[Xi yuan lu (Records for Washing Away of Wrong Cases) and justice tests in the Republic of China in the context of western knowledge].

Xi yuan lu (Records for Washing Away of Wrong Cases) has become the important criterion and authority of the criminal justice tests in the proceedings of case and judicatory judgment, since it was issued royally and officially in the reign of Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. However, the Xi yuan lu and its traditional tests was subjected to strong criticism after the introduction of modern science. Especially since the May 4(th) New Culture Movement, not only the theory in the Xi yuan lu had been met with incredulity and condemned sharply through western chemical tests by the intelligentsia, but also the traditional methods of justice tests based on the book was fully criticized. Though the Xi yuan lu has fallen down from the altar, the traditional methods in the book still were used in practice in China during 1930s--1940s because the scientific system of forensic medicine was not established yet. Xi yuan lu, though fallen yet not defeated, reveals its deep-rooted life. The modern fate of the Xi yuan lu was not only the direct result of different historical conversation in the different periods of modern time, but also a true picture of modern China.