Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee by Robert Van Gulik

What a strange little book !

Robert Van Gulik (1910-1967) was a Dutch diplomat, born in the Dutch East Indies, who worked in both China and Japan. Apparently, he found the original 18th C. novel about the Tang Dynasty official, Di Renjie , in a small used book store in Japan -- and then translated the first part of it into this volume.

But the story telling is so good -- one can't help but wonder if he made the whole thing up ---especially since he went on to create a whole series of "Judge Dee" books of detective fiction.

Well -- diplomats never lie ! (and he did rise high enough to become the Dutch ambassador to Japan), so I'm assuming that the original, anonymous 18th C. text did exist --and what a wonderful thing it was -- introducing us to a Chinese world of cops and robbers from the perspective of the cops (instead of Water Margins , that Robin Hood epic so popular with Chairman Mao)

(note: Van Gulik does refer to specific manuscripts and publishers -- so we can assume that the story is not completely of his invention. He also tells us that the original book came in four parts, of which he is presenting only the first. But as we know from "Dream of Red Chamber" -- Qing Dynasty fiction was accumulative -- with one anonymous writer adding chapters to the work of another -- so later editors should feel just as free to trim and edit however they choose)

Van Gulik's introduction also serves as a survey of Chinese detective fiction -- which turns out to be a magnificent lost world of florid imagination that began, like this book, in the 18th C. -- i.e. during the long and prosperous rule of the Qianlong Emperor.

I've yet to find a better introduction to Chinese civil life in the Confucian legal system that rambled on for about 2000 years -- even into the Communist era.

And it's hard to imagine the character of an official like Judge Dee --who is, on the one hand so thoughtful and compassionate towards the victims of crime -- and on the other --personally supervises the debilitating torture and eventual dismemberment of suspects/criminals.
(and there are no innocent convicts in China --everyone is tortured until they confess)

I just can't imagine how a person can torture and kill that many people --and still remain sane -- and yet, Judge Dee is eminently sane -- if perhaps something of a work-a-holic (and there is no reference to his personal family life --no wife, no children, not even any parents to care for)
Just a man who is devoted to justice -- and the three episodes in this novel give such a good picture of the variety of skills that are involved -- including acting --for the judge must sometimes go in disguise, and pretend to be a physician or silk merchant.

Some various comments as follows:

*Did every businessman have to learn martial arts back in those days ? It certainly seems like a necessary skill for those who do a lot of traveling -- and fighting skill seems much more common than in European civilization. The story gives some quite detailed accounts of fisticuffs:

"Djao sprang towards Ma Joong swift as an arrow, aiming a long blow at his heart region, using the stance called "a tiger clawing at sheep". But Ma Joong dodged the blow by withdrawing one step to the left, a trick called "enticing the tiger out of his forest"; at the same time he hit Djao's outstretched arm a sharp blow with two fingers exactly on the vein inside the elbow. Djao's right arm was temporarily lamed, his attack was stemmed, and he was trying to regain his stance when Ma Joong followed up his success with a sharp blow below Djao's ribs. Now Djao was fully aware that he had an expert opponent and went on strictly according to rules. Using his lamed arm to protect his body, he quickly caught Ma's right wrist with his left arm. But before Djao could twist his arm and place a kick, Ma countered with the trick called "Phoenix bird spreading its wings"; he sprang two feet in the air, thus loosening Djao's grip, at the same time aiming a left kick at his face. Djao, however, had expected this move; he quickly ducked between Ma's legs before he had come down, and threw him on the floor with a crash"


Can you imagine this much detail in any European literature ? Obviously, the writer, and his intended audience, were familiar with such things (and from what I know -- it does seem like a plausible interaction)

*The female villain in this story is really an interesting character: a young, smart, attractive woman who's stuck living in a hovel with an underachieving husband and his stupid mother.
She contrives to find a smart, handsome lover and murder her husband. And then, when captured by the ingenious, indefatigable Judge Dee -- she endures every extreme torture without confessing. (and when she passes out from pain --they wake her up -- to torture her some more) An incredible woman -- who also, though uneducated , figures out enough about the legal system to put Judge Dee in a real bind.

The cover of the Dover edition shows this beautiful, naked young woman while being tortured/interrogated by the good judge. Apparently Van Gulik himself did the drawing in an adaption of plates from the original book -- I wonder just how much this sexual sadism served as an attractive feature for the original text and its original audience.

Not to mention --misogyny.

There are no positive female figures in this book -- the women are either evil or stupid -- and if the crime was not committed by a woman -- it was committed by a man on behalf of a woman -- like the silk merchant who murdered his traveling companion in order to raise the cash to afford a woman.

*Which brings us to the issue of the "rights of the accused" in Chinese jurisprudence -- which seems to coincide with whatever the accuser or accused can get away with. For the accused - that usually means flight. So Judge Dee must be very careful not to tip his hand before the suspect is under his control, or else the suspect can run to places where the Judge cannot find him. Judge Dee does not need a search warrant to obtain evidence -- but he cannot barge into the homes of the well-connected -- so subterfuge is required (i.e. -- one of the judge's assistants can break in as a thief -- which then gives the judge good reason to search for any evidence regarding that "crime")

Needless to say -- no suspect has "the right to remain silent" -- and no legal representation is ever available.

And needless to say -- that without an extraordinarily honest judge like Dee -- this is a legal machine made in hell -- where one man sits as judge/jury/executioner -- and his job is so much easier if he quickly finds the most powerless, convenient suspect and tortures that person until he gets a confession. After which -- he can can confiscate the convict's property and distribute the assets as he wishes. No wonder so many people fled to the mountains to live as bandits.


*And which also brings us to the issue of criminal psychology - of which there is zero. The murderers have no depth -- their betrayals of spouse or companion seem to have no effect on their character -- because the story is not about them -- or the police who catch them -- but only about the progress of the investigation and the execution of the law.



*It's interesting to note the difficulties that are encountered when Judge Dee pursues his suspect into another jurisdiction -- where the officials there must be convinced that they benefit more by helping him instead of the criminal who has many local connections. The solution -- is to set up a situation where the local officials can claim credit for the capture (without actually having to do anything) It's also interesting that author notes, in passing, that the military garrison is there more to control the local, impoverished/predatory population than to defend the mountain passes from invading enemies.


*It's also interesting to note the connective tissue of the story -- how the narrative records so many ordinary events (like dinners and making hotel arrangements) -- that stretch the story out and make it seem more real.

*Perhaps the strangest -- and most wonderful -- feature of this genre of Chinese literature -- is the Interlude -- or intermission -- in the middle of the story that separates the problems from their resolution -- and that involves similar -- but different-- characters acting out a similar, but different brief story.

Here -- it's a woman dallying with two men -- and begins with the song "Only sing of beauty , only sing of love, never think of duty, when you think of love". Yes -- where is beauty -- or danger -- more apparent than in sexual attraction ?

*And let's not forget the supernatural -- which, as the introduction explains -- is present -- but not critical to the plot -- so it serves as a kind of mysterious incense.

When a ghost or dream speaks -- it functions just like a horoscope: it effectively predicts nothing until after the events have already happened . Needless to say -- I like that approach -- as it keeps the story feeling real.


Apparently -- there are currently over a hundred historical Chinese detective novels now available -- but only one more has been translated into the English -- and obviously, I'll be reading it very soon.