- Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
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Not to be confused with Judge Dee stories.This article is about 18th century Chinese detective novel by an anonymous author. For other uses, see [[Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee series]].
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee 
1st edition coverAuthor(s) Unknown Original title Dee Goong An Translator Robert van Gulik Country China Language Chinese Series Judge Dee Genre(s) Mystery, Detective Novel Publisher Toppan Publishing Company Publication date 18th century Published in
English1949 Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Pages 237 (English copy) Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Chinese: 狄公案; pinyin: dí gōng àn, lit. "Cases of Judge Dee", also known as Di Gong An or Dee Goong An) is an 18th century Chinese detective novel by an anonymous author[1]. It is loosely based on the stories of Di Renjie (or Ti Jen-chieh ), a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.
The original Chinese novel contains cultural elements from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) rather than Tang Dynasty China, which may have been done deliberately.
The book features nine drawings, three copies from old Chinese art, and six illustrations by the author.
After Robert van Gulik came across it in a second-hand book store in Tokyo, he translated the novel into English and used it as the basis to create his own original Judge Dee stories over the next 20 years.
In the English translation, Van Gulik wrote that:
“ This translation is chiefly a product of the Pacific War years, 1941-1945, when constant travel on various war duties made other more complicated Sinological research impossible.
” “ This novel Dee Goong An is offered here in a complete translation. Possibly it would have had a wider appeal if it had been entirely re-written in a form more familiar to our readers.
” The English copy was first privately printed on behalf of Van Gulik by the Toppan Printing Company of Tokyo in a limited run of 1200 numbered signed copies.[2]
Contents
Plot introduction
There are three cases in this book. The first might be called The Double Murder at Dawn. The case describes the hazardous life of the traveling silk merchant and the murder which is committed to gain wealth.
The second is The Strange Corpse which takes place in a small village, a crime of passion which proves hard to solve. The criminal is a very determined woman.
The third case The Poisoned Bride contains the murder of the daughter of a local scholar who marries the son of the former administrator of the district. This case contains a surprising twist in its solution.
All three cases are solved by Judge Dee, the district magistrate - Detective, prosecutor, judge, and jury all wrapped up into one person.
Literary significance and criticism
"Dee Goong An is the genuine article, dating from the 18th century and barely modified by the translator to make it intelligible today. Like his modern fictions, it adroitly intertwines three plots and shows the judge and his aides in their now familiar guise. The introduction and notes (including Chinese ideograms for the skeptical) are as entertaining as the tale, once the reader has become a Dee-votee."[3]
See Also
References
- ^ Chinese: 不题撰人
- ^ http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?sale_number=N08012&live_lot_id=560
- ^ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8
External links
- Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.COM
- Dee Goong An
Categories:- 18th-century novels
- Chinese classic novels
- Judge Dee
- Crime fiction
- Detective fiction
- Self-published books
- 1949 novels
- Novels set in China
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