| dc.description.abstract | A Study on the Zhejiang Provincial First Normal School’s Poisoning Case
Abstract
Back to the March of 1923, an arsenic trioxide poisoning case happened in Zhejiang Provincial First Normal School. More than 200 students and staff were poisoned after they had dinner in the school’s refectory, 24 of them died after all rescue measures failed. Before this tragedy happened, the refectory affairs in First Normal School are managed by Student Self-Rule Association, the diet fund is also under the control of Self-Rule Association. One student called Yu Er-Hen was arrested as he was considered as the suspect of poisoning. Yu embezzled the funds of Self-Rule Association when he worked there as the accountant, and he was in contradiction with other students after that. Two cooks who worked in the refectory kitchen were tortured by the local police department after they were under arrest. Finally, they confessed Yu bribed them to put arsenic trioxide in the rice to poison the students and staff, it was Yu’s revenge for everyone. After three trails, four people were convicted of crimes in the court. Yu Er-Hen and the two cooks who involve in poisoning were condemned to death. Yu Zhang-Fa, who is the cousin of Er-hen, was sentenced to imprisonment because he participated in the scheme.
As this poisoning case brought heavy casualties, it attracted massive attentions from public. Moreover, as there were different controversies regarding the investigating process, many people considered the case as an injustice. By analyzing the government records and news reports of that time, I try to understand this puzzling case and its background. In addition, some students and staff of First Normal also left over written materials about the poisoning case, such as the letters and diaries of the members from First Normal’s literary groups such as “Cheng-guang She” and “Hupan Shi-she”. it gives us some special views to understand the poisoning case. | en_US |