Celebrated cases of Judge Dee = Dee goong an

an authentic eighteenth-century Chinese detective novel

237 pages

English language

Published 1976 by Dover Publications.

ISBN:
978-0-486-23337-6
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4 stars (1 review)

Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates. These judges held a unique position. As "fathers to the people" they were at once judge and detective, responsible for all aspects of keeping the peace and for discovering, capturing, and punishing criminals. One of the most celebrated historical magistrates was Judge Dee, who lived in the seventh century A.D. This book, written in the eighteenth century by a person well versed in the Chinese legal code, chronicles three of Judge Dee's most celebrated cases, interwoven to form a novel. A double murder among traveling merchants, the fatal poisoning of a bride on her wedding night, and an unsolved murder in a small town under Judge Dee's jurisdiction — these are the crimes. They take Judge Dee up and …

2 editions

Very unique

4 stars

One of the weirder detective novels I have read. It is published by an academic/scientific publisher because it is a scholarly translation of detective stories written in the 18th century about a historical figure from the 7th century.

Let’s just say that Judge Dee does a lot of unconventional things to solve the cases in relation to other detective stories. And then there is a very good essay at the end of the book explaining how the justice system worked in China at the time the stories are set, and then it at all kind of makes sense.

(anybody who likes weird detective fiction should send me their recommendations in the comments…)

Subjects

  • Di, Renjie, 629-700 -- Fiction.
  • Judges -- Fiction.
  • China -- Fiction.