Judge Dee at Work

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Judge Dee at Work
JudgeDeeAtWork.JPG
First edition
AuthorRobert van Gulik
Series Judge Dee
Genre Gong'an fiction, Mystery, Detective novel, Crime
Published Heinemann
Publication date
1967
Media typePrint
Pages174
Preceded by The Phantom of the Temple  
Followed by Necklace and Calabash  

Judge Dee at Work is a collection of 8 gong'an detective short stories written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (roughly speaking the Tang dynasty). It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie), a county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

The book features eight illustrations by the author.

The book also has a postscript where the author places all the novels and stories into a coherent timeline for his semi-fictional character.

Overview

Judge Dee, a magistrate in Imperial China is a crime solver, a detective. In these stories Judge Dee solves a series of un-related crimes from different times in his career. There is no over-all narrative to these stories.

List of stories

  1. "Five Auspicious Clouds" - set in the year 663 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Peng-lai.
  2. "The Red Tape Murder" - set in the year 663 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Peng-lai.
  3. "He Came With the Rain" - set in the year 663 was a magistrate of Peng-lai.
  4. "The Murder on the Lotus Pond" - set in the year 666 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Han-yuan.
  5. "The Two Beggars" - set in the year 668 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Poo-yang.
  6. "The Wrong Sword" - set in the year 668 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Poo-yang.
  7. "The Coffins of the Emperor" - set in the year 670 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Lan-fang.
  8. "Murder on New Year's Eve" - set in the year 670 when Judge Dee was a magistrate of Lan-fang.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judge Dee</span> Fictional character

Judge Dee, or Judge Di, is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie, county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. The character appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detective and gong'an crime novel Di Gong An. After Robert van Gulik came across it in an antiquarian book store in Tokyo, he translated the novel into English and then used the style and characters to write his own original Judge Dee historical mystery stories.

<i>Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee</i> 18th-century Chinese gongan detective novel

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, also known as Di Gong An or Dee Goong An, is an 18th-century Chinese gong'an detective novel by an anonymous author, "Buti zhuanren". It is loosely based on the stories of Di Renjie, a county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700. Though set in Tang dynasty China, the novel also contains cultural elements from later dynasties. A translated version was released by Robert van Gulik in 1949; van Gulik would go on to write his own series of Judge Dee novels, starting with The Chinese Maze Murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Di Renjie</span> Chinese politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties

Di Renjie, courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), formally Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was a Chinese politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian. He was one of the most celebrated officials of Wu Zetian's reign. Di Renjie is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.

<i>The Chinese Bell Murders</i>

The Chinese Bell Murders is a gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Chinese Gold Murders</i>

The Chinese Gold Murders is a gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Chinese Lake Murders</i>

The Chinese Lake Murders is a gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Chinese Nail Murders</i>

The Chinese Nail Murders is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700 BC.

<i>The Chinese Maze Murders</i> Novel written by Robert van Gulik

The Chinese Maze Murders is a gong'an historical mystery novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700. However, van Gulik's novel is set not in the Tang, but in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), with society and customs depicted in the book reflecting this period.

<i>The Haunted Monastery</i>

The Haunted Monastery is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Emperors Pearl</i>

The Emperors Pearl is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Lacquer Screen</i>

The Lacquer Screen is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700 AD.

<i>The Red Pavilion</i>

The Red Pavilion is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Monkey and the Tiger</i>

The Monkey and the Tiger book pairs two unrelated short gong'an detective novels written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. Both stories are fictions based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Willow Pattern</i> (novel) 1965 detective novel by Robert van Gulik

The Willow Pattern is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>Murder in Canton</i> 1966 novel by Robert van Gulik

Murder in Canton is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>The Phantom of the Temple</i>

The Phantom of the Temple is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>Necklace and Calabash</i>

Necklace and Calabash is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<i>Poets and Murder</i>

Poets and Murder is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China. It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee, a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gong'an fiction</span> Chinese crime fiction subgenre

Gong'an or crime-case fiction is a subgenre of Chinese crime fiction involving government magistrates who solve criminal cases. Gong'an fiction first appeared in the colloquial stories of Song dynasty. Gong'an fiction was then developed and become one of the most popular fiction styles in Ming and Qing dynasties. The Judge Dee and Judge Bao stories are the best known examples of the genre.

This is the complete list of works by Dutch historical mystery novelist Robert van Gulik.