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Judge Dee (Chronological order) #6
Ahv ja tiiger
Raamat sisaldab juhtumeid „Hommik ahviga“ ning „Öö tiigriga“.
Hanyuani ringkonnas kohtunikuna töötav Di joob hommikul oma rõdul teed, kui sinna sattub ahv, kelle peos on smaragdiga kuldsõrmus. Sõrmuse omanikku otsides leitakse lähedasest metsaonnist laip.
Raamatu teises juhtumis naaseb kohtunik Di Bizhoust pealinna ning on sunnitud bandiidijõugu eest varjuma ühte maamajja, kus peale kurikaelte tõrjumise tuleb muretseda ka mõrvajuhtumi lahendamise pärast.
Hanyuani ringkonnas kohtunikuna töötav Di joob hommikul oma rõdul teed, kui sinna sattub ahv, kelle peos on smaragdiga kuldsõrmus. Sõrmuse omanikku otsides leitakse lähedasest metsaonnist laip.
Raamatu teises juhtumis naaseb kohtunik Di Bizhoust pealinna ning on sunnitud bandiidijõugu eest varjuma ühte maamajja, kus peale kurikaelte tõrjumise tuleb muretseda ka mõrvajuhtumi lahendamise pärast.
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
39 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Robert van Gulik
164 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 62 reviews
September 2, 2025
Two novellas put in book form, The Morning of the Monkey and The Night of the Tiger become... Presto...The Monkey and The Tiger -magically, at least on the cover. Publishers think the public likes it this way and book sells agree, the days when the short story was king is fading but not yet dead. The adventurous detective stories are based on the famous historical figure of Di Renjie A.D.630 -700 a honest magistrate during the magnificent Tang Dynasty known in ancient China for his ability to solve crimes , later a powerful statesman in the capital, they' re still making films in his native land about him. The first narrative, story, correctively written inside the novel, The Morning of the Monkey (confused.. just enjoy the read) our friend is in a fictional town having a nice breakfast on the balcony of his official residence when a gibbon ( the monkey in the title) drops a golden ring with a green stone. Being the law here he jumps over the railing finds the precious object by the nearby forest. The case begins, blood on the jewelry an emerald. Mystery, suspects Wang and Leng, a pharmacist and a pawnbroker respectively or maybe not so, soon the dead body found, meeting a beautiful woman with dubious habits, Miss Seng and evil looking brother, Seng Kiu, discovers a secret gang of smugglers needing jail with little help but Tao Gan, an old lieutenant of Dee's , still an ordinary day at the office, the judge has high hopes ...The second tale in the always intriguing chronicle in the life of the great, legendary man...sorry your honor, he was a modest man, The Night of the Tiger called that because of a vicious gang , The Flying Tigers. Bandits with no mercy, terrorize a local area as the Yellow River floods and the magistrate is stranded inside a wealthy dilapidated home of the ill, old landowner when waters rise and the bandits smell gold. A mystery must be involved so death occurs before Dee arrives, however it's his duty to investigate the strange demise of Min Kee-yu young daughter of the proprietor Min Liang who's devastated, along with elderly wife, murder or suicide the girl had a bad heart. What would a case be without suspects? Younger visiting landlord's brother Mr. Mi is heir to the property, Yen Yuan ambitious bailiff here, Liao, the Stewart, and the notorious maid, Aster, no lack of clues yet what do they mean? Appearances can be deceiving, moreover the mystery doesn't seem important when the barbarians are at the gate. I never get tired reading these exotic tales in a fascinating time and land, but the stories have a finite number, that is the problem, the joy the reading.
August 17, 2024
It has been many years since I read a judge Dee historical mystery. I thought that I read all of them in high school and college but the two pieces in this volume were new to me. New and very good. I plan to read and reread more of these.
The author was a Dutch diplomat very familiar with China and her people. In addition to being fine mysteries, this series is an entertaining, "sugar coated" way to learn about life in ancient China.
Even though this series is fiction it is based upon the life and times of a real Chinese magistrate. Rather than paraphrasing the words of someone else, here is a quote from the author:
"Judge Dee was a historical person. He was born in the fourth year of the Chen-kuan period of the Tang dynasty, i.e. A.D. 630. He died in A.D. 700. His biography in the Annals of the Tang dynasty states that, during the first half of his long and distinguished official career, when he was serving as district magistrate in the provinces, he solved a great number of difficult criminal cases. Hence he became famous in China as one of the great detectives of former times. He is also celebrated as one of China's great statesmen..."
The author was a Dutch diplomat very familiar with China and her people. In addition to being fine mysteries, this series is an entertaining, "sugar coated" way to learn about life in ancient China.
Even though this series is fiction it is based upon the life and times of a real Chinese magistrate. Rather than paraphrasing the words of someone else, here is a quote from the author:
"Judge Dee was a historical person. He was born in the fourth year of the Chen-kuan period of the Tang dynasty, i.e. A.D. 630. He died in A.D. 700. His biography in the Annals of the Tang dynasty states that, during the first half of his long and distinguished official career, when he was serving as district magistrate in the provinces, he solved a great number of difficult criminal cases. Hence he became famous in China as one of the great detectives of former times. He is also celebrated as one of China's great statesmen..."
July 31, 2023
Είναι γνωστό ότι ο βαν Γκούλικ μπορεί να μην έζησε πολλά χρόνια (πέθανε στα 57 του χρόνια), αλλά κατάφερε να γίνει ένας από τους σημαντικότερους ερευνητές της αρχαίας ιστορίας της Κίνας από την οποία εμπνεύστηκε τη σειρά αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων με ήρωα τον Δικαστή Τι.
Η συγκεκριμένη νουβέλα περιέχει 2 ιδιαίτερα 'γοητευτικές' και ενδιαφέρουσες ιστορίες βασισμένες στον Κινέζικο ζωδιακό κύκλο και, συγκεκριμένα, στις χαρακτηριστικές διαφορές των αντίθετων ζωδίων του Τίγρη (Δίδυμοι) και του Πιθήκου (Τοξότης). Καί οι 2 ιστορίες έχουν γρήγορη εξέλιξη στη πλοκή και σημαντικές λεπτομέρειες για την καθημερινότητα στην αρχαία Κίνα, ενώ η 2η ιστορία ('Η νύχτα του Τίγρη') περιέχει αρκετά στοιχεία θρίλερ και horror, ήδη από την αρχή.
Η αρχή των ιστοριών είναι άκρως ατμοσφαιρική, αφού ο συγγραφέας με παραμυθένιο τρόπο τοποθετεί τη δράση σε δάση και απομονωμένα 'σκοτεινά μέρη', όπου, ακόμα, και ένας πίθηκος μπορεί να ανακαλύψει .... ένα μυστηριώδες δαχτυλίδι ή ένα ανάκτορο στη μέση του 'πουθενά' μπορεί να κρύβει ύποπτους και μυστικούς χώρους που θα δυσκολέψουν τον Δικαστή Τι να φτάσει στη λύση του μυστηρίου.
Πρόκειται για μια πολύ δημιουργική λογοτεχνικά εισαγωγή στον παραμυθένιο 'κόσμο' του Γκούλικ, αφού το αναγνωστικό κοινό θα την απολαύσει ιδιαίτερα, ακόμα και αν η ολοκλήρωση των ιστοριών (κυρίως 'Το πρωϊνό του πιθήκου') φανεί κάπως αναμενόμενη.
Βαθμολογία: 4,1/5 ή 8,2/10.
Η συγκεκριμένη νουβέλα περιέχει 2 ιδιαίτερα 'γοητευτικές' και ενδιαφέρουσες ιστορίες βασισμένες στον Κινέζικο ζωδιακό κύκλο και, συγκεκριμένα, στις χαρακτηριστικές διαφορές των αντίθετων ζωδίων του Τίγρη (Δίδυμοι) και του Πιθήκου (Τοξότης). Καί οι 2 ιστορίες έχουν γρήγορη εξέλιξη στη πλοκή και σημαντικές λεπτομέρειες για την καθημερινότητα στην αρχαία Κίνα, ενώ η 2η ιστορία ('Η νύχτα του Τίγρη') περιέχει αρκετά στοιχεία θρίλερ και horror, ήδη από την αρχή.
Η αρχή των ιστοριών είναι άκρως ατμοσφαιρική, αφού ο συγγραφέας με παραμυθένιο τρόπο τοποθετεί τη δράση σε δάση και απομονωμένα 'σκοτεινά μέρη', όπου, ακόμα, και ένας πίθηκος μπορεί να ανακαλύψει .... ένα μυστηριώδες δαχτυλίδι ή ένα ανάκτορο στη μέση του 'πουθενά' μπορεί να κρύβει ύποπτους και μυστικούς χώρους που θα δυσκολέψουν τον Δικαστή Τι να φτάσει στη λύση του μυστηρίου.
Πρόκειται για μια πολύ δημιουργική λογοτεχνικά εισαγωγή στον παραμυθένιο 'κόσμο' του Γκούλικ, αφού το αναγνωστικό κοινό θα την απολαύσει ιδιαίτερα, ακόμα και αν η ολοκλήρωση των ιστοριών (κυρίως 'Το πρωϊνό του πιθήκου') φανεί κάπως αναμενόμενη.
Βαθμολογία: 4,1/5 ή 8,2/10.
April 8, 2022
I suppose going by word count, these two stories are considered novellas. Yet they retain a bit more complexity than is usually the case with that form of writing. I would consider both of them short novels, with many more characters and plot developments than is the case usually for a novella. Van Gulick manages, for example, to outfit the first story, "The Morning of the Monkey," with almost all the usual elements you find in a longer Judge Dee story--false leads, multiple suspects, a trail to several locations. "The Night of the Tiger," similarly develops along those lines--but with the added element of being an adventure story along with a mystery with supernatural overtones.
Both stories are enjoyable enough. But it is the second one, "Tiger," that produces the most extensive atmosphere and suspense. The "old dark house" setting becomes an isolated fortress/castle. Night terrors, murder, and ghostly suspects emerge from the shadows, and all the while the countdown to the coming dawn and an attack from a gang of bandits provides a sense of urgency. With all this pressure, Dee, nevertheless, manages to solve a murder and reveals a series of betrayals. Nice work.
Both stories are enjoyable enough. But it is the second one, "Tiger," that produces the most extensive atmosphere and suspense. The "old dark house" setting becomes an isolated fortress/castle. Night terrors, murder, and ghostly suspects emerge from the shadows, and all the while the countdown to the coming dawn and an attack from a gang of bandits provides a sense of urgency. With all this pressure, Dee, nevertheless, manages to solve a murder and reveals a series of betrayals. Nice work.
April 30, 2009
Robert Van Gulik discovered an 18th century Chinese detective novel, and translated it just after World War II. The historical person it is base on, Judge Dee, actually existed in about the year 7oo AD--during the Ming Dynasty.
VanGulik liked the character so well, he set out and wrote a series of novels based on Judge Dee. They are very well written and really have a good feel for China in that time and place. This particular book has two of the Judge Dee short Stories--I higly recommend any or all of the books. I've read lots of mysteries but these stand out--I have seldom read anything quite like them
I especially recommend Judge Dee if you want to read something besieds American or British mysteries. The syle of these books is very different--which I find very refreshing..
VanGulik liked the character so well, he set out and wrote a series of novels based on Judge Dee. They are very well written and really have a good feel for China in that time and place. This particular book has two of the Judge Dee short Stories--I higly recommend any or all of the books. I've read lots of mysteries but these stand out--I have seldom read anything quite like them
I especially recommend Judge Dee if you want to read something besieds American or British mysteries. The syle of these books is very different--which I find very refreshing..
June 28, 2013
The Monkey and the Tiger consists of two distinct novellas: The Morning of the Monkey, which takes place — as the title implies — early in Judge Dee’s career in the year A.D. 666, and The Night of the Tiger, which takes place 10 years later when Judge Dee has left his magistrate duties behind due to a promotion and is heading to take up his new position as Lord Chief Justice of the Imperial capital, Chang-An (modern day Xi'an).
In the first story, Judge Dee recovers an expensive emerald ring from a gibbon and proceeds to try to discover its owner. The search leads Judge Dee to discover a murder almost in his own backyard. In the second tale, Judge Dee, en route to his new post, takes refuge in a villa under siege from the marauding bandits known as the Flying Tigers; while there, Judge Dee realizes that a death by misadventure was actually a murder. The Night of the Tiger will truly hold readers in suspense with its twists and surprises, but both novellas are excellent.
In the first story, Judge Dee recovers an expensive emerald ring from a gibbon and proceeds to try to discover its owner. The search leads Judge Dee to discover a murder almost in his own backyard. In the second tale, Judge Dee, en route to his new post, takes refuge in a villa under siege from the marauding bandits known as the Flying Tigers; while there, Judge Dee realizes that a death by misadventure was actually a murder. The Night of the Tiger will truly hold readers in suspense with its twists and surprises, but both novellas are excellent.
August 14, 2023
It was a short book of two stories. I like judge Di but I have mixes feelings about this volume. The outcomes came out of nowhere, especially in the second story. Judge Di said he knew how they did it just by looking at the suspects, I don't think even Sherlock Holmes was that good. It felt like the author didn't have an idea for the intrigue. However, I'm going to continue reading the series.
November 15, 2008
I was on a Charlie Chan kick a few years ago - the Warner Oland era Chan. That's right. A Nordic fellow playing the Orient's No. 1 detective. Van Gulik originally translated a 17th century Chinese detective novel featuring Judge Dee; he loved it so much he ran with it. Myself, I'm intrigued by the idea of some 17 c. Chinese dude putting the calligraphy pen to the rice paper and etching out whodunnits. Discovery of this series is based on chance - in the library and looking at the titles running across the top shelf. Being only 5'0" tall, this is no mean feat. I had to go get a chair to reach the volumes, and was loudly tsk-ed at by a librarian who thought I was a small child involved in horseplay. When she realized that it was a scowling, middle-aged dwarf, she apologized and left me to my leafing. My creepy leafing.
***
The author has a real affection for a time (long ago) and a place (China) in history, and it shines through in the small details. I admire that.
***
The author has a real affection for a time (long ago) and a place (China) in history, and it shines through in the small details. I admire that.
November 28, 2008
Two more solid whodunits from Judge Dee's career.
"The Morning of the Monkey" finds Dee struggling to find out who murdered and mutilated an old vagabond and left his body in an abandoned mountain hut while also trying to break up a smuggling ring. Needless to say, both cases wind up being connected and the obvious suspects are not the real culprits.
"The Night of the Tiger" takes place late in Dee's career. He's on his way back to the capital to take up his post as Chief Justice and finds himself stranded by flooding in a fort besieged by bandits and neck deep in a sordid tale of murder and greed. In this particular tale, Gulik is able to indulge in revealing a bit of Chinese culture when Dee spends some time playing the lute (Gulik had written an entire book on the subject: The Lore of the Chinese Lute).
"The Morning of the Monkey" finds Dee struggling to find out who murdered and mutilated an old vagabond and left his body in an abandoned mountain hut while also trying to break up a smuggling ring. Needless to say, both cases wind up being connected and the obvious suspects are not the real culprits.
"The Night of the Tiger" takes place late in Dee's career. He's on his way back to the capital to take up his post as Chief Justice and finds himself stranded by flooding in a fort besieged by bandits and neck deep in a sordid tale of murder and greed. In this particular tale, Gulik is able to indulge in revealing a bit of Chinese culture when Dee spends some time playing the lute (Gulik had written an entire book on the subject: The Lore of the Chinese Lute).
October 27, 2020
Αχ, πόσο ευχαριστιέμαι μια καλή υπόθεση του Δικαστή Τι!
January 27, 2023
Parere onesto: probabilmente il meno riuscito della serie - primo episodio a parte. Ma in quel caso, il personaggio doveva ancora essere delineato.
Qui abbiamo due storie: una con protagonista dei gibboni, l'altra... delle Tigri.
Pertanto, due diversi casi, non collegati tra loro, se non per la presenza del magistrato.
Tra l'altro, mancano alcuni dei principali personaggi 'di contorno', che di solito con qualche avventura e qualche episodio ravvivano la trama.
In questo caso, invece, i casi sono etremamente semplici, di rapida conclusione, quasi due racconti.
Qui abbiamo due storie: una con protagonista dei gibboni, l'altra... delle Tigri.
Pertanto, due diversi casi, non collegati tra loro, se non per la presenza del magistrato.
Tra l'altro, mancano alcuni dei principali personaggi 'di contorno', che di solito con qualche avventura e qualche episodio ravvivano la trama.
In questo caso, invece, i casi sono etremamente semplici, di rapida conclusione, quasi due racconti.
July 14, 2022
Lâu lắm rồi mới lại đọc một bộ truyện trinh thám phá án mà nhân vật là quan công đường. Motif này ngày xưa quá ư là quen với các tập phim Bao Công luôn hihi. Mở đầu truyện có vẻ hơi chậm nhưng truyện nào cũng đều có những cú cua rất khét và càng đọc càng thấy hay.
January 14, 2025
The tiger story with Dee on the road was quite different from the usual mystery.
January 19, 2012
Maybe I just haven't read a Judge Dee mystery in a while, but both of these stories seem to have a hint of misogyny running through them. Also, the denouement of the second story seemed to come out of left field with no hints or slow build-ups to the judge's conclusion.
December 6, 2022
Κριτική στα Ελληνικά πιο κάτω...
I've read a couple of other books by this author and found them all fine as light entertainment, but they are kind of "naive" and it's not that hard to guess some plot elements. This one is not an exception. When reading books set centuries ago, you have to accept that ethics and customs were different, so there are some violent practices and the different way they treated women and people on the lower layers of social scale etc. But other than that, I think you could call the Judge Dee mysteries light, cosy mysteries. A genre that usually doesn't suit me much to be honest, but I find these ones alright.
This book features two different little stories and it's easy to finish it in a few hours. Far fetched and naive on the detective part and on some plot elements, but pleasant to read.
The most interesting trait of this series, at least to me, is the "exotic" setting. The sleuth is a 7th century official, based on a real historical person, who became legendary in China during the centuries and starred on various Chinese detective stories during the years.
The author lived an interesting life his self and had a deep interest and knowledge of the Far East, its history, arts, earlier literature works and culture. Based on this feedback, he created his own amagalm of stories, starring Dee, taking place on the 7th century, but featuring a setting with elements of many different eras in Chinese history and occasionally twisting the Chinese tradition to suit a Western audience. Bearing in mind the fact that he wrote on the 1950s, his texts might be influenced a bit of the ideas of time period too.
If this is a new series to you or if you've spontaneously read other books in the series, no need to worry. Each story more or less stands alone fine.
A decent slim book to pass the time!
Έχω διαβάσει κι άλλα βιβλία με πρωταγωνιστή τον Δικαστή Τι και όλα είναι αξιοπρεπή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του. Ευχάριστα "αστυνομικά", κάπως αφελή στην πλοκή και όχι τόσο δύσκολο να μαντέψει κανείς ορισμένα στοιχεία της ιστορίας. Υπάρχουν εξ ορισμού κάποιες βάναυσες πρακτικές της εποχής και ο διαφορετικός τρόπος που βλέπαν τις γυναίκες και λειτουργούσε η κοινωνία τότε, αλλά μάλλον θα τα κατέτασσα στα πιο light, "cosy" αναγνώσματα - που εμένα δεν μου ταιριάζουνε πάντα για να είμαι ειλικρινής. Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο περιέχει δύο σύντομες αυτόνομες ιστοριούλες που διαβάζονται γρήγορα. Το πιο ενδιαφέρον για τον δυτικό αναγνώστη -ή τουλάχιστον για εμένα- είναι το "εξωτικό" περιβάλλον. Ο ντετέκτιβ είναι ένας περιφερειακός επίτροπος στην Κίνα του 7ου αιώνα. Δικαστής Τι στα Ελληνικά ή Dee στα Αγγλικά και ποιος ξέρει πως ακριβώς στα Κινέζικα (και σε ποιά διάλεκτο από όλες;)
Πραγματικό πρόσωπο που ανάμεσα στις διάφορες θέσεις της δημόσιας διοίκησης της εποχής, είχε και αυτή του τοπικού αξιωματούχου, του περιφερειακού επιτρόπου κι αργότερα κάτι σαν του Υπουργού Δικαιοσύνης και Δημόσιας Τάξης. Ανάμεσα σε πολλά άλλα καθήκοντα, είχε και την εξιχνίαση εγκλημάτων (και την εκδίκασή τους). Μέσα στους αιώνες, η προσωπικότητα αυτή έλαβε μυθικές διαστάσεις και του αποδίδονται διάφορες ιστορίες, και οι ίδιοι οι Κινέζοι λογοτέχνες πολλούς αιώνες αργότερα, έγραψαν "αστυνομικές" ιστορίες με αυτόν πρωταγωνιστή.
Ο συγγραφέας, με ενδιαφέρουσα ζωή και πολύ καλή γνώση του πολιτισμού της Άπω Ανατολής ο ίδιος, βασισμένος σε πολλές πηγές και αυθεντικά κείμενα, τελικά έφιαξε ένα αμάλγαμα δικό του, με ιστορίες του Δικαστή Τι εμπνευσμένες από παλιότερες Κινεζικές ιστορίες γραμμένες σε διαφορετικές εποχές, είτε είχαν τον Τι πρωταγωνιστή είτε όχι και δημιουργώντας έναν "κόσμο" που σε διαφορετικές εκφάνσεις του ανταποκρίνεται σε στοιχεία διαφορετικών εποχών. Μένοντας κοντά σε κάποιες παραδόσεις του 7ου αιώνα για παράδειγμα, αλλά περιγράφοντας τον ενδυματολογικό κώδικα του 16 με 17ου αιώνα ή κάποιες δοξασίες του 4ου αιώνα. Και φυσικά "εκδυτικίζοντας" κάποιες τροπές της ιστορίας και δεδομένου ότι έγραψε τη δεκαετία του 1950, εκφράζοντας κάποιες απόψεις εκείνης της εποχής.
Η συγκεκριμένη έκδοση περιλαμβάνει κάποιες παρατηρήσεις του ίδιου του συγγραφέα στο τέλος, πιο πολύ σχετικά με το Κινέζικο ωροσκόπιο στο οποίο γίνεται μία αναφορά μέσα στη μία ιστορία.
Αν δεν έχετε ξαναδιαβάσει βιβλία της σειράς, ή έχετε διαβάσει άλλα του συγγραφέα με τυχαία σειρά, δεν υπάρχει λόγος ανησυχίας καθώς σε γενικές γραμμές στέκονται μια χαρά αυτόνομα. Είναι ένα ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του, χωρίς να το κρίνει αυστηρά.
I've read a couple of other books by this author and found them all fine as light entertainment, but they are kind of "naive" and it's not that hard to guess some plot elements. This one is not an exception. When reading books set centuries ago, you have to accept that ethics and customs were different, so there are some violent practices and the different way they treated women and people on the lower layers of social scale etc. But other than that, I think you could call the Judge Dee mysteries light, cosy mysteries. A genre that usually doesn't suit me much to be honest, but I find these ones alright.
This book features two different little stories and it's easy to finish it in a few hours. Far fetched and naive on the detective part and on some plot elements, but pleasant to read.
The most interesting trait of this series, at least to me, is the "exotic" setting. The sleuth is a 7th century official, based on a real historical person, who became legendary in China during the centuries and starred on various Chinese detective stories during the years.
The author lived an interesting life his self and had a deep interest and knowledge of the Far East, its history, arts, earlier literature works and culture. Based on this feedback, he created his own amagalm of stories, starring Dee, taking place on the 7th century, but featuring a setting with elements of many different eras in Chinese history and occasionally twisting the Chinese tradition to suit a Western audience. Bearing in mind the fact that he wrote on the 1950s, his texts might be influenced a bit of the ideas of time period too.
If this is a new series to you or if you've spontaneously read other books in the series, no need to worry. Each story more or less stands alone fine.
A decent slim book to pass the time!
Έχω διαβάσει κι άλλα βιβλία με πρωταγωνιστή τον Δικαστή Τι και όλα είναι αξιοπρεπή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του. Ευχάριστα "αστυνομικά", κάπως αφελή στην πλοκή και όχι τόσο δύσκολο να μαντέψει κανείς ορισμένα στοιχεία της ιστορίας. Υπάρχουν εξ ορισμού κάποιες βάναυσες πρακτικές της εποχής και ο διαφορετικός τρόπος που βλέπαν τις γυναίκες και λειτουργούσε η κοινωνία τότε, αλλά μάλλον θα τα κατέτασσα στα πιο light, "cosy" αναγνώσματα - που εμένα δεν μου ταιριάζουνε πάντα για να είμαι ειλικρινής. Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο περιέχει δύο σύντομες αυτόνομες ιστοριούλες που διαβάζονται γρήγορα. Το πιο ενδιαφέρον για τον δυτικό αναγνώστη -ή τουλάχιστον για εμένα- είναι το "εξωτικό" περιβάλλον. Ο ντετέκτιβ είναι ένας περιφερειακός επίτροπος στην Κίνα του 7ου αιώνα. Δικαστής Τι στα Ελληνικά ή Dee στα Αγγλικά και ποιος ξέρει πως ακριβώς στα Κινέζικα (και σε ποιά διάλεκτο από όλες;)
Πραγματικό πρόσωπο που ανάμεσα στις διάφορες θέσεις της δημόσιας διοίκησης της εποχής, είχε και αυτή του τοπικού αξιωματούχου, του περιφερειακού επιτρόπου κι αργότερα κάτι σαν του Υπουργού Δικαιοσύνης και Δημόσιας Τάξης. Ανάμεσα σε πολλά άλλα καθήκοντα, είχε και την εξιχνίαση εγκλημάτων (και την εκδίκασή τους). Μέσα στους αιώνες, η προσωπικότητα αυτή έλαβε μυθικές διαστάσεις και του αποδίδονται διάφορες ιστορίες, και οι ίδιοι οι Κινέζοι λογοτέχνες πολλούς αιώνες αργότερα, έγραψαν "αστυνομικές" ιστορίες με αυτόν πρωταγωνιστή.
Ο συγγραφέας, με ενδιαφέρουσα ζωή και πολύ καλή γνώση του πολιτισμού της Άπω Ανατολής ο ίδιος, βασισμένος σε πολλές πηγές και αυθεντικά κείμενα, τελικά έφιαξε ένα αμάλγαμα δικό του, με ιστορίες του Δικαστή Τι εμπνευσμένες από παλιότερες Κινεζικές ιστορίες γραμμένες σε διαφορετικές εποχές, είτε είχαν τον Τι πρωταγωνιστή είτε όχι και δημιουργώντας έναν "κόσμο" που σε διαφορετικές εκφάνσεις του ανταποκρίνεται σε στοιχεία διαφορετικών εποχών. Μένοντας κοντά σε κάποιες παραδόσεις του 7ου αιώνα για παράδειγμα, αλλά περιγράφοντας τον ενδυματολογικό κώδικα του 16 με 17ου αιώνα ή κάποιες δοξασίες του 4ου αιώνα. Και φυσικά "εκδυτικίζοντας" κάποιες τροπές της ιστορίας και δεδομένου ότι έγραψε τη δεκαετία του 1950, εκφράζοντας κάποιες απόψεις εκείνης της εποχής.
Η συγκεκριμένη έκδοση περιλαμβάνει κάποιες παρατηρήσεις του ίδιου του συγγραφέα στο τέλος, πιο πολύ σχετικά με το Κινέζικο ωροσκόπιο στο οποίο γίνεται μία αναφορά μέσα στη μία ιστορία.
Αν δεν έχετε ξαναδιαβάσει βιβλία της σειράς, ή έχετε διαβάσει άλλα του συγγραφέα με τυχαία σειρά, δεν υπάρχει λόγος ανησυχίας καθώς σε γενικές γραμμές στέκονται μια χαρά αυτόνομα. Είναι ένα ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του, χωρίς να το κρίνει αυστηρά.
June 26, 2024
Spoilers ahead. This is a book of two short stories.
The monkey: A gibbon drops off an expensive emerald ring on Judge Dee's veranda as he is resting. The veranda faces a tree filled hillside where there are only a couple of occupied vacation villas on top. On investigation they find an abandoned woodchoppers cabin on the hillside with a dead body inside.
The dead body is a man in his 50's whose body looks like it has been living rough but Dee surmises nevertheless that it's an educated man and not just a vagrant. What is surprising is that the tips of 4 of his fingers have been cut off.
This book is also one of those stories where Tao Gan is Dee's only assistant. The others are in the next district over helping to uncover a smuggling ring. Tao Gan has only recently joined Judge Dee and wants to prove himself.
Tao quickly finds out that the dead man is part of a small party of vagrants consisting of a man and his pretty sister and another vagrant, a party of 4.
As usual the mystery is solved by questioning all possible suspects and Dee putting 2 and 2 together with a bit of bluffing and guessing.
The Tiger:
Dee has been appointed President of the Metropolitan Court and is on his way to the capital in a fierce storm. He is cut off on an elevated plot of land by raging rivers on either side causing it to become a temporary island. His military escort is cut off behind him. The only place to rest is a fortified estate and unfortunately it's being besieged by a large band of bandits. Once he got in, the gates were immediately closed behind him.
Once inside he finds that there are only 40 helpless refugees (from the storm and the river) and the inhabitants of the estate which consists of a few folk, the rest being sent away. There are no weapons so they expect the bandits to break into the fortified estate and kill everyone before Dee's escort can cross the river to save them.
He also finds a mystery (sort of). The daughter of the landowner had died of a heart attack a day ago and a maid had run off with 200 gold pieces which would have been used to buy off the bandits. Being a nosy type, Dee investigates and find that the dead body of the daughter is actually that of the maid and the daughter is still alive. He deduces that the maid had been murdered and who the murderer was. Moreover, he uses children's kites to send messages across the river revealing that the bandits were marooned on the island which caused the local military commander to send two junks filled with soldiers across the raging river to catch the bandits and save Dee and the people on the estate.
As usual the mystery part is a bit meh, the high points of the book are the settings and the characters involved.
The monkey: A gibbon drops off an expensive emerald ring on Judge Dee's veranda as he is resting. The veranda faces a tree filled hillside where there are only a couple of occupied vacation villas on top. On investigation they find an abandoned woodchoppers cabin on the hillside with a dead body inside.
The dead body is a man in his 50's whose body looks like it has been living rough but Dee surmises nevertheless that it's an educated man and not just a vagrant. What is surprising is that the tips of 4 of his fingers have been cut off.
This book is also one of those stories where Tao Gan is Dee's only assistant. The others are in the next district over helping to uncover a smuggling ring. Tao Gan has only recently joined Judge Dee and wants to prove himself.
Tao quickly finds out that the dead man is part of a small party of vagrants consisting of a man and his pretty sister and another vagrant, a party of 4.
As usual the mystery is solved by questioning all possible suspects and Dee putting 2 and 2 together with a bit of bluffing and guessing.
The Tiger:
Dee has been appointed President of the Metropolitan Court and is on his way to the capital in a fierce storm. He is cut off on an elevated plot of land by raging rivers on either side causing it to become a temporary island. His military escort is cut off behind him. The only place to rest is a fortified estate and unfortunately it's being besieged by a large band of bandits. Once he got in, the gates were immediately closed behind him.
Once inside he finds that there are only 40 helpless refugees (from the storm and the river) and the inhabitants of the estate which consists of a few folk, the rest being sent away. There are no weapons so they expect the bandits to break into the fortified estate and kill everyone before Dee's escort can cross the river to save them.
He also finds a mystery (sort of). The daughter of the landowner had died of a heart attack a day ago and a maid had run off with 200 gold pieces which would have been used to buy off the bandits. Being a nosy type, Dee investigates and find that the dead body of the daughter is actually that of the maid and the daughter is still alive. He deduces that the maid had been murdered and who the murderer was. Moreover, he uses children's kites to send messages across the river revealing that the bandits were marooned on the island which caused the local military commander to send two junks filled with soldiers across the raging river to catch the bandits and save Dee and the people on the estate.
As usual the mystery part is a bit meh, the high points of the book are the settings and the characters involved.
August 21, 2021
Two novellas published together in Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee series.
"The Morning of the Monkey" is set in the fictional city of Hanyuan in the summer of 667 (also the setting of The Chinese Lake Murders). The work is dedicated to the memory of Van Gulik's gibbon Bubu, who died in Malaysia in 1962. For this pet, dear to his heart, the author imagined a story in which a gibbon serves as the starting point for the mystery. While having breakfast on his terrace, Judge Dee has fun observing gibbons swinging in the branches. Suddenly he notices that one of them is carrying a shiny object. After having succeeded in recovering that object, the magistrate finds that it is a ring of great value. The jewel soon leads the judge to the corpse of a fifty year old man who is missing a finger, then to a pretty prostitute who, some time before, has requested an appraisal of the ring from a pawnshop. It later turns out that the elderly man was a successful apothecary who gave up his home and his family to start a new life - a bit in the style of Simenon's Monsieur Monde Vanishes who also "opted out."
This story was originally written in Dutch in 1963 under the title "Four Fingers" and was distributed freely by bookshops as a "bonus book" during the National Week of the Book, in 1964 (a nice Dutch custom which still exists).
"The Night of the Tiger", takes place about a decade later (in the winter of early 676) when Judge Dee has just been appointed president of the metropolitan court of justice, which makes him the highest magistrate of the empire. While on his way to the capital to start in his new post, he finds himself trapped on an island by a swollen river. After finding refuge with a landowner, in an isolated, fortified country house, he learns that a band of bandits is making the island unsafe. Judge Dee has no choice but to confront them, but he also has to solve a murder which has taken place in the country house.
In this story we encounter the guqin, the seven-stringed Chinese zither (Van Gulik calls it a "lute"), one of the oldest known stringed instruments which is still played today - in fact Van Gulik himself seems to have been a masterful player and he also wrote a study about the instrument ("The Lore of the Chinese Lute"). In ancient China, playing the guqin was one of the pastimes of literati, together with playing weiqi (Go), making ink paintings and calligraphy.
"The Night of the Tiger" is one of the best stories by Van Gulik, and the first one in which we meet the judge alone, as would also be the case in the last two novels Van Gulik wrote. The story was originally written in Dutch, in 1963.
"The Morning of the Monkey" is set in the fictional city of Hanyuan in the summer of 667 (also the setting of The Chinese Lake Murders). The work is dedicated to the memory of Van Gulik's gibbon Bubu, who died in Malaysia in 1962. For this pet, dear to his heart, the author imagined a story in which a gibbon serves as the starting point for the mystery. While having breakfast on his terrace, Judge Dee has fun observing gibbons swinging in the branches. Suddenly he notices that one of them is carrying a shiny object. After having succeeded in recovering that object, the magistrate finds that it is a ring of great value. The jewel soon leads the judge to the corpse of a fifty year old man who is missing a finger, then to a pretty prostitute who, some time before, has requested an appraisal of the ring from a pawnshop. It later turns out that the elderly man was a successful apothecary who gave up his home and his family to start a new life - a bit in the style of Simenon's Monsieur Monde Vanishes who also "opted out."
This story was originally written in Dutch in 1963 under the title "Four Fingers" and was distributed freely by bookshops as a "bonus book" during the National Week of the Book, in 1964 (a nice Dutch custom which still exists).
"The Night of the Tiger", takes place about a decade later (in the winter of early 676) when Judge Dee has just been appointed president of the metropolitan court of justice, which makes him the highest magistrate of the empire. While on his way to the capital to start in his new post, he finds himself trapped on an island by a swollen river. After finding refuge with a landowner, in an isolated, fortified country house, he learns that a band of bandits is making the island unsafe. Judge Dee has no choice but to confront them, but he also has to solve a murder which has taken place in the country house.
In this story we encounter the guqin, the seven-stringed Chinese zither (Van Gulik calls it a "lute"), one of the oldest known stringed instruments which is still played today - in fact Van Gulik himself seems to have been a masterful player and he also wrote a study about the instrument ("The Lore of the Chinese Lute"). In ancient China, playing the guqin was one of the pastimes of literati, together with playing weiqi (Go), making ink paintings and calligraphy.
"The Night of the Tiger" is one of the best stories by Van Gulik, and the first one in which we meet the judge alone, as would also be the case in the last two novels Van Gulik wrote. The story was originally written in Dutch, in 1963.
June 15, 2024
My wife and I eagerly consumed Judge Dee's Mysteries, a gonzo Taiwanese tv production distributed by Netflix about a Tang dynasty magistrate who is also a brilliant detective. We were intrigued that credit sequence mentions that it was based on the work of the "Dutch author Robert van Gulik" - that seemed improbable - and we looked into the source material which sounded great. Van Gulik apparently discovered a Ming dynasty novel exploring the exploits of Judge Dee (based loosely on an actual Tang dynasty figure) in a bookstore in Tokyo and after translating it, decided to extend the series with his own inventions. This was the only of his work available at my local library, and after eagerly setting out to read it, I can hardly express how disappointed I was. Odd, poorly paced, filled with anachronisms and desperately in need of a copy editor - "fudge Dee" indeed!
March 12, 2021
These two novellas in one book are widely separated in Judge Dee's career.
A gibbon comes by the Judge's house and drops an emerald ring. Where did it come from? Who does it belong to? This leads the Judge to find a murdered man with no identification. Clues come from many places, some of them due to lucky breaks.
A flood strands Judge Dee on an island in a big house under threat from a band of bandits called the flying tigers. If the owner can't come up with a ransom, or maybe even if he does, the bandits will kill everyone in the house. The complications are the missing gold bars and a murdered woman.
Each of these novellas is fast reading. The clues are there, but the solutions are not obvious.
A gibbon comes by the Judge's house and drops an emerald ring. Where did it come from? Who does it belong to? This leads the Judge to find a murdered man with no identification. Clues come from many places, some of them due to lucky breaks.
A flood strands Judge Dee on an island in a big house under threat from a band of bandits called the flying tigers. If the owner can't come up with a ransom, or maybe even if he does, the bandits will kill everyone in the house. The complications are the missing gold bars and a murdered woman.
Each of these novellas is fast reading. The clues are there, but the solutions are not obvious.
September 7, 2023
Okay; it's just hilarious how often van Gulik managed to throw in a scene that allowed him to include an illustration of a naked woman. And the minute I read a certain scene in the last part of the book, I knew what was coming up, and--yep--there she was.
Two mysteries that start with something that seems fairly ordinary, with Dee busy trying to solve a completely unrelated situation. Nice little puzzles that need to be worked out. Van Gulik wasn't actually that great a writer, but the puzzles are interesting and so is the setting. Proofreading, though ... I beg of you, U of Chicago Press, hire somebody. Really.
Two mysteries that start with something that seems fairly ordinary, with Dee busy trying to solve a completely unrelated situation. Nice little puzzles that need to be worked out. Van Gulik wasn't actually that great a writer, but the puzzles are interesting and so is the setting. Proofreading, though ... I beg of you, U of Chicago Press, hire somebody. Really.
July 3, 2023
Hầu tử và lão hổ là hai vụ án được tác giả phóng tác dựa trên nhân vật Địch Nhân Kiệt. Hay đúng ra đây chỉ là một quyển truyện trinh thám mà nhân vật thám tử tên là Địch Nhân Kiệt. Truyện ngắn, không có nhiều nút thắt nhưng đọc vẫn khá thú vị. Hầu tử là câu chuyện mà từ một chiếc nhẫn do con khỉ nhặt được mà Địch Công khám phá ra án mạng đồng thời còn phá cả vụ án buôn lậu. Lão hổ nói về một đội cướp lấy danh hiệu Phi Hổ, trong khi sắp bị nhóm cướp này tấn công thì Địch Công đã phá xong một vụ án khác.
March 27, 2020
I always enjoy judge Di stories, but I must admit I prefer full novels to the collections of stories. The riddles here are interesting, often funny, but the short format forces them to be resolved a bit too quickly, without allowing us to savour the atmosphere of the time and place. Besides, I wasn't sold on some of the answers, though that doesn't mean they weren't enjoyable.
October 28, 2018
Molto molto piacevole come trama e scrittura. Un libro garbato e misurato di un autore che non conoscevo e la cui biografia mi ha attirato come una calamita. Spero di riuscire a trovare gli altri suoi libri
December 31, 2022
This book was sitting on my TBR for a long time. I am very happy I finally picked it up. Van Gulik weaves a tight tale in ancient China with memorable characters and a brilliant reckoning of the society of the time. Recommended!
July 25, 2024
I have enjoyed Judge Dee
Since first I met him. Clever intellectual not physical mysteries. No big fights, gore or violence…except for the violence of life then. No great suspense either…just clever thinking.
Since first I met him. Clever intellectual not physical mysteries. No big fights, gore or violence…except for the violence of life then. No great suspense either…just clever thinking.
December 21, 2017
two quick stories, nice introduction to a great detective series
March 27, 2018
Simple enjoyable double story. The first worked well the second less so.
December 15, 2018
Kahelooline kogumik. Esimene lugu toimub suht kohe peale Hanyuani Järvemõrvu ja teine jälle karjääri lõpupoole peale Naelamõrvu. Mõlemad olid päris kobedad. Hea.
December 18, 2018
Great detective stories
July 3, 2019
One of my favorite van Gulik books ever - two novellas, the second of which is a stunner.
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