Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese
Detective Stories (Judge Dee
Mysteries) by Robert van Gulik
Judge Dee Short Stories
The eight short stories in Judge Dee at Work cover a decade during which
the judge served in four different provinces of the T’ang Empire. From the
suspected treason of a general in the Chinese army to the murder of a
lonely poet in his garden pavilion, the cases here are among the most
memorable in the Judge Dee series.
Personal Review: Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese Detective
Stories (Judge Dee Mysteries) by Robert van Gulik
Indeed, during China's glorious Tang Dynasty (AD 618-960) - the golden
age of China, under the reign of Empress Wu Tzi Tien, there was a great
judge whose actual native name was Pao Kung (Judge Dee). He was
compassionate and full of wisdom and many well-known cases were
judged and solved by him and his loyal subordinates. Sometime Justice

Pao Kung would commence his judgement at night in his magistrate under
candlelight which surely added mystery and awe to the solemn occasion.
One of his most celebrated cases was the judgement of a murdered baby
prince in which the murderess substitited the corpse with the body of a
civet cat...! Legend had it that Magistrate Pao or Dee (as translated by
Van Gulik) was born inside a coffin of her deceased mother and therefore
half of his face was black and the other half white. Reputedly, he had the
supernatural ability to converse with gods and departed souls in the Spirit
World which would assist him in delivering judgement. Judge Dee was
revered and respected by the throne as well as high officials and he
travelled a great deal from province to province to supervise difficult to
solve cases. The late Robert Van Gulik had translated many cases of the
famous Judge Dee and derived most of his stories from the files of the
Tang Dynasty archives and then embellished them somewhat for
excitement and drama. Even today, in the tea houses of China,
professional storytellers would enthrilled their audience with stories of
Justice Pao...! When I was growing up in the then British Malaysia in the
1950s, I had listened to an old storyteller, under a bean oil lamp, telling
exciting tales of Judge Dee. He would charge a penny each from the
audience Presently, I have had read many of his translations by Van
Gulik - notably the Chinese Murder Series which are now classics and
give both the Western and Oriental readers an insight into the lives and
times of the glorious Tang Dynasty. Justice Pao or Judge Dee was an
honest official, incorruptible, learned, a good homicidal investigator and
judge of human characters. His judgments, as translated by Van Gulik, is
firm and without the slightest error. I urge readers of mysteries and crimes
to read the translated works of Judge Dee - never a dull moment and
please go for them to while away your time...Cheers.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese Detective Stories (Judge Dee Mysteries) by Robert
van Gulik 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!