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Judge Dee (also, Judge Di) is the titular protagonist of Robert van Gulik
Robert van Gulik

Robert Hans van Gulik was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat, musician and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th century Chinese detective novel Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee....
's series of detective novels. The series is set in Ancient China
History of China

China civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River valley in the Neolithic era. The written history of China begins with the Shang Dynasty ....
 and deals with various criminal cases solved by the upright Judge Dee (judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
s often play the investigator
Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators . Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records....
 role in ancient Chinese crime stories).

Judge Dee character is based on the historical figure Di Renjie
Di Renjie

D? R?nji? , courtesy name Huaiying , formally Duke Wenhui of Liang , was an official of the History of China dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor of Tang Dynasty during her reign....
 (c. 630–c. 700), magistrate and statesman of the Tang
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
 court.






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Judge Dee (also, Judge Di) is the titular protagonist of Robert van Gulik
Robert van Gulik

Robert Hans van Gulik was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat, musician and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th century Chinese detective novel Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee....
's series of detective novels. The series is set in Ancient China
History of China

China civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River valley in the Neolithic era. The written history of China begins with the Shang Dynasty ....
 and deals with various criminal cases solved by the upright Judge Dee (judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
s often play the investigator
Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators . Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records....
 role in ancient Chinese crime stories).

Van Gulik's stories

The Judge Dee character is based on the historical figure Di Renjie
Di Renjie

D? R?nji? , courtesy name Huaiying , formally Duke Wenhui of Liang , was an official of the History of China dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor of Tang Dynasty during her reign....
 (c. 630–c. 700), magistrate and statesman of the Tang
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
 court. During the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling Dynasties in Chinese history of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty....
 (1368–1644) in China, a "folk novel" was written set in former times, but filled with anachronisms. Van Gulik found in Di Gong An an original tale dealing with three cases simultaneously, and, which was unusual among Chinese mystery tales, a plot that for the most part lacked an overbearing supernatural element which could alienate Western readers. He translated it into English and had it published under the title Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is an 18th century China detective novel. It is loosely based on the adventures of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
.

This gave him the idea of writing his own novels, set with the similar Ming anachronisms, but using the historical character. Van Gulik was careful in writing the main novels to deal with cases where Dee was newly appointed to a city, thereby isolating him from the existing lifestyle and enabling him to maintain an objective role in the books. Van Gulik's novels and stories made no relation to the original Chinese work and so Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is not considered to be part of the Judge Dee series.

Initially Dee is assisted only by his faithful clerk, Sergeant Hoong, an old family retainer. However, in The Chinese Gold Murders
The Chinese Gold Murders

The Chinese Gold Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
, which describes Dee's initial appointment and first criminal cases, the judge encounters two highwaymen, euphemistically called "men of the greenwood," Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, who attempt to rob him but are so impressed with his character that they give up their criminal careers and join his retinue on the spot. A little later, in The Chinese Lake Murders
The Chinese Lake Murders

The Chinese Lake Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
, a third criminal, Tao Gan, an itinerant confidence trickster and swindler, similarly joins. Judge Dee ends his career being promoted to the position of senior Metropolitan Judge in the capital, and his assistants obtain official ranks in the Army and civil service.

Van Gulik also wrote series of newspaper comics about Judge Dee in 1964-1967, adding up to a total of 19 adventures. The first 4 were regular balloon strips, but the later 15 had the more typically Dutch textblock under the pictures.

Judge Dee, naturally, is responsible for deciding the sentence as well as assessing guilt or innocence, although van Gulik notes in the stories that all capital punishments must be referred to and decided by officials in the capital. One of the sentences he frequently has to deal with is slow slicing; if he is inclined to mercy, he orders the final, fatal, cut to be made first, thus rendering the ceremony anticlimactic.

Other authors

Several other authors have created stories based on Van Gulik's Judge Dee character.

  • In 1995, Neal Stephenson
    Neal Stephenson

    Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer, known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized science fiction, historical fiction, maximalism, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk....
     added a character very much like Judge Dee to his book The Diamond Age
    The Diamond Age

    The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is a bildungsroman focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life....
    . The character was named Judge Fang and his two assistants were named Chang and Miss Pao.


  • French author Frédéric Lenormand wrote ten books (not yet translated into English).


  • The Chinese/American author Zhu Xiao Di
    Zhu Xiao Di

    Zhu Xiao Di is a Chinese-American novelist and the author of Tales of Judge Dee, has also authored a biographical work, Thirty Years in a Red House: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth in Communist China, and contributed to Father: Famous Writers Celebrate the Bond Between Father and Child, an anthology including contributions by Ann...
     wrote a book about Judge Dee called Tales of Judge Dee (2006). Zhu Xiao Di has no relation to Robert van Gulik but tried to stay faithful to the fictionalized history of van Gulik's Judge Dee. Tales of Judge Dee is set when the Judge was the magistrate of Poo-yang (the same time period as The Chinese Bell Murders
    The Chinese Bell Murders

    The Chinese Bell Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
     and several other novels).


  • Judge Dee appears, along with a fictionalized Wu Zetian
    Wu Zetian

    Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Emperor of China....
    , in Eleanor Cooney & Daniel Alteri's mystery novel "Deception: A Novel of Mystery and Madness in Ancient China"


  • Fred Saberhagen
    Fred Saberhagen

    Fred Thomas Saberhagen was a Chicago-born American science fiction and fantasy fiction author most famous for his Berserker series of science fiction stories....
    , in his Stonecutter's Story: The Third Book of Lost Swords, (1988) introduces Magistrate Wen Chang, an affectionate homage to Judge Dee. The Magistrate solves the crime in typical Dee fashion, even acquiring assistants to handle the leg work.


Bibliography


By van Gulik

Following novels and short stories were published in English by van Gulik. The short story collection Judge Dee at Work
Judge Dee at Work

Judge Dee at Work is a collection of detective short stories written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial era of Chinese history . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 (published in 1967) contains a "Judge Dee Chronology" detailing Dee's various posts in specific years and stories set in these times. Van Gulik's last two books, Poets and Murder and Necklace and Calabash, were not listed in the chronology, as they were written after Judge Dee at Work, but they are both set in the time when Judge Dee was the magistrate in Poo-yang.

Year Title Chronology Notes
1949 Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is an 18th century China detective novel. It is loosely based on the adventures of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 - Translated from Chinese (originally, Dee Goong An); not part of the later continuity
Continuity (fiction)

In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot , objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several mass media....
.
1957 The Chinese Maze Murders
The Chinese Maze Murders

The Chinese Maze Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 670, Lan-fang Written in 1950, published in Japanese in 1951; Lan-fang is a fictional district at the western frontier of Tang China.
1958 The Chinese Bell Murders
The Chinese Bell Murders

The Chinese Bell Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 668, Poo-yang Written between 1953 and 1956; Poo-yang is a fictional wealthy district on the shores of the Grand Canal of China
Grand Canal of China

The Grand Canal of China , also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the longest ancient canal or artificial river in the world....
 (part of modern-day Jiangsu
Jiangsu

is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
 province).
1959 The Chinese Gold Murders
The Chinese Gold Murders

The Chinese Gold Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 663, Peng-lai Peng-lai is a fictional district on the north-east coast of China.
1960 The Chinese Lake Murders
The Chinese Lake Murders

The Chinese Lake Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 666, Han-yuan Han-yuan is a fictional district on a lakeshore near the capital of Chang-An.
1961 The Chinese Nail Murders
The Chinese Nail Murders

The Chinese Nail Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 676, Pei-chow Pei-chow is a fictional district in the far north of Tang China.
1961 The Haunted Monastery
The Haunted Monastery

The Haunted Monastery is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-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....
 		 666, Han-yuan Judge Dee is traveling and forced to take shelter in a monastery.
1963 The Emperor's Pearl
The Emperor's Pearl

The Emperors Pearl is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 668, Poo-yang  
1964 The Lacquer Screen
The Lacquer Screen

The Lacquer Screen is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 663, Peng-lai  
1964 The Red Pavilion
The Red Pavilion

The Red Pavilion is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 668, Poo-yang  
1965 The Morning of the Monkey 666, Han-yuan A short story from The Monkey and the Tiger
The Monkey and the Tiger

The Monkey and the Tiger book pairs two unrelated short detective novels written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-Imperial China . Both stories are fictions based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
1965 The Night of the Tiger 676, Pei-chow A short story from The Monkey and the Tiger
1965 The Willow Pattern 677, Chang-An Judge Dee is the Lord Chief Justice in the Imperial capital of Chang-An.
1966 Murder in Canton
Murder in Canton

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

'Guangzhou' is the Capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province of China in the northern and southern China part of the People's Republic of China....
 		 Judge Dee is the Lord Chief Justice for all of China.
1966 The Phantom of the Temple
The Phantom of the Temple

The Phantom of the Temple is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Early Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 670, Lan-fang
1967 Five Auspicious Clouds 663, Peng-lai A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 The Red Tape Murders 663, Peng-lai A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 He came with the Rain 663, Peng-lai A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 The Murder on the Lotus Pond 666, Han-yuan A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 The Two Beggers 668, Poo-yang A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 The Wrong Sword 668, Poo-yang A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 The Coffins of the Emperor 670, Lan-fang A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 Murder on New Year's Eve 670, Lan-fang A short story from Judge Dee at Work
1967 Necklace and Calabash
Necklace and Calabash

Necklace and Calabash is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Early Imperial China . It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee , a magistrate and statesman of the Tang Dynasty court, who lived roughly 630–700....
 		 668, Poo-yang  
1968 Poets and Murder
Poets and Murder

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


By other authors

By the author Frédéric Lenormand (not yet translated into English)

  • Le château du lac Tchou-an (2004) The Zhou-an lake castle
  • La nuit des juges (2004) The night of the judges
  • Petits meurtres entre moines (2004) Little murders among monks
  • Le palais des courtisanes (2004) The courtesans' palace
  • Madame Ti mène l'enquête (2005) Mrs. Dee investigates
  • Mort d'un cuisinier chinois (2005) Death of a Chinese cook
  • L'art délicat du deuil (2006) The delicate art of mourning
  • Mort d'un maître de go (2006) Death of a Go master
  • Dix petits démons chinois (2007) Ten little Chinese devils
  • Médecine chinoise à l'usage des assassins (2007) Chinese medicine for murderers
  • Guide de survie d'un juge en Chine (2008) Survival guide for the Chinese judge
  • Panique sur la Grande Muraille (2008) Panic on the Great Wall


By the author Zhu Xiao Di
  • Tales of Judge Dee (2006), set in the time when Judge Dee is in Poo-yang


Filmography

Judge Dee has been adapted for television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 twice.
  • In 1969 Howard Baker produced six Judge Dee stories for Granada Television
    Granada Television

    Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. It previously held the "North of England" weekday franchise, which also covered most of Yorkshire, from 1954 until 1968 when its broadcast area was divided into two franchises....
    . These episodes were in black and white and were not a ratings success.
  • In 1974 the novel The Haunted Monastery
    The Haunted Monastery

    The Haunted Monastery is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Mid-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....
     was produced as a television show by Gerald Isenberg with the title Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders. It was filmed with an all Asian cast (including Mako
    Mako (actor)

    , born was an Academy Award-nominated Japanese-United States actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as "Mako", omitting his surname....
     and James Hong
    James Hong

    James Hong is an United States actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists ....
    ). Writing was credited to Nicholas Meyer
    Nicholas Meyer

    Nicholas Meyer graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in theater and filmmaking, & is a film writer, Film producer, film director and novelist best known for his involvement in the Star Trek films....
     and Robert van Gulik. It was nominated for an Edgar Award
    Edgar Award

    The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film and theatre published or produced in the past year....
    , for Best Television Feature or Miniseries in 1975.
  • Some of Robert van Guliks Judge Dee stories have been adapted for Chinese TV


External links