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Judge Dee (Chronological order) #13
The Chinese Maze Murders
Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women lead Judge Dee to the heart of the Governor’s garden maze and the answers to three interwoven mysteries. The Chinese Maze Murders represents Robert van Gulik’s first venture into writing suspense novels after the success of Dee Gong An , his translation of an anonymous Chinese detective novel from the sixteenth century.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1951
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About the author
Robert van Gulik
160 books300 followersRobert Hans van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat best known for his Judge Dee stories. His first published book, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, was a translation of an eighteenth-century Chinese murder mystery by an unknown author; he went on to write new mysteries for Judge Dee, a character based on a historical figure from the seventh century. He also wrote academic books, mostly on Chinese history.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
June 5, 2022
On the way after a long, slow, dull journey to his new post in Lan-fang, just over the next ridge, the astute magistrate Judge Dee from the Imperial capital, Chang'an (Xi'an), has four horse drawn carts , three wives , an unknown number of children, four trusted lieutenants, drivers, servants and ten highwaymen who ambush the entourage, in a small valley from the cover of a forest, below the hills of remote northwestern China, on the border with barbarian hordes who roam across the river. These amateur bandits are no match for the authentic, former highwaymen Ma Joong , Chiao Tai and clever thief, Tao Gan all reformed, by Dee, working for the law now, the judge also does his part very well indeed, the other man Sergeant Hoong an intelligent, long serving family retainer, is too old to play. The cowardly drivers and servants had fled the tussle quickly , return afterwards only when the easy victory was apparent. The seven surviving road agents, are captured and tied up, (the three dead ones, also put in a cart for an inglorious burial ) and ready for harsh justice, by the state including a young attractive woman, the defenders received a few lumps and bruises ... Getting the gates open in the frontier town takes time, it puzzles the government officials, until they learn that a tyrant has taken over this little provincial city, in the middle of nowhere by the name of Chien Mow, with a hundred of his criminal followers. What to do? The nearest army base is three days away and the magistrate finds his Tribunal house falling apart, dust and rats live there, vital documents are in disarray... unused for many years. It seems the former, not quite honest magistrate, has hastily left before Dee's arrival, very inappropriately , a complete puppet of Chien Mow. The Judge needs more men so he pardons the robbers and makes them constables! Yes... Dark Orchard the female bandit becomes his maid (not what you're thinking, the judge is a honorable man) and spy, her father Fang, an ex- blacksmith, leader of the incompetent band ... appointed chief of his tiny police force...naturally a perfect fit in these rather dire circumstances...yet less than ideal choice some critical people would say but not I.
The nervous group had to leave the city because of the oppressive rule , army deserters also join his unconventional band ... why not ...Mysteries permeates this place like a black fog, White Orchard, Black Orchard's older sister has vanished...Pan, the magistrate eight years ago, was murdered, General Ding , retired, with a dubious reputation, was killed in a locked room, at his home, impossible to have been opened, and a disputed will, between a greedy , cold hearted son, Yoo Kee, of an illustrious former Governor Yoo, his first child, and the poor second wife, her little son, a painting by the late governor, is key to the case. And clues point to his country estate , just east of the city, with an impenetrable massive maze, ( a local legend ) many stories of wild animal lurking about there, somber shadows in the daytime, snakes and hidden secrets, deadly pools with unidentified creatures below the surface, the reluctant Dee has to investigate and not feeling too happy either . But he, must start by overthrowing the brutal tyrant and begin his duties to the Chinese Empire and the Tang Dynasty, our overwhelmed judge, learns later of a plot by the barbarians, with the help from traitors inside the walls, to attack the city ...A wonderful mystery, three in fact or more to solve, Dee I have faith in, to do it...A story beautifully written, a plot which never ceases to entertain...
The nervous group had to leave the city because of the oppressive rule , army deserters also join his unconventional band ... why not ...Mysteries permeates this place like a black fog, White Orchard, Black Orchard's older sister has vanished...Pan, the magistrate eight years ago, was murdered, General Ding , retired, with a dubious reputation, was killed in a locked room, at his home, impossible to have been opened, and a disputed will, between a greedy , cold hearted son, Yoo Kee, of an illustrious former Governor Yoo, his first child, and the poor second wife, her little son, a painting by the late governor, is key to the case. And clues point to his country estate , just east of the city, with an impenetrable massive maze, ( a local legend ) many stories of wild animal lurking about there, somber shadows in the daytime, snakes and hidden secrets, deadly pools with unidentified creatures below the surface, the reluctant Dee has to investigate and not feeling too happy either . But he, must start by overthrowing the brutal tyrant and begin his duties to the Chinese Empire and the Tang Dynasty, our overwhelmed judge, learns later of a plot by the barbarians, with the help from traitors inside the walls, to attack the city ...A wonderful mystery, three in fact or more to solve, Dee I have faith in, to do it...A story beautifully written, a plot which never ceases to entertain...
July 15, 2017
Who knew 7th century China could provide such fertile source material for mysteries? And who knew that it would take a Dutch diplomat to share the style with the West? Not me. The descriptions don't quite do it justice, and the explanation behind the stories usually add another layer of interest. In this one, Van Gulik regains some of the needed pacing and action of The Chinese Gold Murders, and had me intrigued from chapter one.
Judge Dee has a new post, a border city under periodic threat from the Uyghur tribes. His entourage feels it might be more than a bit rural and possibly a step down in prestige. Their opinion seems confirmed by the populace, who takes no notice of their new judge, leaving only an old, dissatisfied servant to welcome them to dusty and ill-used quarters. Within a day of arrival, the Judge has the story: the town is under the thumb of a thug, albeit a very rich one, who is prone to beating those who can't come up a bit of coin or free labor. A distraught father beseeches him to find his missing daughter, a son requests Judge Dee to arrest his father's would-be-murderer, and a disowned widow needs aid in recovering part of her husband's estate for her son.
Apparently, traditional stories often had multiple cases going at once--much like real life--and I enjoyed the Judge's logical and organized approach to tackling the issues he faces, as well as the shenanigans by his merry band of misfits. His loyal servants, technically 'reformed,' included a clever thief, Tao Gan, and two former highwaymen from The Chinese Gold Murders, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai.
Done in semi-traditional style and based on a legendary figure, Judge Dee, these stories feel somewhat like The Brothers Grimm starring Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Like Grimm, the story can be a bit bloody, as traditional Chinese mysteries included punishment of the villain. I'll also note that some of his stories might have a sexual fetish involved as part of a motivation; I'd have to say the Chinese must have been far more liberal about this than the English reading public.
Overall, this one regained my faith in the series after the lackluster The Chinese Maze Murders. Recommended to those in the mood for some 7th century mysteries.
Judge Dee has a new post, a border city under periodic threat from the Uyghur tribes. His entourage feels it might be more than a bit rural and possibly a step down in prestige. Their opinion seems confirmed by the populace, who takes no notice of their new judge, leaving only an old, dissatisfied servant to welcome them to dusty and ill-used quarters. Within a day of arrival, the Judge has the story: the town is under the thumb of a thug, albeit a very rich one, who is prone to beating those who can't come up a bit of coin or free labor. A distraught father beseeches him to find his missing daughter, a son requests Judge Dee to arrest his father's would-be-murderer, and a disowned widow needs aid in recovering part of her husband's estate for her son.
Apparently, traditional stories often had multiple cases going at once--much like real life--and I enjoyed the Judge's logical and organized approach to tackling the issues he faces, as well as the shenanigans by his merry band of misfits. His loyal servants, technically 'reformed,' included a clever thief, Tao Gan, and two former highwaymen from The Chinese Gold Murders, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai.
Done in semi-traditional style and based on a legendary figure, Judge Dee, these stories feel somewhat like The Brothers Grimm starring Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Like Grimm, the story can be a bit bloody, as traditional Chinese mysteries included punishment of the villain. I'll also note that some of his stories might have a sexual fetish involved as part of a motivation; I'd have to say the Chinese must have been far more liberal about this than the English reading public.
Overall, this one regained my faith in the series after the lackluster The Chinese Maze Murders. Recommended to those in the mood for some 7th century mysteries.
May 9, 2025
A wise and honest judge is Heaven’s unerring instrument. The people’s father and mother, both compassionate and stern; In his court the oppressed obtain redress of all their wrongs. No criminal there escapes, despite base fraud and guile.
I can only wish modern day judges were as impartial and principled as this ancient Chinese magistrate. This is my first foray into the series, although it is the second book published and the 13th out of 17 in chronological order. These observations are irrelevant to the actual story which can be read as a stand-alone adventure - mystery - puzzlebox.
Similarly, the historical context that mixes the original source material from the Tang dynasty (7th century) with social and cultural anchoring in the Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries) is only important to academics and less to readers who only want a good mystery. As to why I have chosen to start my journey here, this is the first original Van Gulik story, after he translated the Chinese book about Judge Dee that he found in an old bookstore in Tokyo (Dee Goong An).
>>><<<>>><<<
Judge Dee is appointed to take charge of Lan-Fang, a border city on the Western desert, under threat from a Mongolian invasion. The first pleasant surprise for me is that the story starts with a bang, as the official caravan is attacked by bandits on a forest road close to Lan-Fang, and that Judge Dee is quite handy with a sword despite his age, participating in the defence of his family and goods alongside his lieutenants.
The arrival in the border town enhances the sense of danger and of mystery, as the judge and his party finds that his predecessor has run away instead of greeting him and that the gates of the court room are locked. Lan Fang has been occupied by a local bandit who has gathered an army of cutthroats and army deserters to terrorize the locals and to collect protection money.
The way judge Dee uses the scant resources available to him, relying on psychological mind games and devious tactics that he compares to a chess game, made me an early supporter of his cause and of his skills. His first day in open court, after subduing the bandits, also showcased the quickness of his mind in spotting a fraudulent claim (the case of the three monks and their stolen statue)
Which bring me and Dee to the meat of the novel: three interconnected cases that the judge and his lieutenants must investigate properly, before the culprits can be brought to court. I think this is the most important distinction we need to underline to a Western audience: the magistrate at the time was also the chief investigator of crime, the executioner of the sentence as well as town administrator. Judge Dee examines clues, interrogates witnesses and can even order torture as he follows the leads.
I am greatly intrigued, on the other hand, by two most interesting problems, namely the ambiguous last will of old Governor Yoo, and the murder of General Ding that was announced in advance.
Governor Yoo was a well respected official who left behind a contested will between his older son from a previous marriage and a younger wife and minor child. The most important clue is a landscape painting, presumed to contain a hidden message, now in possession of the widow. Governor Yoo has also built a complicated maze at his mansion outside Lan-Fang city walls, the place that gives the title of the novel.
General Ding has retreated to Lan-Fang in disgrace, after he lost an important battle that has seen most of the troops under his command slaughtered. His son comes to judge Dee on his first day in town to warn of the impending death of Ding. The general is soon found dead inside his ‘panic room’ , a locked library chamber where he retreated after an anniversary dinner. Chinese poetry and sugared plums will be the only clues available to the judge.
A third case is the disappearance of a beautiful young girl, later found without a head. The clues here are a bunch of love letters and a local painter with a poor alibi.
It is my duty to warn you, however, that I keep an open mind as to the portent of its secret message. It may either be in your favour or prove that you have been guilty of the crime of adultery. In either case I shall take appropriate steps and justice shall take its course.
All three investigations are undertaken simultaneously, mostly by the lieutenants of the judge after he personally inspects the crime scenes and interviews the witnesses. A complicating factor that adds urgency to the proceedings is the presence of a secret agent that pulls the strings from the shadows and wants to bring a Mongol army to sack the town in order to cover his tracks.
But he will be no match to the intellect of Judge Dee.
>>><<<>>><<<
... in this particular case mercy shall prevail over justice.
I found some answers myself about the immersive and convincing setting of the story: Robert van Gulik really knows his stuff – starting with Chinese jurisprudence, literature and painting. The afterword points to the archival sources of all the cases he assigned to Judge Dee. I understand all the illustrations and the fictional town map are drawn by the author. For me, the work ethics of Judge Dee and the cultural references were the most intriguing. They are also explained in the afterword, where the lines of poetry found at the crime scenes and a visit to a recluse named Master Crane Robe are put in context.
“The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon.”
What was better than a quiet life in peaceful retirement, devoting himself to reading and writing and giving full attention to the education of his children? What was the use of spending his every waking hour on all the wickedness and the sordid schemes of criminal minds, while life had so many good and beautiful things to offer?
I don’t think it can be considered a spoiler to add these van Gulik revelations, since they refer more to the personality of judge Dee than to his actual investigations:
Judge Dee, as an orthodox Confucianist scholar-official, venerates the Confucianist Classics which attach supreme importance to such accepted moral values as justice, righteousness, benevolence, duty, etc. Master Crane Robe, on the other hand, advocates the Taoist principle of the relativity of all accepted values, in complete harmony with the primordial forces of nature.
I plan to read more books in the series: they are compact, fast-paced and informative. Lots of local colour that reminds me I’ve been promising myself for years to pick up a comprehensive and clear history of China that will help me understand better this ancient cultural space.
Recommended additional reading:
- Guy Gavriel Kay has several beautiful historical romances set in ancient China
- I. J. Parker has a similar historical mystery series focused on Sugawara Akitada, an official at the ministry of justice in eleventh century Japan. She was probably inspired by van Gulik.
I can only wish modern day judges were as impartial and principled as this ancient Chinese magistrate. This is my first foray into the series, although it is the second book published and the 13th out of 17 in chronological order. These observations are irrelevant to the actual story which can be read as a stand-alone adventure - mystery - puzzlebox.
Similarly, the historical context that mixes the original source material from the Tang dynasty (7th century) with social and cultural anchoring in the Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries) is only important to academics and less to readers who only want a good mystery. As to why I have chosen to start my journey here, this is the first original Van Gulik story, after he translated the Chinese book about Judge Dee that he found in an old bookstore in Tokyo (Dee Goong An).
>>><<<>>><<<
Judge Dee is appointed to take charge of Lan-Fang, a border city on the Western desert, under threat from a Mongolian invasion. The first pleasant surprise for me is that the story starts with a bang, as the official caravan is attacked by bandits on a forest road close to Lan-Fang, and that Judge Dee is quite handy with a sword despite his age, participating in the defence of his family and goods alongside his lieutenants.
The arrival in the border town enhances the sense of danger and of mystery, as the judge and his party finds that his predecessor has run away instead of greeting him and that the gates of the court room are locked. Lan Fang has been occupied by a local bandit who has gathered an army of cutthroats and army deserters to terrorize the locals and to collect protection money.
The way judge Dee uses the scant resources available to him, relying on psychological mind games and devious tactics that he compares to a chess game, made me an early supporter of his cause and of his skills. His first day in open court, after subduing the bandits, also showcased the quickness of his mind in spotting a fraudulent claim (the case of the three monks and their stolen statue)
Which bring me and Dee to the meat of the novel: three interconnected cases that the judge and his lieutenants must investigate properly, before the culprits can be brought to court. I think this is the most important distinction we need to underline to a Western audience: the magistrate at the time was also the chief investigator of crime, the executioner of the sentence as well as town administrator. Judge Dee examines clues, interrogates witnesses and can even order torture as he follows the leads.
I am greatly intrigued, on the other hand, by two most interesting problems, namely the ambiguous last will of old Governor Yoo, and the murder of General Ding that was announced in advance.
Governor Yoo was a well respected official who left behind a contested will between his older son from a previous marriage and a younger wife and minor child. The most important clue is a landscape painting, presumed to contain a hidden message, now in possession of the widow. Governor Yoo has also built a complicated maze at his mansion outside Lan-Fang city walls, the place that gives the title of the novel.
General Ding has retreated to Lan-Fang in disgrace, after he lost an important battle that has seen most of the troops under his command slaughtered. His son comes to judge Dee on his first day in town to warn of the impending death of Ding. The general is soon found dead inside his ‘panic room’ , a locked library chamber where he retreated after an anniversary dinner. Chinese poetry and sugared plums will be the only clues available to the judge.
A third case is the disappearance of a beautiful young girl, later found without a head. The clues here are a bunch of love letters and a local painter with a poor alibi.
It is my duty to warn you, however, that I keep an open mind as to the portent of its secret message. It may either be in your favour or prove that you have been guilty of the crime of adultery. In either case I shall take appropriate steps and justice shall take its course.
All three investigations are undertaken simultaneously, mostly by the lieutenants of the judge after he personally inspects the crime scenes and interviews the witnesses. A complicating factor that adds urgency to the proceedings is the presence of a secret agent that pulls the strings from the shadows and wants to bring a Mongol army to sack the town in order to cover his tracks.
But he will be no match to the intellect of Judge Dee.
>>><<<>>><<<
... in this particular case mercy shall prevail over justice.
I found some answers myself about the immersive and convincing setting of the story: Robert van Gulik really knows his stuff – starting with Chinese jurisprudence, literature and painting. The afterword points to the archival sources of all the cases he assigned to Judge Dee. I understand all the illustrations and the fictional town map are drawn by the author. For me, the work ethics of Judge Dee and the cultural references were the most intriguing. They are also explained in the afterword, where the lines of poetry found at the crime scenes and a visit to a recluse named Master Crane Robe are put in context.
“The willow trees borrow their shape from the spring breeze; the rippling waves derive their grace from the autumn moon.”
What was better than a quiet life in peaceful retirement, devoting himself to reading and writing and giving full attention to the education of his children? What was the use of spending his every waking hour on all the wickedness and the sordid schemes of criminal minds, while life had so many good and beautiful things to offer?
I don’t think it can be considered a spoiler to add these van Gulik revelations, since they refer more to the personality of judge Dee than to his actual investigations:
Judge Dee, as an orthodox Confucianist scholar-official, venerates the Confucianist Classics which attach supreme importance to such accepted moral values as justice, righteousness, benevolence, duty, etc. Master Crane Robe, on the other hand, advocates the Taoist principle of the relativity of all accepted values, in complete harmony with the primordial forces of nature.
I plan to read more books in the series: they are compact, fast-paced and informative. Lots of local colour that reminds me I’ve been promising myself for years to pick up a comprehensive and clear history of China that will help me understand better this ancient cultural space.
Recommended additional reading:
- Guy Gavriel Kay has several beautiful historical romances set in ancient China
- I. J. Parker has a similar historical mystery series focused on Sugawara Akitada, an official at the ministry of justice in eleventh century Japan. She was probably inspired by van Gulik.
October 16, 2015
This is a brilliant book set during Tang dynasty China. Making use of various traditional Chinese methods of telling crime stories, Robert van Gulik has created a story that is similar to traditional Chinese murder mystery stories. Written in English by a Dutch diplomat for translation into Chinese and Japanese, which is unique in itself, this book is proper historical fiction of the best kind. It depicts Judge Dee, based on a real and most interesting person called Di Renjie, who was a magistrate in Tang China and who even served the infamous Empress Wu as a Chancellor.
The book starts off with Judge Dee, his family and his servants, all moving from the Imperial Capital to an outlying border town, where there is a constant threat of attacks from Uyghur tribes. They also discover that the city is too quiet and a faux ruler installed in place of a regular official. In addition to these background problems, Judge Dee is also confronted with an ancient murder case, a fresh murder case, a kidnapping case as well as an inheritance case. In typical Chinese storytelling tradition, Gulik has explored all these different threads to the tale and weaved them into a single narrative without it appearing disjointed.
The depictions of Chinese life in this period appear authentic, and the characters are all very interesting. The way the book is written, it is impossible to get bored with an aspect of the story because multiple things keep happening at the same time and you can just switch your attention to a more appealing plot. It must have taken incredible talent and skill to write in this manner without messing things up! I really enjoyed this book, and will definitely be devouring all other books by this author!
The book starts off with Judge Dee, his family and his servants, all moving from the Imperial Capital to an outlying border town, where there is a constant threat of attacks from Uyghur tribes. They also discover that the city is too quiet and a faux ruler installed in place of a regular official. In addition to these background problems, Judge Dee is also confronted with an ancient murder case, a fresh murder case, a kidnapping case as well as an inheritance case. In typical Chinese storytelling tradition, Gulik has explored all these different threads to the tale and weaved them into a single narrative without it appearing disjointed.
The depictions of Chinese life in this period appear authentic, and the characters are all very interesting. The way the book is written, it is impossible to get bored with an aspect of the story because multiple things keep happening at the same time and you can just switch your attention to a more appealing plot. It must have taken incredible talent and skill to write in this manner without messing things up! I really enjoyed this book, and will definitely be devouring all other books by this author!
September 7, 2023
Jāatzīst, ka man nav nekādu priekšzināšanu, lai saprastu, cik tuvu vai tālu no reālā ir te attēlotā Senās Ķīnas vide, bet tā likās spilgta un ticama (tādā vārda nozīmē, ka tā kaut kad kaut kur varēja būt). Noziegumu risināšanā man patika, ka ir vairāki vienlaicīgi risināmi noziegumi, jo dzīvē jau arī nav tā, ka ja viens kādu nomušī, visi citi godīgi gaida rindiņā un pārtrauc savu noziedzīgo darbību, lai izmeklētājam būtu laiks to risināt. Un no sevišķi vērtīgā pēcvārda uzzināju, ka vispār klasiskajā ķīniešu literatūrā, ko van Guliks mēģinājis atdarināt un pārcelt rietumniekiem saprotamu, tā arī rakstīja, par vairākiem noziegumiem uzreiz. Neteikšu, ka tiesnesi Di līdz galam sapratu un viņam jutu līdzi, bet viņš ir tieši tāds, kādu iedomājos filozofējošu seno ķīnieti, tātad viss ir labi.
February 12, 2014
I had read this before--decades ago as a teen and can't say even after reading it again I could say I remembered it--which is a point against it. It's a historical mystery set in China's Tang Dynasty around 700 AD and featuring Judge Dee. He's a historical figure with the kind of legendary reputation of a Sherlock Holmes as a detective. The plot is clever that way--worthy of a Conan Doyle, if not with the memorable and jaw-dropping quality of Christie. The style is rather clunky. Robert van Gulik first wrote this in Chinese for Asian audiences, then translated it into English--actually to facilitate it being translated into Japanese before ever thinking to put this before a Western audience. He was a Dutch diplomat and English would not have been his first language--not sure if that factors in. His recurring characters are likeable if not complex.
Yet despite that I'm fond of this novel and the series--enough to give it four stars. These are clever and satisfying mysteries but for me what makes these novels special is the setting. Van Gulik obviously knew and loved China and its history and culture. He served as a diplomat there and had translated classic Chinese literature. His purpose in writing The Chinese Maze Murders according to his forward was to create a mystery novel along the lines of classic Chinese mysteries that would appeal both to contemporary Asians and Westerners and I loved the result. One of the major differences between that model and the Western sort of mystery is that instead of one central mystery, Dee has three cases that are woven into the plot, and this allows us to roam among all classes of Chinese society of the time. Mind you, the story is deliberately anachronistic. Like his models, Van Gulik frames the story as being told by a man of the Ming Dynasty almost a thousand years later, and the details Van Gulik warns us are of that time, not of the time it is set. Regardless, Van Gulik's novel and series has the quality of the best historical fiction: Judge Dee and the people surrounding him feel very much of their own place and time--not our own. That's a lot of the fascination. And yet sometimes it seems startingly modern in unexpected ways. That's part of the fascination too.
Yet despite that I'm fond of this novel and the series--enough to give it four stars. These are clever and satisfying mysteries but for me what makes these novels special is the setting. Van Gulik obviously knew and loved China and its history and culture. He served as a diplomat there and had translated classic Chinese literature. His purpose in writing The Chinese Maze Murders according to his forward was to create a mystery novel along the lines of classic Chinese mysteries that would appeal both to contemporary Asians and Westerners and I loved the result. One of the major differences between that model and the Western sort of mystery is that instead of one central mystery, Dee has three cases that are woven into the plot, and this allows us to roam among all classes of Chinese society of the time. Mind you, the story is deliberately anachronistic. Like his models, Van Gulik frames the story as being told by a man of the Ming Dynasty almost a thousand years later, and the details Van Gulik warns us are of that time, not of the time it is set. Regardless, Van Gulik's novel and series has the quality of the best historical fiction: Judge Dee and the people surrounding him feel very much of their own place and time--not our own. That's a lot of the fascination. And yet sometimes it seems startingly modern in unexpected ways. That's part of the fascination too.
February 22, 2019
You really do feel that you are learning a lot about the ancient Chinese culture with this series. There are several inertwined stories all solved by Magistrate Dee. Very enjoyable.
September 26, 2016
The Chinese Maze Murders is my absolute favourite in the Judge Dee series, which spans 17 books in all - including Van Gulik's original translation of Dee Gong An and two short story-collections. Some of these (short) stories were reworked into graphic novels by Van Gulik and graphic artist Frits Kloezeman, to be published in Het Utrechtsch Nieuwsblad and other Dutch papers from 1964-1985.
I have been reading and re-reading these books since I was about ten years of age. History, fiction and mystery are neatly combined into detective stories that follow the typical pattern in Chinese detective fiction of the Magistrate solving various cases - which may be interconnected, but not always are - simultaneously. In the Maze Murders, tying in character background with the plot (specifically, one of Dee's lieutenants, Chiao Tai) makes for a very compelling read.
The case of the murder in the locked room is a classic, often used in detective fiction, and given a fresh spin (if one can speak of "fresh" in the case of a book written in 1950!) by the presence of two murder weapons. It ties in so very beautifully to the case of the hidden testament and that of the missing girl, interconnecting the three through circumstance rather than by design.
The writing is practical and unpretentious, and though it may not hold against today's expectations of prose, I personally have always liked Van Gulik's mix of humour and gravity.
The historicity of the book (and the rest of the series) is interesting: though it takes place during the T'ang dynasty, around 670 AD, the description is of Ming dynasty life. This is in keeping with the Chinese author's penchant for casting a story that takes place in the past in contemporary terms.
Invariably, the five books in the "main" series (The Chinese Gold, Lake, Bell, Maze and Nail Murders), are preceded by a chapter written from the viewpoint of a Ming dynasty official, merchant, or other personage, who, following a ghostly encounter of some sort, recounts one of the specific Judge Dee mysteries.
A definite recommendation for anyone who enjoys either ancient China, detective novels, or both!
I have been reading and re-reading these books since I was about ten years of age. History, fiction and mystery are neatly combined into detective stories that follow the typical pattern in Chinese detective fiction of the Magistrate solving various cases - which may be interconnected, but not always are - simultaneously. In the Maze Murders, tying in character background with the plot (specifically, one of Dee's lieutenants, Chiao Tai) makes for a very compelling read.
The case of the murder in the locked room is a classic, often used in detective fiction, and given a fresh spin (if one can speak of "fresh" in the case of a book written in 1950!) by the presence of two murder weapons. It ties in so very beautifully to the case of the hidden testament and that of the missing girl, interconnecting the three through circumstance rather than by design.
The writing is practical and unpretentious, and though it may not hold against today's expectations of prose, I personally have always liked Van Gulik's mix of humour and gravity.
The historicity of the book (and the rest of the series) is interesting: though it takes place during the T'ang dynasty, around 670 AD, the description is of Ming dynasty life. This is in keeping with the Chinese author's penchant for casting a story that takes place in the past in contemporary terms.
Invariably, the five books in the "main" series (The Chinese Gold, Lake, Bell, Maze and Nail Murders), are preceded by a chapter written from the viewpoint of a Ming dynasty official, merchant, or other personage, who, following a ghostly encounter of some sort, recounts one of the specific Judge Dee mysteries.
A definite recommendation for anyone who enjoys either ancient China, detective novels, or both!
December 26, 2012
I am a long-time fan of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee series of mysteries. Van Gulik, a celebrated Orientalist and linguist and the Dutch ambassador to Japan, was fluent in Mandarin, among other Asian languages; his first Judge Dee book, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, was actually a translation of the cases of an actual Tang Dynasty magistrate and statesman by the name of Dee Goong An (sometimes transliterated as Dee Jen-Djieh and Dí Rénjié). Van Gulik realized that, if he recast the case files as mysteries by withholding the solution, these true-life investigations and court cases would make find mysteries. And so they do!
The Chinese Maze Murders marks one of the first of 16 novels, novellas, and short-story collections in which Van Gulik, inspired by court cases and his own imagination, actually penned the plots. (The Chinese Maze Murders was the first of Van Gulik's own Judge Dee tomes published, but it ranks third chronologically after The Chinese Gold Murders, my favorite Judge Dee book, and The Chinese Bell Murders.) The writing style is a bit formal, as you'd expect from books written 40 to 60 years ago. (Although himself Dutch, Van Gulik wrote these novels in English, which may also account for the formal phrasing.) However, the plots are very enjoyable, and the books act as a window into a far-off time and a very different sensibility. Van Gulik tried to retain the ancient Chinese flavor of the stories, and you'll find omens, luck, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena play a part in some of the stories -- as they would have when recounted and transcribed more than 1,300 years ago. They also, as according to Chinese custom at the time, usually involve three intertwined cases. (So that isn't an over-the-top touch, but an homage to the original authors/scribes.)
Adventurous readers interested in something unlike anything else they'd read or those who have an interest in Ancient China will devour these books, as I have. The plots are quite clever, and Judge Dee's henchman -- in particular, his brawny lieutenant Ma Joong -- frequently add humor to the tales. I can particularly recommend the first book, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, and Van Gulik's own The Chinese Bell Murders, The Haunted Monastery, The Emperor's Pearl, The Red Pavilion, and the short-story collection Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese Detective Stories.
The Chinese Maze Murders marks one of the first of 16 novels, novellas, and short-story collections in which Van Gulik, inspired by court cases and his own imagination, actually penned the plots. (The Chinese Maze Murders was the first of Van Gulik's own Judge Dee tomes published, but it ranks third chronologically after The Chinese Gold Murders, my favorite Judge Dee book, and The Chinese Bell Murders.) The writing style is a bit formal, as you'd expect from books written 40 to 60 years ago. (Although himself Dutch, Van Gulik wrote these novels in English, which may also account for the formal phrasing.) However, the plots are very enjoyable, and the books act as a window into a far-off time and a very different sensibility. Van Gulik tried to retain the ancient Chinese flavor of the stories, and you'll find omens, luck, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena play a part in some of the stories -- as they would have when recounted and transcribed more than 1,300 years ago. They also, as according to Chinese custom at the time, usually involve three intertwined cases. (So that isn't an over-the-top touch, but an homage to the original authors/scribes.)
Adventurous readers interested in something unlike anything else they'd read or those who have an interest in Ancient China will devour these books, as I have. The plots are quite clever, and Judge Dee's henchman -- in particular, his brawny lieutenant Ma Joong -- frequently add humor to the tales. I can particularly recommend the first book, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, and Van Gulik's own The Chinese Bell Murders, The Haunted Monastery, The Emperor's Pearl, The Red Pavilion, and the short-story collection Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese Detective Stories.
February 12, 2008
1st in a series of books about an ancient Chinese magistrate Dee Goong An,who, with his entourage, solves crimes. In this particular installment, there are 3 subplots: Murder in the Sealed Room, a missing testament, and last but not least, a story that features a girl without a head. Most interesting is the way the story is told and the supernatural elements. Very very good.
January 26, 2012
Judge Dee wades through a maze of murders, motivations and mendacity to unravel three tricky mysteries and foil a barbarian invasion in the process. I particularly liked the depiction of the old hermit who gives Dee various gnomic but crucial clues and makes the formidable magistrate briefly consider giving up the hurly-burly of public service for a life of rural seclusion.
April 6, 2024
A Chinese Sherlock Holmes! While very violent, the plot kept the book moving along and there were also moments of humor. A book I would have never read had it not been for Booktube!
January 23, 2012
This is officially my first review on GoodReads!!! It is also one of my first reviews ever. So, bare with me.
The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert Hans van Gulik, is very different from books with younger (more innocent/pure) characters in fantasy/sci-fi settings that I am usually drawn to. I have owned this book for at least 3 or 4 years and never even read the back cover or needless to say, cracked it open. I wish I had sooner.
This book was delightfully enjoyable. I liked the mixture of civil and criminal investigations occurring simultaneously. Adding political issues to be dealt with, this story kept you reading. This book went all over the place in approximately a weeks time, but did it in an organized way that made you capable of following everything that was happening. The solutions to the criminal cases were also greatly interesting (and reading about the Chinese sources in the end made it ever more so).
The foreword, postscript and Chinese sources all added interesting insight into the book. The foreword made me think about Chinese culture more while reading (which was also a great aspect to this book considering I know next to nothing about Chinese writing/culture). The postscript and sources helped wrap up and explain the details of the story.
I overall thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be looking to add some more Judge Dee Mysteries to my future reading list.
The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert Hans van Gulik, is very different from books with younger (more innocent/pure) characters in fantasy/sci-fi settings that I am usually drawn to. I have owned this book for at least 3 or 4 years and never even read the back cover or needless to say, cracked it open. I wish I had sooner.
This book was delightfully enjoyable. I liked the mixture of civil and criminal investigations occurring simultaneously. Adding political issues to be dealt with, this story kept you reading. This book went all over the place in approximately a weeks time, but did it in an organized way that made you capable of following everything that was happening. The solutions to the criminal cases were also greatly interesting (and reading about the Chinese sources in the end made it ever more so).
The foreword, postscript and Chinese sources all added interesting insight into the book. The foreword made me think about Chinese culture more while reading (which was also a great aspect to this book considering I know next to nothing about Chinese writing/culture). The postscript and sources helped wrap up and explain the details of the story.
I overall thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be looking to add some more Judge Dee Mysteries to my future reading list.
April 22, 2025
Another interesting journey with Judge Dee and his entourage. This is the first book that Robert van Gulik wrote after he translated the original novel into English, and this one was actually published in Chinese and Japanese before it was released in the West.
In this book, Judge Dee has been assigned to a district on the western border of the empire. The new district has been usurped by a local wealthy landowner, who ran off the previous 2 magistrates. The town is cowed by him and his cronies, so Dee has an immediate crisis on his hands. The group is even ambushed outside the city walls! But, they make it inside and take possession of the tribunal, just in time to land a couple of puzzling cases - on top of dealing with the usurper.
There are really 2 main cases here (the third is a distant third in terms of importance to the plot): a disputed last will and testament of a former, well-known Governor, with clues seemingly hidden in a strange painted scroll, and the murder - forewarned by the murdered man's son - of a retired general, who was killed in a locked room. Several other cases come before the tribunal, including the search for the headman's missing daughter (case #3 according to the summary), showing an authentically messy, muddled state of affairs for the detective/prosecutor/judge and his team. And did I mention they are on the lawless western border, with an imminent barbarian threat?
As it turns out, the 3 main cases are all intertwined. The former Governor was obsessed with creating a hedge maze on his property (hence the title), and two of the cases are solved there. It's fairly gruesome, even before we get to the obligatory explicit descriptions of the executions of the criminals.
I think the author did a good job writing in the style of the old Chinese detective story. He has a postscript, where he gives original references to the plots that he used here. There is very little supernatural going on in this book, and I kinda missed that TBH. But this is just as readable as the first, and I definitely want to read more!
In this book, Judge Dee has been assigned to a district on the western border of the empire. The new district has been usurped by a local wealthy landowner, who ran off the previous 2 magistrates. The town is cowed by him and his cronies, so Dee has an immediate crisis on his hands. The group is even ambushed outside the city walls! But, they make it inside and take possession of the tribunal, just in time to land a couple of puzzling cases - on top of dealing with the usurper.
There are really 2 main cases here (the third is a distant third in terms of importance to the plot): a disputed last will and testament of a former, well-known Governor, with clues seemingly hidden in a strange painted scroll, and the murder - forewarned by the murdered man's son - of a retired general, who was killed in a locked room. Several other cases come before the tribunal, including the search for the headman's missing daughter (case #3 according to the summary), showing an authentically messy, muddled state of affairs for the detective/prosecutor/judge and his team. And did I mention they are on the lawless western border, with an imminent barbarian threat?
As it turns out, the 3 main cases are all intertwined. The former Governor was obsessed with creating a hedge maze on his property (hence the title), and two of the cases are solved there. It's fairly gruesome, even before we get to the obligatory explicit descriptions of the executions of the criminals.
I think the author did a good job writing in the style of the old Chinese detective story. He has a postscript, where he gives original references to the plots that he used here. There is very little supernatural going on in this book, and I kinda missed that TBH. But this is just as readable as the first, and I definitely want to read more!
December 28, 2021
The Story:
Set in A.D. 670, this story centers around Judge Dee, the new district magistrate of Lan-Fang, solving three baffling mysteries.
My thoughts: Judge Dee (real name: Ti Jen-chieh) was a real historical figure, a well-known statesman of Tang dynasty, and one of the great ancient Chinese detectives who lived from 630 - 700 A.D. This definitely grabbed my attention as he reminded me of Justice Bao (real name: Bao Zheng) of Song Dynasty who was and still is a cultural symbol of justice in China. Growing up, I remembered watching a lot of Hong Kong TV series based on Justice Bao with my mom, and so reading this book brought back a lot of good memories.
I think this book has a good amount of mysteries and some readers may find the murders pretty gruesome. The culture and lifestyle in China at that time was portrayed really well and I could visualize it in my head.
As much as I really want to love this book, unfortunately it did not work for me. The writing felt off and clunky. I had a difficult time following the story and it left me confused in many parts. This book was first published in 1951. Could this be the reason that I couldn't get into the writing style? I am not sure.
My thoughts: Judge Dee (real name: Ti Jen-chieh) was a real historical figure, a well-known statesman of Tang dynasty, and one of the great ancient Chinese detectives who lived from 630 - 700 A.D. This definitely grabbed my attention as he reminded me of Justice Bao (real name: Bao Zheng) of Song Dynasty who was and still is a cultural symbol of justice in China. Growing up, I remembered watching a lot of Hong Kong TV series based on Justice Bao with my mom, and so reading this book brought back a lot of good memories.
I think this book has a good amount of mysteries and some readers may find the murders pretty gruesome. The culture and lifestyle in China at that time was portrayed really well and I could visualize it in my head.
As much as I really want to love this book, unfortunately it did not work for me. The writing felt off and clunky. I had a difficult time following the story and it left me confused in many parts. This book was first published in 1951. Could this be the reason that I couldn't get into the writing style? I am not sure.
May 25, 2021
Love these books
April 22, 2022
Coming after his first Judge Dee novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, which was a translation of earlier Chinese stories, this novel, The Chinese Maze Murders, was van Gulik's first effort to establish his own fictional world for Judge Dee. (In terms of the chronology of the entire series, Maze Murders fits in at 13th place.) It shows in its resemblances to the first book. It's much more methodical, longer, involved, infused with Chinese cultural practices, and reliant on a more formalized and somewhat distant language. The very passages and dialog seem to exude antiquity. I find all this pleasant. Would that van Gulik had continued with this style of writing, because I would have preferred it over his later versions of Dee, whose voice slipped into a more slangy air and at times verges on being hardboiled.
Three crimes form the core of the tale, all of them leading to murder. But Dee also finds himself involved in a military defense of this new province in which he has taken up duty as magistrate, Lan-Fang, on the northwestern edge of China. Not only does he uncover corruption, adulterous liaisons leading to patricide, and a secret cabal planning to betray the empire, he also reveals a murderess "taking advantage of young girls." Things resolve themselves in the end with a graphic description of public executions. For something written in 1950 and first published in Japanese in 1951, this is pretty risque material. I do think many contemporary readers will be impatient with it, however. But for those willing to indulge in van Gulik's very thorough view of 7th century Tang China, it's a rewarding experience.
Three crimes form the core of the tale, all of them leading to murder. But Dee also finds himself involved in a military defense of this new province in which he has taken up duty as magistrate, Lan-Fang, on the northwestern edge of China. Not only does he uncover corruption, adulterous liaisons leading to patricide, and a secret cabal planning to betray the empire, he also reveals a murderess "taking advantage of young girls." Things resolve themselves in the end with a graphic description of public executions. For something written in 1950 and first published in Japanese in 1951, this is pretty risque material. I do think many contemporary readers will be impatient with it, however. But for those willing to indulge in van Gulik's very thorough view of 7th century Tang China, it's a rewarding experience.
March 31, 2019
Arvatavasti parim kohtunik Di juhtumitest, ja tegelikult kõige esimesena kirjutatud - kuigi sarjasisese kronoloogia järgi juba suht lõpus. Siin polegi midagi, mis ei saaks meeldida. Suletud ruumis toimuva mõrva juhtum, kadunud kaunis neiu, salapärane labürint mis peidab endas mõistatuse lahendust. kohtunik Di oma värvika nelja abilisega, kes sedapuhku kõik ka möllavad palehigis - enamjaolt on esindatud ainult üks või kaks, ja nii edasi. Kui keegi ei tea mida kohtunik Di juhtumid endast kujutavad ja tahab miskit aimu saada, siis ilmselt parimat varianti polegi kui see siin.
April 17, 2021
Rối rắm, dài dòng, lan man... Theo mình đây là tập truyện dở nhất trong series Địch Công Kỳ Án.
October 1, 2020
A familiar genre - the detective story - in an exotic setting: a border town in the Chinese Empire, many centuries ago. Hand-crafted by a Dutch diplomat after genuine examples, these mysteries prove an enticing mix between the satisfyingly familiar and the enticingly exotic.
March 9, 2022
This is a 1957 book by Dutch diplomat & author Robert van Gulik who, between 1957 and 1968 wrote a series of Chinese historic mystery novels featuring Judge Dee, a crime-solving magistrate in ancient imperial China during the Tang Dynasty. Van Gulik’s famous Judge Dee (Dee Jen-djieh) character is a semi-fictional character modeled after a real historic figure Di Renjie, who was a magistrate and statements in the Chinese Tang court. His exploits were featured in a 18th century Chinese crime novel. Similar to the original Chinese book, all van Gulik’s Judge Dee books contain three separate mysteries, sometimes interlinked. The Chinese Maze Murders is the first book in the Judge Dee series. This book has an interesting publication history. Van Gulik finished writing the manuscript in English in 1951. He got the book translated into Japanese and published it in Japan in 1951. Then, he got the book translated into Chinese and published it in Singapore in 1952. It was not until 1956 (or 1957 depending on your source) that the book was published in English. The story here has a setting in Tang Dynasty in China in an imaginary northwestern border town in China during the seventh century A.D called Lan-fang. I find the book very well plotted, well written, fast-paced and interesting. It has quite a bit of twists and turns and its share of red herring. It also includes many ancient Chinese style illustrations of the type seen in old Chinese books to give readers a sense of authenticity. New readers might easily believe the Judge Dee books are English translations of old Chinese mystery classics instead of original works written by a Dutch author in the 1950s and 1960s. The Postscript of this book also provides some good background information on the imperial Chinese government system at that time. Van Gulik noted that the district magistrate is at the bottom of the colossal pyramidal structure of the ancient Chinese government organization. He must report to the prefect, who supervises ten or more districts. The prefect reports to the provincial governor, who is responsible for several prefectures. The governor in his turn reports to the central authorities in the capital, with the Emperor at the top.
Spoiler Alert. Van Gulik lay out for the readers the three mysterious that are in the book: (1) the case of the murder in the sealed room, (2) the case of the hidden testament, and (3) the case of the girl with the severed head. The three cases are, to some extent, intertwined with similar casts of characters. In addition, there are quite a few minor mysteries and side stories. The backdrop of this book is Dee got demoted from a higher position in a bigger town to become magistrate to this much smaller border town because he offended some rich and corrupt merchants in his former post. In this story, Van Gulik created a good historic background on Lan-fang and life of a Chinese western border town that faces the Uigur region. During that period of Chinese history, foreign militarized tribes sometimes raided Chinese border towns like Lan-fang. That historic backdrop was integrated into the story by describing how a local tyrant Chien Mao took over the town and tried to commit treason by helping barbarians to raid the town by opening the city gates, a scheme that was foiled by Dee. The book also comes with a map laying the town with all the key buildings relevant to the story which is quite helpful.
The first case, the case of the murder in the sealed room, is a classic locked room mystery. The murder victim is a retired army General called Ding Hoo-gwo. He was found murdered in his locked room study, killed with a very short and slim knife that has hit his throat. It turns out General Ding was actually murdered by ex-Governor Yoo Shou-chien, who died 9 years ago but has lay a mechanical death trap for Ding. Many years ago, General Ding was in charge of a war against some barbarian tribes. General Ding, however, colluded with the enemy and deliberately sent a regiment of 800 troops under his commend to be ambushed and massacred by the enemy. Due to political considerations, the imperial government covered up his crime and only forced Ding to resign. Ex-Governor Yoo, a very righteous person and a friend of Ding, decided to avenge the massacred soldiers. Yoo created an ingenious spring-load mechanism made of rattan and held down by dried resin inside a Chinese writing brush. He presented that exquisitely designed writing brush to Ding as an early 60th birthday present and asked Ding not to use it until his 60th birthday. When Ding used the pen for the first time on his 60th birthday, he has to burn off some loose brush hairs. When heat is applied to the pen, the resin dissolved and it fired the spring-loaded mechanism and the knife built into the hollow tube flew out and killed Ding. The pen is so cleverly designed that the hollow tube would close once the knife is fired so it is not easy to detect it as the weapon. Dee, however, were able to figure that out. By that time, since the murderer ex-Governor Yoo is already dead and exposing the crime would mean exposing Ding’s treason which the government wants to hide, Dee decided to close the case and called it an accident.
The second case, the case of the hidden testament, deals with the hidden will of ex-Governor Yoo (the same person who murdered retired General Ding). Ex-Governor Yoo’s first wife died many years ago and he remarried his second wife Mei. Right before ex-Governor Yoo died 9 years ago, he bequested a Chinese landscape painting to Mei; and told his elder son Yoo Kee (who Yoo had with his first wife) Yoo Kee will get the rest of the estate but asked Yoo Kee to take care of his stepmother and his baby stepbrother Yoo Shan. After ex-Governor Yoo died, Yoo Kee promptly threw Mei and Yoo Shan out of the family house and left them penniless. Mei has tried suing Yoo Kee in court to no avail. After Dee arrived in town, Mei asked Dee to reopen the case. Dee, who knew Ex-Governor Yoo by reputation, was surprised a brilliant statesman like Yoo would make an oral will, knowing it was invalid under imperial law. Finally, Dee discovered the truth. It turns out Yoo knew that his son Yoo Kee was of a very bad and vicious character. Ex-Governor Yoo therefore resigned at the height of his career and moved to this small town to try to spend time with Yoo Kee to reform him. He was also afraid if Yoo Kee knows his father’s will is to split the estate between the two sons, Yoo Kee might murder Yoo Shan. Ex-Governor Yoo therefore devised a complex scheme. He hid his true written will (splitting the assets between the two sons) in a maze he has built outside his country estate. Hidden in plain sight on the landscape painting he gave Mei is the turn-by-turn instruction on how to navigate the maze and where in the huge maze is the will hidden. The steps are written in code and are part of the painting. For example, first you reach the three pine trees, than turn right when you reach the two other trees, etc. As an additional red herring to his scheming elder son, Yoo also created a distraction. He wrote a fake will that hinted that his second wife is an adulteress and his second son Yoo Shan might not be his heir. He then hid that fake will in the back of the painting. Ex-Governor Yoo knew Yoo Kee would discover that and thought that is the secret of the scroll painting. As such Yoo Kee would not destroy the scroll painting and would allow Mei to keep it. Finally, Mei showed the painting to Dee and he cracked the secret code on the face of the painting. It led him to a hidden pavilion in the maze of Yoo’s now abandoned country house. There, Dee found the real written will of Yoo. By that time, Dee has also discovered that Yoo Kee has been scheming with the barbarians outside the border to try to take over the town with help of the local tyrant Chien Mao. Yoo Kee was then convicted of treason and executed. Ex-Governor Yoo’s estate than was given to Mei and Yoo Shan.
The third case, the case of the girl with the severed head, is about the case of a missing girl White Orchid. She was later found dead with her head severed. White Orchid is the young daughter of local blacksmith Fang. It turns out she was kidnapped by an old widow Mrs. Lee, who was an artist who gave painting lessons to girl students. Mrs. Lee is also a sadist who kidnaps and tortures young girls and forces them to serve her as slaves. Mrs. Lee, who is very clever and was a friend of ex-Governor Yoo, has independently solved the riddle of the maze by looking at Mrs. Yoo’s painting. She were able to enter the maze with that knowledge and tried to hide the body of White Orchid there after she has murdered her, thinking nobody would ever find her. When Dee entered the maze the day after Mrs. Lee was there because he was following up on the case of the hidden testament and to go there to dig up ex-Governor Yoo’s hidden will, Mrs. Lee’s crime was uncovered. She was convicted and later executed.
Spoiler Alert. Van Gulik lay out for the readers the three mysterious that are in the book: (1) the case of the murder in the sealed room, (2) the case of the hidden testament, and (3) the case of the girl with the severed head. The three cases are, to some extent, intertwined with similar casts of characters. In addition, there are quite a few minor mysteries and side stories. The backdrop of this book is Dee got demoted from a higher position in a bigger town to become magistrate to this much smaller border town because he offended some rich and corrupt merchants in his former post. In this story, Van Gulik created a good historic background on Lan-fang and life of a Chinese western border town that faces the Uigur region. During that period of Chinese history, foreign militarized tribes sometimes raided Chinese border towns like Lan-fang. That historic backdrop was integrated into the story by describing how a local tyrant Chien Mao took over the town and tried to commit treason by helping barbarians to raid the town by opening the city gates, a scheme that was foiled by Dee. The book also comes with a map laying the town with all the key buildings relevant to the story which is quite helpful.
The first case, the case of the murder in the sealed room, is a classic locked room mystery. The murder victim is a retired army General called Ding Hoo-gwo. He was found murdered in his locked room study, killed with a very short and slim knife that has hit his throat. It turns out General Ding was actually murdered by ex-Governor Yoo Shou-chien, who died 9 years ago but has lay a mechanical death trap for Ding. Many years ago, General Ding was in charge of a war against some barbarian tribes. General Ding, however, colluded with the enemy and deliberately sent a regiment of 800 troops under his commend to be ambushed and massacred by the enemy. Due to political considerations, the imperial government covered up his crime and only forced Ding to resign. Ex-Governor Yoo, a very righteous person and a friend of Ding, decided to avenge the massacred soldiers. Yoo created an ingenious spring-load mechanism made of rattan and held down by dried resin inside a Chinese writing brush. He presented that exquisitely designed writing brush to Ding as an early 60th birthday present and asked Ding not to use it until his 60th birthday. When Ding used the pen for the first time on his 60th birthday, he has to burn off some loose brush hairs. When heat is applied to the pen, the resin dissolved and it fired the spring-loaded mechanism and the knife built into the hollow tube flew out and killed Ding. The pen is so cleverly designed that the hollow tube would close once the knife is fired so it is not easy to detect it as the weapon. Dee, however, were able to figure that out. By that time, since the murderer ex-Governor Yoo is already dead and exposing the crime would mean exposing Ding’s treason which the government wants to hide, Dee decided to close the case and called it an accident.
The second case, the case of the hidden testament, deals with the hidden will of ex-Governor Yoo (the same person who murdered retired General Ding). Ex-Governor Yoo’s first wife died many years ago and he remarried his second wife Mei. Right before ex-Governor Yoo died 9 years ago, he bequested a Chinese landscape painting to Mei; and told his elder son Yoo Kee (who Yoo had with his first wife) Yoo Kee will get the rest of the estate but asked Yoo Kee to take care of his stepmother and his baby stepbrother Yoo Shan. After ex-Governor Yoo died, Yoo Kee promptly threw Mei and Yoo Shan out of the family house and left them penniless. Mei has tried suing Yoo Kee in court to no avail. After Dee arrived in town, Mei asked Dee to reopen the case. Dee, who knew Ex-Governor Yoo by reputation, was surprised a brilliant statesman like Yoo would make an oral will, knowing it was invalid under imperial law. Finally, Dee discovered the truth. It turns out Yoo knew that his son Yoo Kee was of a very bad and vicious character. Ex-Governor Yoo therefore resigned at the height of his career and moved to this small town to try to spend time with Yoo Kee to reform him. He was also afraid if Yoo Kee knows his father’s will is to split the estate between the two sons, Yoo Kee might murder Yoo Shan. Ex-Governor Yoo therefore devised a complex scheme. He hid his true written will (splitting the assets between the two sons) in a maze he has built outside his country estate. Hidden in plain sight on the landscape painting he gave Mei is the turn-by-turn instruction on how to navigate the maze and where in the huge maze is the will hidden. The steps are written in code and are part of the painting. For example, first you reach the three pine trees, than turn right when you reach the two other trees, etc. As an additional red herring to his scheming elder son, Yoo also created a distraction. He wrote a fake will that hinted that his second wife is an adulteress and his second son Yoo Shan might not be his heir. He then hid that fake will in the back of the painting. Ex-Governor Yoo knew Yoo Kee would discover that and thought that is the secret of the scroll painting. As such Yoo Kee would not destroy the scroll painting and would allow Mei to keep it. Finally, Mei showed the painting to Dee and he cracked the secret code on the face of the painting. It led him to a hidden pavilion in the maze of Yoo’s now abandoned country house. There, Dee found the real written will of Yoo. By that time, Dee has also discovered that Yoo Kee has been scheming with the barbarians outside the border to try to take over the town with help of the local tyrant Chien Mao. Yoo Kee was then convicted of treason and executed. Ex-Governor Yoo’s estate than was given to Mei and Yoo Shan.
The third case, the case of the girl with the severed head, is about the case of a missing girl White Orchid. She was later found dead with her head severed. White Orchid is the young daughter of local blacksmith Fang. It turns out she was kidnapped by an old widow Mrs. Lee, who was an artist who gave painting lessons to girl students. Mrs. Lee is also a sadist who kidnaps and tortures young girls and forces them to serve her as slaves. Mrs. Lee, who is very clever and was a friend of ex-Governor Yoo, has independently solved the riddle of the maze by looking at Mrs. Yoo’s painting. She were able to enter the maze with that knowledge and tried to hide the body of White Orchid there after she has murdered her, thinking nobody would ever find her. When Dee entered the maze the day after Mrs. Lee was there because he was following up on the case of the hidden testament and to go there to dig up ex-Governor Yoo’s hidden will, Mrs. Lee’s crime was uncovered. She was convicted and later executed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2021
After a long journey, Judge Dee arrives at his new base of Lan-fang, a city located on the northwestern borders of the Empire, where many problems are waiting for him. Immediately after his arrival, he has to deal with a local warlord who has seized all administrative power and wants to found his own principality with the help of the Uighur neighbors in Lan-fang.
The magistrate must therefore begin by reestablishing the authority of the imperial government. Then, while being careful that the conspirators do not attempt another coup, he must find out how a retired general could have been assassinated in his closed library and find a missing young girl. But perhaps the most difficult enigma to solve is that of the legacy of the late Governor, who was Judge Dee's idol while he was still a student. The Governor has divided his property between his two sons in a rather strange way: he has bequeathed only one painting to the second son, while the eldest son has inherited everything else. What is the hidden meaning of the painting? One more mystery has been left by the governor: the labyrinth he had built in the outskirts of the city...
Van Gulik wrote the first draft in 1950 in Tokyo, and had it translated into Japanese by a Japanese friend as "Meiro no satsujin." In New Delhi (1952) Van Gulik translated the book into Chinese, and when he was back in Holland the following year, his Dutch publisher W. van Hoeve published the English original - which in its turn attracted the attention of the London publisher Michael Joseph Ltd. who brought out the next volumes of the First Judge Dee series. As the second Judge Dee novel written (after The Chinese Bell Murders) this volume has all the characteristics of the First Series: an introduction that works as a frame, chapter titles in parallel lines, three different cases occurring at the same time, a description of the execution of the criminal at the end, and a large number of characters. Although not as streamlined as books in the Second Series, I quite like the atmosphere of the border town in this novel, and the complex plots. It is a very rich book and in my view one of the best Judge Dee novels.
The magistrate must therefore begin by reestablishing the authority of the imperial government. Then, while being careful that the conspirators do not attempt another coup, he must find out how a retired general could have been assassinated in his closed library and find a missing young girl. But perhaps the most difficult enigma to solve is that of the legacy of the late Governor, who was Judge Dee's idol while he was still a student. The Governor has divided his property between his two sons in a rather strange way: he has bequeathed only one painting to the second son, while the eldest son has inherited everything else. What is the hidden meaning of the painting? One more mystery has been left by the governor: the labyrinth he had built in the outskirts of the city...
Van Gulik wrote the first draft in 1950 in Tokyo, and had it translated into Japanese by a Japanese friend as "Meiro no satsujin." In New Delhi (1952) Van Gulik translated the book into Chinese, and when he was back in Holland the following year, his Dutch publisher W. van Hoeve published the English original - which in its turn attracted the attention of the London publisher Michael Joseph Ltd. who brought out the next volumes of the First Judge Dee series. As the second Judge Dee novel written (after The Chinese Bell Murders) this volume has all the characteristics of the First Series: an introduction that works as a frame, chapter titles in parallel lines, three different cases occurring at the same time, a description of the execution of the criminal at the end, and a large number of characters. Although not as streamlined as books in the Second Series, I quite like the atmosphere of the border town in this novel, and the complex plots. It is a very rich book and in my view one of the best Judge Dee novels.
March 8, 2016
A highly enjoyable detective set in ancient China. Robert van Gulik definitely made me interested in reading more in this genre. He bases his stories on an old Chinese genre of writing detective stories, which revolve around the magistrate: a government official who was in charge of justice. He was the detective and the judge in one.
The story is streamlined to revolve around the mysteries, with the historical and cultural context as a background. Therefore, unlike historical novels pure sang, all historical details which are unnecessary for the story to be told are left out. It is therefore an action-packed, quick and enjoyable read.
However, it in no way suffers from a lack of historical grounding. Gulik has done his research and his knowledge of ancient China, as well as the original Chinese detective stories, shows. His main character is a known historical figure from the Tang dynasty and he has done considerable research for his character and his cases, as well as the court and police proceedings of the time. Furthermore, the afterword explains how Gulik used several narrative elements in the original Chinese detective stories.
My only squabble with the book is that the language, especially in the beginning, was a tad old fashioned and therefore it took some time to get into the story. As my edition is rather old (1956), that might not be an issue in later translations and reprints.
The story is streamlined to revolve around the mysteries, with the historical and cultural context as a background. Therefore, unlike historical novels pure sang, all historical details which are unnecessary for the story to be told are left out. It is therefore an action-packed, quick and enjoyable read.
However, it in no way suffers from a lack of historical grounding. Gulik has done his research and his knowledge of ancient China, as well as the original Chinese detective stories, shows. His main character is a known historical figure from the Tang dynasty and he has done considerable research for his character and his cases, as well as the court and police proceedings of the time. Furthermore, the afterword explains how Gulik used several narrative elements in the original Chinese detective stories.
My only squabble with the book is that the language, especially in the beginning, was a tad old fashioned and therefore it took some time to get into the story. As my edition is rather old (1956), that might not be an issue in later translations and reprints.
June 28, 2012
Unlike modern western mysteries where the detective has one case to solve in the course of the story, Judge Dee solves several, mostly unrelated, cases. As a result the feel of the story is more "slice of life" than "dramatic event", which I enjoyed.
Potential readers should be aware that the story does reflect the culture of the times, both that of the writer and that of Judge Dee. There is a lot of casual violence in the day to day life of the characters, torture is a valid way to obtain confessions, and any executions will be detailed at the end. The violence is not glorified, it's just what happens, but if someone is flayed until their bones are exposed you will know it.
Potential readers should be aware that the story does reflect the culture of the times, both that of the writer and that of Judge Dee. There is a lot of casual violence in the day to day life of the characters, torture is a valid way to obtain confessions, and any executions will be detailed at the end. The violence is not glorified, it's just what happens, but if someone is flayed until their bones are exposed you will know it.
August 3, 2011
Two books in one of my favorite mystery series, the Judge Dee novels, about a 7th-century Chinese magistrate. Robert van Gulik evokes the setting well. Even though he knew much more about ancient China than the reader, he never pulls a bad sci-fi move such as having the characters tell each other the social context they should already know. Van Gulik was also great at physical settings (here, a 200-year-old monastery during a summer thunderstorm and Lan-fang, a town on the northwest border that the trade route has passed by.)
March 7, 2024
«Ανθρωποι σαν κι αὐτόν», απάντησε, «δέν εἶναι σάν κι ἐμᾶς, ἀφέντη μου, αὐτοί χάνονται ξαφνικά, ἐξαφανίζονται. Καί μαζί μας πού εἶναι, αὐτοί ποτέ δέν ἀνήκουν στον δικό μας τόν κόσμο. Καί στό τέλος πετάνε στον γαλάζιο θόλο τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, σάν φτερωτοί δράκοντες. Δέν ἀφήνουν τίποτε πίσω τους, μόνο τό κενό!».
[... ]Μόνο δυο δρόμοι ὁδηγοῦν στήν πύλη τῆς Αἰώνιας Ζωῆς:
Η κυλιέσαι στη λάσπη σάν τό σκουλήκι, ἤ πετᾶς σάν
δράκοντας ψηλά στόν οὐρανό.
[... ]Μόνο δυο δρόμοι ὁδηγοῦν στήν πύλη τῆς Αἰώνιας Ζωῆς:
Η κυλιέσαι στη λάσπη σάν τό σκουλήκι, ἤ πετᾶς σάν
δράκοντας ψηλά στόν οὐρανό.
May 16, 2015
Starts off coming into new jurisdiction to find a tyrant has overtaken the town, is he worried...no. He is more concerned with solving an open 8 year old case than he is with the tyrant. He handles the tyrant easily and goes on to solve 2 murders. Love the look into life in China in the 7th century, what they eat, clothes, customs and punishments.
July 26, 2011
This is the story of Judge Dee who tries to solve three interconnected mysteries in the 16th century in China. Excellent reading.
This e-book is available free at the University of Chicago Press:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/f...
This e-book is available free at the University of Chicago Press:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/f...
July 18, 2020
Το πλέον χορταστικό βιβλίο με τις περιπέτειες του δικαστή Τι. Οι τρεις βασικές ιστορίες της κλασικής δομής έχουν μπερδεμένα παρακλάδια και για κερασάκι μια λεσβία εγκληματια
January 30, 2023
5 stars for me. All of them. The text was 4.5 stars (including introduction /prologue and explanations of the Chinese to English writing process he used). This was written in 1956. The graphic portraits were 5 stars. Every other chapter or so- you get a Chinese portrayal witness detailing a scene. Incredible. It's Tang Dynasty occurring (as Judge Dee lived between A.D. 630-700) but written in the style of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Fabulous research to do this.
As in life there are always several tribunal cases going on at once. It departs greatly from western style who-dun-its by that fact only. And often the detective is police job based working on ONE or at the most two related cases in most Western mystery writing. Not in Chinese juris prudence, nor within hierarchy, highly structured onus of jobs etc. Everyone who is found guilty, confesses. Read about procedures, and you'll understand why.
In China during these periods, the magistrate of the tribunal was judge, detective, and operator of the forms of punishment or retribution.
Excellent reads. This one was tops of all I've read before. Very introductory to his two lieutenants, as well. How they became a working unit. A handful of others, also, who return or remain in Judge Dee's district of Lan-fang. (On the border of the far NW with Uighur tribes ready to bounce right in at any weaknesses.)
The sensibilities are as far from the present times for judgment/decision making or cognitions as they might possibly be, IMHO. Most especially when it comes to gender, race, tribe, class or especially AGE.
The language is clear and yet filled with art forms. Art in poetry, verse, prose quotes, and drawings. Manners in formal or personal exchange and dressed forms are pivotal. Power by intrigue is 6 stars core. Violence contained/ suppressed/ always possible and yet never consciously avoided or delayed when at a point of crux.
These are hard to get. I'll try to get all in English where they still live. Most I come across were first published in the Hague as he was a Dutch diplomat. Robert van Gulik explains what, why, and how in numerous paths of crossing the language divides- he has used certain forms when he has. And how the intrinsic models of authority, government, house etc. completely differ or align. Not only now but in those times to other parts of the world.
Be warned, it has entirely varying assumptions throughout. And gender, class, job, address manner could not be more different than Western world 2000 plus. And yet at the same time, the punishment quotient is fairly equal to either medieval or Renaissance Europe. It's bad.
All three or four plot lines were ingenious. Some like the locked room one, not exactly the same- but close to a solution I have read before. I believe this author often had plots and ploys snatched over the last century.
These are entertaining, and this one in particular will teach you the many millennia system of Chinese exam taking authority entry and position advance. WORTH ten times the trouble of getting a good and decent grasp of the naming,
As in life there are always several tribunal cases going on at once. It departs greatly from western style who-dun-its by that fact only. And often the detective is police job based working on ONE or at the most two related cases in most Western mystery writing. Not in Chinese juris prudence, nor within hierarchy, highly structured onus of jobs etc. Everyone who is found guilty, confesses. Read about procedures, and you'll understand why.
In China during these periods, the magistrate of the tribunal was judge, detective, and operator of the forms of punishment or retribution.
Excellent reads. This one was tops of all I've read before. Very introductory to his two lieutenants, as well. How they became a working unit. A handful of others, also, who return or remain in Judge Dee's district of Lan-fang. (On the border of the far NW with Uighur tribes ready to bounce right in at any weaknesses.)
The sensibilities are as far from the present times for judgment/decision making or cognitions as they might possibly be, IMHO. Most especially when it comes to gender, race, tribe, class or especially AGE.
The language is clear and yet filled with art forms. Art in poetry, verse, prose quotes, and drawings. Manners in formal or personal exchange and dressed forms are pivotal. Power by intrigue is 6 stars core. Violence contained/ suppressed/ always possible and yet never consciously avoided or delayed when at a point of crux.
These are hard to get. I'll try to get all in English where they still live. Most I come across were first published in the Hague as he was a Dutch diplomat. Robert van Gulik explains what, why, and how in numerous paths of crossing the language divides- he has used certain forms when he has. And how the intrinsic models of authority, government, house etc. completely differ or align. Not only now but in those times to other parts of the world.
Be warned, it has entirely varying assumptions throughout. And gender, class, job, address manner could not be more different than Western world 2000 plus. And yet at the same time, the punishment quotient is fairly equal to either medieval or Renaissance Europe. It's bad.
All three or four plot lines were ingenious. Some like the locked room one, not exactly the same- but close to a solution I have read before. I believe this author often had plots and ploys snatched over the last century.
These are entertaining, and this one in particular will teach you the many millennia system of Chinese exam taking authority entry and position advance. WORTH ten times the trouble of getting a good and decent grasp of the naming,
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews