A thirteenth-century Chinese judge used blowflies to solve a murder involving a sickle
A 13th-century Chinese forensic manual describes how a judge solved a murder by observing which sickle attracted a swarm of blowflies, centuries before Western entomology.
Song Ci, a justice official during the Song Dynasty, authored the 'Xi Yuan Lu' (Washing Away of Wrongs) in 1248, the world's first systematic guide to forensic investigation. In one famous case, he identified a killer by ordering every villager to lay down their sickles; although the blades appeared clean, blowflies were attracted to the microscopic traces of blood on only one tool, forcing a confession.
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