"Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee"

In honor of "Detectives Around the World" week at Jen's Book Blog, our featured mystery this week stars a detective from halfway around the world - and nearly 1400 years back in time. The detective is Judge Dee, a real figure who lived during the T'ang Dynasty in imperial China during the seventh century.

Judge Dee became the central figure in a series of novels written by Robert Van Gulik. But his first appearance was in Van Gulik's book "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee," which is actually a translation of an eighteenth-century Chinese detective novel. Van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat and Orientalist, translated this marvelous mystery and provided extensive notes and an introduction which explained a great deal about Chinese detective stories and about life in seventh-century China itself. Van Gulik also issued a challenge in his book to other authors, who might be intrigued by Judge Dee, to write some "new" mysteries in the same style. When nobody took him up on his challenge, Van Gulik himself wrote 14 more novels and ten short stories featuring the Judge and his assistants.

In "Celebrated Cases," Judge Dee must solve three unrelated mysteries in his district. There is a double murder among some traveling merchants; an old murder case is reopened; and a young bride is poisoned on her wedding night. The judge and his assistants must use every technique, from deduction and observation to dream analysis, to solve the mysteries. You can listen to a full review on the podcast. The judge - district magistrate, really - was the central figure of ancient Chinese authority in every village, referred to as the "father-and-mother official" because of his critical role in everyday life. Van Gulik - and the anonymous author of the original Chinese novel - provide an overwhelming sense of what that everyday life might have been like. In all the books, including this one, Van Gulik was careful to provide an overview of what Chinese society was like in imperial China, which, for me, adds to the fascination of the Judge Dee books.

A word about Detectives Around the World week: Jen Forbus, at Jen's Book Blog, has invited a number of bloggers to contribute posts this week about authors and their detectives who operate in different places all around the world. In Judge Dee's case, he also works in a different age. But he - and the other detectives you will meet at the link - clearly demonstrate the importance of the setting an author chooses to use for his/her characters. I'll have more to say about Judge Dee, Robert Van Gulik, and the settings of these marvelous mysteries later this week.

Comments

[Jen Forbus]

This is absolutely fascinating. While I enjoy my American crime fiction, I'm often blown away when I have the chance to see another culture, another land, and in this case even another time period. This is a fabulous addition to the theme week, Les. Thank you so much for providing it!

[Beth F]

Wow! This is a totally new to me series. I can't wait to read your settings post.

[Les Blatt]

Thanks, Beth. My settings post on "Judge Dee and Imperial China" will be up here Wednesday morning. It's a wonderful series, and the setting is integral. Most of the books are in print and available, which is good - it's one of the more unusual mystery series.

[bermudaonion (Kathy)]

This does sound fascinating!