''The Chinese Bell Murders'' is a ''

gong'an Gong'an County () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan to the south. It is under the administration of Jingzhou City. History During the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms The Three King ...

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves t ...

novel written by

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

and set in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

(roughly speaking the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

). It is a fiction based on the real character of

Judge Dee 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 ...

(

Ti Jen-chieh Di Renjie (630 – November 11, 700), courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), formally Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was a Chinese politician of Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian. He was one of ...

or Di Renjie), a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

of the

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

court, who lived roughly 630–700. This book was originally written by Robert van Gulik sometime between 1953 and 1956. Like its predecessor, ''

The Chinese Maze Murders ''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 (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie - chin: 狄仁傑), a magistrate an ...

'' it was intended for a Japanese or Chinese audience but he later chose to publish it in English. As it happened, all three editions came out at roughly the same time.

Plot introduction

Judge Dee is a newly appointed magistrate to the town of Poo-yang. He has one case left over from the previous judge, a brutal rape-murder of a woman called Pure Jade. She was the daughter of a local butcher named Hsaio who lived on Half Moon Street. The girl's lover stands accused but Judge Dee senses something in the case is not right so he sets out, with his aides, to find the real murderer. In finding the real culprit, Judge Dee obtains information from a gang boss by the name of Sheng pa. This character also provides information in "The Emperor's Pearl" and the short story "The Wrong Sword". Judge Dee also has to wrestle with the problem of Buddhist Temple of Boundless Mercy, run by the abbot called "Spiritual Virtue". Rumor has it that the monks, who can cure barren women, are not as virtuous as they seem. In solving this crime, Judge Dee buys, with a hefty bribe from the Abbot of the Temple of Boundless Mercy intended to buy the judge off, two prostitutes in the city of Chin Hwa, where magistrate Lo offers his help. Magistrate Lo also appears in "The Red Pavilion", "Poets and Murder" (renamed the Fox -magic murders) and is involved in "The Two Beggars" in the short -story collection "Judge Dee At Work" though he does not appear. The Judge, apparently bringing two uneducated concubines into his household, causes some frostiness between himself and his first wife (The Judge has three wives) - the only time such an upset occurs in his otherwise peaceful household. The third case "The Case of the Mysterious Skeleton", since the Judge often has to deal with several cases at the same time, involves a wealthy Cantonese merchant who escaped punishment for the destroying of an entire family line. Poo-yang was the setting for many Judge Dee stories including: ''

The Emperor's Pearl ''The Emperors Pearl'' is a ''gong'an'' detective novel 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 magistrate ...

'', ''

Necklace and Calabash ''Necklace and Calabash'' is a ''gong'an'' detective novel 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 magistra ...

'', ''

Poets and Murder ''Poets and Murder'' is a '' gong'an'' detective novel 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 magistrat ...

'', and ''

The Red Pavilion ''The Red Pavilion'' is a ''gong'an'' detective novel 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 magistrate an ...

''.

Literary significance and criticism

"... enjoyable by anyone who knows what to look for in the depiction of Chinese manners and topography, and who does ''not'' look for what the species can't provide".Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. ''A Catalogue of Crime''. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Bell Murders, The 1958 novels Gong'an novels Judge Dee Novels set in the 7th century Novels set in the Tang dynasty Novels about rape Michael Joseph books