법의학서 《無冤錄》의 <論辨>⋅<格例>를 통해 본 전통시대 한중 재판 서사

Abstract

The essence of forensic medicine is postmortem examination. Postmortem examination is the act of examining a corpse and is classified into postmortem inspection and autopsy. The Chinese traditional era forensic medicine book Wu-Yuan-Lu contains forensic medicine knowledge focusing on postmortem examination. Wu-Yuan-Lu is a forensic medicine book and postmortem examination manual with a complete system. It had an influence even in Joseon and Japan, and a number of Wu-Yuan-Lu series were published. Forensic medicine is closely related to trial narrative, which records the litigation and trial process resulting from a crime incident. This is because when a crime incident, especially a murder case occurs, the corpse’s postmortem examination process is essential to resolve the case. Postmortem examination in the traditional era was limited to postmortem inspection, unlike modern forensic medicine. The reality of traditional era postmortem examination should not be overlooked in that it utilized scientific and rational methods at the time, focusing on existing accumulated postmortem examination knowledge and methods. In the Gong’an Novel in the Ming Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty’s precedent collection Shimnirok, the forensic medicine spirit and knowledge of Wu-Yuan-Lu is revealed, focusing on postmortem examination. In this study, based on Wu-Yuan-Lu <Lun-Bian>⋅<Ge-Li>, examined the postmortem examination principles and administrative procedures related to postmortem examination revealed in the trial narratives of Korea and China. In Gong’an Novel in the Ming Dynasty, the forensic medicine knowledge of Wu-Yuan-Lu <Lun-Bian>⋅<Ge-Li> was not strictly applied but reflected fragmentarily or indirectly. Because the story of crime and trial is told through a novel narrative method, postmortem examination principles and administrative procedures related to postmortem examination are often expressed in simple sentences or can be inferred from the context. This reveals the limitations of using forensic medicine knowledge, which was universally known at the time, only symbolically to secure the identity of Gong’an Novel. However, through the records of the postmortem examination principles described in the Gong’an Novel in the Ming Dynasty and all administrative processes related to postmortem examination, it is possible to confirm the reception pattern in the Gong’an Novel considering the general dissemination of forensic medicine knowledge at the time and the characteristics of the genre. Shimnirok is an official document written based on the sentencing of King Jeongjo as an actual event precedent. Therefore, the forensic medicine knowledge of Wu-Yuan-Lu <Lun-Bian>⋅<Ge-Li> was directly utilized during the murder case trial process. Shimnirok presents the principles of postmortem examination and administrative procedures related to postmortem examination in Joseon at the time through an overview of cases recorded in each precedent, incident reports including postmortem inspection by local officials, and King Jeongjo’s sentencing. In conclusion, traditional Chinese forensic medicine knowledge and information reveal different acceptance patterns in Korean and Chinese trial narratives. In Gong’an Novel in the Ming Dynasty, forensic medicine knowledge and information were reflected fragmentary or symbolically due to the characteristics of the genre, while Shimnirok was generally accepted as a professional precedent collection.