Explainer | How Chinese ritual uses hot oil to determine person’s guilt by reaction to boiling lube
Ancient method of deciding guilt or innocence appears to be blatant superstition in action, but wise shaman adds dash of natural justice
In ancient China, a special method of divine judgment known as the “oil-scooping ritual” served to make final rulings in cases of theft or debt disputes.
The unusual legal tool was used when evidence was insufficient or inconclusive.
At the time, forensic science was underdeveloped and people lacked the knowledge to uncover the truth, often appealing to the gods to distinguish right from wrong.
One such practice was the “Boiling Scoop Judgement”, known in Chinese as Lao You Guo.
This was particularly prevalent among the Yi ethnic minority, who mostly live in rural areas of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southwestern China.