Article ID: CBB769363646

Administration of Perception: Observing and Transcribing Dead Bodies in the Forensic Methodology of Qing China (1644–1912) (2023)

unapi

This essay examines the ways in which dead bodies were transformed by traditional Chinese forensic methodology into objects of postmortem examination during the Qing dynasty. The Qing authorities implemented various devices to standardize not only the forensic examination as an administrative procedure but also the cognitive activities involved, such as corpse observation, wound interpretation, and transcription. The essay argues that these devices, such as the official forensic manual, formalized documents, and strict norms of documenting, were constituents of a specific pattern of perception that normalized the ways in which a corpse should be regarded and understood so as to bear forensic significance. Although this pattern of perception led to a rigid vision of crimes and the consequent corporeal damage, it enabled forensic reasoning to function like an operational procedure, which presented certain advantages with regard to the particular legal culture of the Qing era.

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Authors & Contributors
Bretelle-Establet, Florence
Asen, Daniel
Chao, Yüan-ling
Guan, Zengjian
Hagendijk, Rob
Hanson, Marta E.
Journals
Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity
Korean Journal of Medical History
East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine
Science, Technology, and Human Values
NTM: Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin
Science in Context
Publishers
Routledge
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shandong jiao yu chu ban she [Shandong Education Press]
University of California Press
Concepts
Medicine, Chinese traditional
Science and law
Forensic sciences
East Asia, civilization and culture
Medicine
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
People
Longino, Helen E.
Xu, Bin
Xu, Shuwei
Time Periods
Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912)
Ming dynasty (China, 1368-1644)
17th century
19th century
20th century
21st century
Places
China
India
Europe
Japan
United States
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