12] 一记断子绝孙的撩阴腿: pretty sure this is just a figure of speech, he was just kicked in the groin, not actually rendered infertile.

[13] 疼痛性休克或神经反射性休克: literally pain shock and nerve reflex shock. Reflex syncope is the closest english term I could find.