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Preface
In the TV series, all important contracts need to be drawn by the parties according to their fingerprints, but there was no fingerprint recognition system in ancient times, so why should they draw a deposit?
In fact, the ancients have long had fingerprint recognition technology, but it is different from our current operation.
Fingerprint recognition
In 1975, the national archaeological team excavated 12 tombs from the end of the Warring States period to the Qin Dynasty in Sleeping Tiger Land, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, and also found a large number of bamboo slips, which recorded many legal documents, criminal investigation methods and other materials at that time.
The archaeological team was surprised to find that in the process of solving criminal cases at that time, fingerprints have become an indispensable part of it, and the clever ancients actually discovered the uniqueness of fingerprints 2,200 years ago!
At the same time, there is a "cave thief" in the book "Sealed Diagnosis", which details the whole process of solving a theft case, from the initial report to the investigation and interrogation, every detail is carefully recorded.
"There are handwritings on the soil inside and outside the hole, and there are six places for each of the hands and hands."
This sentence explains that six knees and hand marks were found on the soil in the house, in the cave, and at the entrance of the cave.
This is a 2,200-year-old written record! By the Song Dynasty, handprints had been widely used in criminal proceedings.
The use of fingerprints
A fraud case is recorded in the History of the Song Dynasty and the Biography of Yuan Jiang, in which the use of handprints is reflected, and it can be seen from the records that the handprints at this time have become official physical evidence in criminal proceedings.
It is recorded in the book that there was a wealthy businessman named Long Yu at that time, who won Zhou Cheng by tricks, and Zhou Cheng could only take out the best land in his family to pay off his gambling debts.
Later, this matter was discovered by Zhou Quan's mother, and in a fit of anger, Zhou Quan's mother sued Long Yu to the Yamen, but the state and county officials at that time did not take the matter seriously, and it was not until the new prefect Yuan Chuan took office that Zhou Quan's mother reported again, and the case was not taken seriously.
After investigation, although the handwriting note on Long Yu's hand had Zhou Cheng's mother's handprint, it happened without the knowledge of the parties, so Yuan Zhen finally ruled that the handwriting note held by Long Yu was invalid, and Shangzhuan needed to return Zhou Cheng's mother.
In the feudal period, most of the common people had never read a book, and they did not understand how to write the name of their own name for most of their lives.
And the mudra is a perfect solution to this social problem.
The government has the fingerprints of all people within its jurisdiction, and when it is necessary to verify who a fingerprint is, the government can tell who the owner of the fingerprint is by observing the bifurcation point, the center point of the fingerprint, the triangular point, etc.
In ancient times, confidential documents involving the confidentiality of information would also be stamped with handprints to show credibility, especially on the confessions of prisoners, and fingerprints were an indispensable link.
This scene has been presented in many costume TV series, if the person concerned does not admit what he said afterwards, the testimony with the fingerprint has become a powerful evidence, and the legitimacy cannot be denied!
In the 15th episode of the costume TV series "Menghualu", Yu Zhongquan wanted to use Zhao Paner's hand to frame Gu Qianfan for the crime of collaborating with the enemy, and forced Zhao Paner to suppress his handprint.
Fortunately, Zhao Paner is not an ordinary character with a simple mind and no knowledge, the bold and careful Zhao Paner noticed something strange and quietly replaced the so-called collaborator document, which saved Gu Qianfan from a catastrophe.
The way fingerprints are drawn
The first is the most formal, in the presence of the government, in which the prisoner and the competent official sign and put their fingerprints on the written document at the same time as evidence of guilt.
This method of operation is mostly used in major cases or major rulings, and it is also to ensure the authenticity and effectiveness of the results.
Such documents will be stored by the scrivener in charge of the case together with other case files, and the retention period is usually not less than 10 years, so as to facilitate the later access and verification at any time.
The second method is to simply put a fingerprint on the trial result document, and the prisoner and the relevant official must press the fingerprint together to indicate that they are aware of the places that need to be confirmed in the document.
Compared with the first one, this method is much more casual, and it is commonly used in small and medium-sized cases, and the county lord can also judge the severity of the case by the position of the fingerprint.
The third type is the most rigorous, this one not only needs to press the handprint, but also needs to print the entire palm and five fingers on the document, and the palm print must be clear and rubbing.
Compared with the first one, the review conditions are much more serious, and this method is mostly used in major crimes or homicide cases, which is also a deterrent to criminals.
Other useful uses for fingerprints
The ancient handprints were also related to fortune telling, and the ancients began to study palmistry and handprints very early, but almost all the masters of this skill existed in the people, and there were very few in the government.
Although there is no professional, when there is a need, it is also a common operation of the government to ask a master to go out to the mountain to inspect and compare together.
By the Ming Dynasty, fingerprint identification technology was very mature.
Ancient culture has developed for thousands of years, and the basic cultural level and literacy rate of the people have also improved a lot, and at this time, the government has a large number of masters who study hand prints, the most famous of which has to be Di Renjie, who has repeatedly borrowed fingerprints to solve crimes.
In the Ming Dynasty, the government knew how to compare the fingerprints of prisoners through the texture characteristics of fingerprints, and quickly judge the authenticity of prisoners' identities through curved, bifurcated, circular and other characteristics.
The Ming Dynasty is the most fortunate and best dynasty in each dynasty, and in order to solve a case, the government will also ask a palmistry master to assist in handling the case.
In "Water Margin", after the prisoners were taken to prison, they were inevitably tortured to extract confessions, among which it was inevitable that they would be beaten into tricks, in order to "save trouble", no matter how much they beat the prisoners, the prisoners would be forcibly signed and detained in the confession, and then, tattooed the word "prisoner" on their foreheads and thrown to the bitter cold frontier.
In the same "Water Margin", the heroes of Liangshan were often arrested by the government and forced to put "hand models" on their verdicts, that is, they soaked their whole hands in ink, and then gently pressed them onto the paper, and after the ink dried, their complete palm prints would be left on the paper.
In 1982, a case involving the murder of a parent and child occurred in Argentina, which was the earliest recorded case of the use of fingerprints in solving a crime.
At the end of the 20s of the 20th century, Germany officially used fingerprints as criminal evidence, and foreign countries studied fingerprints several hundred years later than China.
epilogue
Today, the society has progressed, and scientific and technological means have emerged in an endless stream, but the handprint still continues to be used on many occasions, and once the handprint is printed on the document, it proves the legal validity of the document.
The crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors is not only suitable for ancient times, but also for modern times.