Robert Van Gulik went on to write an entire series surrounding the character of Judge Dee and though this book is merely a translation, it’s sequels were entirely Van Gulik’s creation (all seventeen of them). Then Robert Van Gulik decided to translate it into English for a western audience in the 1940s, believing it to be one of the most accessible tales in the Chinese detective genre. During the 18th century in China, an unknown author, probably a retired magistrate himself, penned this book, describing three of the complex murder cases of Judge Dee. During the Tang Dynasty in China, a man named Dee Gong An (630-700 AD) was a renowned magistrate (whose job encompassed detective, police, jury, and judge) and later state politician in China.
Van Gulik has provided a thorough introduction and appendix with much information on Chinese detective novels, the Chinese system of justice, and particularly relevant aspects of Chinese law that play a part in these stories.Before I actually review this book, I feel it warrants some explanation of three different times which attributed to this book.
As the first publication of Dee Goong An in the United States, this edition makes these cases accessible for the first time.While the cases are superb for reading, they also show the Chinese system of law enforcement and legal proceedings (which are quite different from Western forms). This, however is the only place where you can find the originals of Judge Dee, the venerable Sergeant Hoong, the treacherous Ma Joong, and the other members of Dee's detective force. They take Judge Dee up and down the great silk routes, through clever disguises, into ancient graveyards where he consults the spirits of the dead, and through some clever deduction.After translating Dee Goong An, Robert Van Gulik continued the adventures of Judge Dee in fiction he wrote himself. A double murder among traveling merchants, the fatal poisoning of a bride on her wedding night, and an unsolved murder in a small town under Judge Dee's jurisdiction - these are the crimes. This book, written in the eighteenth century by a person well versed in the Chinese legal code, chronicles three of Judge Dee's most celebrated cases, interwoven to form a novel.
As fathers to the people they were at once judge and detective, responsible for all aspects of keeping the peace and for discovering, capturing, and punishing criminals.One of the most celebrated historical magistrates was Judge Dee, who lived in the seventh century A.D. Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.īook Description Paperback. Van Gulik has provided a thorough introduction and appendix with much information on Chinese detective novels, the Chinese system of justice, and particularly relevant aspects of Chinese law that play a part in these stories. While the cases are superb for reading, they also show the Chinese system of law enforcement and legal proceedings (which are quite different from Western forms). As the first publication of Dee Goong An in the United States, this edition makes these cases accessible for the first time. They take Judge Dee up and down the great silk routes, through clever disguises, into ancient graveyards where he consults the spirits of the dead, and through some clever deduction.Īfter translating Dee Goong An, Robert Van Gulik continued the adventures of Judge Dee in fiction he wrote himself. One of the most celebrated historical magistrates was Judge Dee, who lived in the seventh century A.D. As "fathers to the people" they were at once judge and detective, responsible for all aspects of keeping the peace and for discovering, capturing, and punishing criminals.
0 kommentar(er)
