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In all corpse examinations, one must not rely on or trust ordinary passersby. It is necessary to have the body washed clean with wine and vinegar, and then examined carefully. If the person died by burning, there will be ash in the mouth; if drowned, the abdomen will be swollen with water inside. If suffocated by covering the mouth and nose with clothing or wet paper, the abdomen will be dry and distended. If strangled by another, the rope around the neck will cross over itself, and the fingernails may show scratches from struggling. If suicide by hanging, the knot at the back of the head forms a figure-eight shape, and the rope does not cross. If the rope is below the throat, the tongue protrudes; if above the throat, the tongue does not protrude; this point requires detailed distinction. For other fatal injuries caused by trauma, there is little room for doubt. If doubts exist, arrest the suspect first. Failure to catch the thief results only in an official oversight. However, if someone beaten to death is disguised as dying of illness, and the true perpetrator is later caught, severe reprimand is inevitable.

When drafting examination records, do not write "skin broken with blood flowing." Generally, when skin is broken, blood flows; it should be written as "skin slightly damaged with blood flowing."

When identifying the fatal wound, even if small, the measurements should be slightly expanded. If bone fracture is found within the identified fatal wound, state that the bone is not fractured; do not add comments like "though the bone is unbroken, the injury is severe." (If the weapon has not yet been recovered, descriptions must not be altered in slightest detail, lest discrepancies arise when the weapon is later produced.)

When there are many wounds, designate only one as the vital fatal injury.

In cases of group beating, it is most difficult to determine the fatal wound. If there are two wounds on the deceased's body, both potentially fatal: if inflicted by one person, it poses no issue; if inflicted by two people, one pays with their life while the other does not. One must weigh the two wounds and identify the more severe one as the cause of death.

Officials on duty should refrain from meddling in external affairs. Only in matters of corpse examination, if there are significant difficulties, one must widely gather intelligence to verify facts, thereby minimizing errors. For example, if death occurs within the timeframe of a brawl and wounds are unclear; or if the deceased showed signs of illness and had sought treatment from doctors or shamans, death was likely due to disease. Without such inquiries, these factors would remain unknown. Although intelligence gathering is necessary, one must not rely on a single source, nor blindly trust informants; otherwise, it leads to self-deception.

Perpetrators of violence must not accept bribes or false confessions from others; they should be detained and transferred uniformly. Only after they arrive at the county office and confess should other related parties be summoned. This prevents subordinates from fabricating issues and harassing the public.

After initial and secondary examinations, relatives (blood kin), local heads (Qizheng), and neighbors must be required to sign guarantees to guard the corpse. The corpse must not be arbitrarily transported to the government office, which would merely harass the family. Only the perpetrator and relevant witnesses need to be transferred. If the prison authorities require persons, they will summon them directly.

After examination and review, if the true circumstances of the assault are discovered through investigation but cannot be included in official documents, these details should be reported verbally to the superior officer so they understand the nuances, facilitating easier interrogation.

In recent years, circuit judges (Tidian Xingsi) have issued directives to assign one official among those conducting initial and secondary examinations to also conduct investigations. Investigating officials must first assemble neighbors and guarantors for repeated questioning. If accounts align, combine the testimonies; if there are discrepancies, require separate statements. Alternatively, compel the perpetrator to provide a general confession, submitting all documents to the county and the circuit judge. The county prison uses these for trial and verification, while the circuit judge uses them for detailed review. Any minor inconsistencies result in heavy punishment. Since clerks lack coercive power and neighbors often flee in panic, relying solely on the words of clerks introduces bias. Thorough investigation is essential to ensure consistent findings. One must not trust the word of one or two individuals, nor submit just two or three sheets of testimony to shirk responsibility. Moreover, illiterate individuals often have clerks write for them; some neighbor-witnesses may be relatives of the perpetrator or secretly bribed to cooperate. Such situations must be scrutinized.

Accompanying clerks and involved personnel often exploit neighbors, warning them in advance to flee, and instead arresting distant neighbors, elderly people, women, or minors to fulfill quotas. (If such persons must be used, their testimonies must be cross-examined; they cannot be taken as absolute truth, requiring careful judgment.) Furthermore, perpetrators may hide key direct witnesses to prevent damaging testimony, substituting them with close associates, landlords, or tenants who provide fabricated evidence. These tactics must be recognized.

Recalcitrant prisoners often refuse to sign or fingerprint the designated "perpetrator" section in the examination form. Corrupt clerks, having accepted bribes, may instruct them to use alternative names or claim they were falsely implicated or merely connected, attempting to manipulate the case outcome. Recently, Song Ci, the Circuit Judge of Jiangxi, revised the form, adding a category for "detained persons." If guilt is undetermined, reluctantly allow them to fill in the lower section. If guilt is certain, strictly require them to sign under the "primary perpetrator" heading. Do not tolerate deceit or compliance; the examiner must maintain firm judgment.