The Science Behind Chosŏn Dynasty Autopsies: Evaluating Chosŏn Dynasty Inquest Materials
Evaluating Chosŏn Dynasty Inquest Materials
The Chosŏn Dynasty was a fascinating period in Korean history, characterized by Confucian ideology and long periods of peace. It also developed a system of jurisprudence with established forensic techniques.
Historians Sun Joo Kim and Jungwon Kim have offered us a window into Late Chosŏn Dynasty jurisprudence by translating and publishing inquest records (Kŏman) in their book Wrongful Deaths: Selected Inquest Records from Nineteenth-Century Korea.1 For every suspicious or criminally implicated death, an inquest record would be compiled, including context of the death, a thorough examination of the corpse, and a transcript of the testimony offered during interrogation, sometimes under torture (Kim & Kim, 5).
As soon as a wrongful death was reported, the county magistrate traveled to the site of the death, accompanied by a coroner’s assistant, medical specialist, legal clerks, and military officers (Kim & Kim, 15; Figure 1). Together, they rounded up witnesses for a court hearing, and the coroner’s assistant would perform a meticulous physical examination of the corpse, utilizing various inquest materials to determine the cause of death. Many inquest techniques might strike us today as dated and even laughable, such as when “...the examiner first inserts a cooked rice ball into the mouth of the corpse and covers it with a paper. About an hour later, the riceball is fed to a chicken. If the chicken dies, this proves that the person died of poisoning. Yet the use of a chicken was banned in 1764 because such chickens were sold to people to eat even after being used to test for poison.” (Kim & Kim, 17) With the benefit of modern science and hindsight, we might see the chicken-riceball test as ridiculous, much as we might premodern medical techniques such as trepanation or bloodletting. However, I suggest that some Chosŏn Dynasty inquest techniques can now be validated by science as effective for their intended purpose.
SILVER TO TEST FOR POISON
Coroner’s assistants rarely dismissed the possibility of poisoning as a cause of death. Inquest records show that during the examinations of those who were stabbed, beaten, and drowned, a silver hairpin was used to rule out fatal poisoning (Kim & Kim, 29, 51, 57). The coroner’s assistant would insert the silver hairpin deep into the mouth or anus of a corpse, and then observe the color of the silver. If the silver turned black, this indicated poisoning. Today, we call this transformation of silver "tarnishing." To understand tarnishing from a scientific perspective, let us imagine silver metal at an atomic scale (Figure 2). Each silver atom holds one of its electrons very loosely, which it is happy to part with. These electrons forsaken by the silver atoms move freely within the entire metal lattice, acting like a glue that holds the silver atoms together.2 (Figure 2). While the silver atoms are quite content this way, they are also interested in sharing their extra electron with a partner rather than letting it run rampant with all the other electrons. Sulfur is an ideal partner. Instead of trying to get rid of an electron like silver, sulfur atoms want to gain two more electrons in order to complete their collection of eight electrons (Figure 3). To satisfy all parties involved, two silver atoms, each donating one electron to a sulfur atom to form a bond, fulfilling sulfur’s need to collect eight electrons (Figure 4). The resulting bond between two silver atoms and one sulfur atom is called silver sulfide (Ag₂S) and can accumulate on the surface of silver objects as tarnish3. (Figure 5). The tarnish that accumulates absorbs light differently than metallic silver, and we perceive it as being darker in color (Figure 6).
Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements on Earth.4 It can be mined as ore in the earth's crust, inhaled as one of the most voluminous gasses emitted from volcanic eruptions, and found in almost every living organism as a component of vital proteins45 These sulfurous proteins release hydrogen sulfide gas when heated, as when making a hard-boiled egg.6 (Figure 6). Sulfur is also a key constituent of the poisonous arsenic sulfide (AgxSy) family of compounds, which vary in the amounts of arsenic and sulfur7.
During the Chosŏn Dynasy, arsenic sulfide was extracted from refining ores and consumed as part of sayak, a poisonous cocktail.189 This was a popular method of murder and suicide amongst yangban, as the body of the victim remained whole and therefore able to receive a proper burial according to Confucian ritual norms.810 Being that arsenic sulfide poisonings were common during the Chosŏn Dynasty, it is not surprising that almost every autopsy involved the silver hairpin test.1 Some sources even suggest that Chosŏn kings ate with silver utensils to test for poisoned food.11
Three forensic scientists Yun Sik Nam Sung-Ok Won and Kang-Bong Lee tested the scientific basis of the silver hairpin test. A rat was injected with arsenic sulfide and died a day later, with the symptoms of poisoning confirmed by histological analysis of the rat’s liver. A piece of silver was then placed in the mouth of the poisoned mouse and compared with a control mouse. After about an hour the difference between the silver pieces was significant, with the poisoned mouse tarnishing the silver to a dark blue color, and the control mouse having no effect on the silver.9 This experiment was the first to confirm the efficacy of the silver hairpin test for poison. Although the silver-hairpin test works for arsenic sulfide poisoning, there is no evidence of silver tarnishing in response to poisons that lack sulfur.
VINEGAR TO VISUALIZE BLOOD
As described in inquest records, coroners assistants of the Chosŏn Dynasty utilized vinegar to aid in the visualization of blood on both corpses and weapons:19 "The examination of the body began with observation of the corpse in its dry condition. After that, the inquest officials washed the corpse and used various “inquest materials” (pŏmmul), such as lees and vinegar, which were sprinkled over the body as aids to make injuries more visible (Kim & Kim pg. 16)."
Red blood cells are filled with the protein hemoglobin, which is able to capture oxygen and carbon dioxide, and then release the gases where our bodies need.12 When the iron-containing hemoglobin proteins react with an acid, a highly pigmented, dark brown form of heme called acid hematin is produced.13 This transformation of hemoglobin into acid hematin is the basis of using vinegar to visualize blood. When sprayed with acidic vinegar, blood darkens in color and becomes visible, revealing bruises and blood spots not previously visible. An interesting, more modern application of this phenomenon is Sahli’s method for hemoglobin estimation, developed by Hermann Sahli in 1933 (Figure 7).1314 Blood could be added to a glass tube within a device called a hemoglobinometer, and mixed with hydrochloric acid to form acid hematin. The darkly pigmented acid hematin could then be diluted until it matches the color of brown glass planes in the device. Because the color of the solution corresponds with the concentration of hemoglobin, the volume of the diluted blood could be used to calculate hemoglobin concentration.13
Forensic scientists Yun Sik Nam, Sung-Ok Won, and Kang-Bong Lee also experimented with the efficacy of vinegar to reveal blood. They replicated a method from a reference book on forensic investigation written in 1440 C.E. The book, used in Chosŏn Korea, describes how to reveal trace amounts of blood on a washed murder weapon with vinegar.9 The investigators added several drops of cow’s blood to a kitchen knife and then washed it with distilled water until it was no longer visible. They then heated the knife for one minute in a charcoal firepot, and sprayed the weapon with a 15% vinegar solution, as described in the forensic reference book. To their amazement, the brownish-red color of acid hematin became visible, and the bloodstains on the knife were revealed!9 These results were not observed with a control knife. Using vinegar in this way is very similar to the usage of luminol and other fluorescent compounds in modern forensics. Luminol reacts with hemoglobin, just like vinegar, but instead of turning brown like acid hematin, luminol fluoresces blue to appear like a glowstick (Figure 8)1516. The fluorescence can be easily observed for about a minute under dark conditions. Thanks to science and the experiments of forensic scientists, I can argue that the usage of silver and vinegar by coroners assistants of the Chosŏn Dynasty was sound and efficacious.
