The Chinese Maze Murders
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(August 2008) |
 First published edition (Japanese) | |
| Author | Robert van Gulik |
|---|---|
| Series | Judge Dee |
| Genre | Gong'an fiction,Mystery,Detective novel,Crime,Historical mystery |
| Publisher | Kodansha(Japanese) Nanyang Press (Chinese) W Van Hoeve Ltd (English) |
Publication date | 1951 (Japanese) 1953 (Chinese) |
Published in English | 1956 |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | The Chinese Bell Murders |
The Chinese Maze Murdersis agong'anhistorical mysterynovel written byRobert van Gulikand set inImperial China.It is a fiction based on the real character ofJudge Dee(Ti Jen-chiehor Di Renjie - chin: Địch nhân kiệt ), amagistrateandstatesmanof theTangcourt, who lived roughly 630–700. However, van Gulik's novel is set not in the Tang, but in theMing dynasty(1368–1644), with society and customs depicted in the book reflecting this period.
This was the first of the fictional mystery stories written by Robert van Gulik. It was based on three actual cases from Chinese criminal investigations. The author, having written the story in English, had it translated by a Japanese friend (Professor Ogaeri Yukio) into Japanese and it was sold in Japan under the title "Meiro-no-satsujin" in 1951. Then the author translated the book into Chinese himself and it was published by the Nanyang Press inSingaporein 1953. Finally Van Gulik published the English-language version in 1956.[1]
The three mysteries: "The Case of the Sealed Room", "The Case of the Hidden Testament", and "The Case of the Girl with the Severed Head" are all based on actual Chinese murder casebooks. The book contains a postscript by the author on the Chinese Imperial Justice system (something that Van Gulik was an expert on).
Plot introduction[edit]
Judge Dee is the magistrate in the fictional border town of Lan-fang. Upon arriving he has to depose a local tyrant under whom the previous magistrates were but figurehead puppets. Then he confronts three mysteries involving poisoned plums, a mysterious scroll picture, passionate love letters, a hidden murder, and a ruthless robber. These are all somehow linked to the Governor's gardenmaze.In addition, there is the growing threat of a Mongol invasion.
Lan-fang was the setting for another Judge Dee novel,The Phantom of the Templeand two short stories fromJudge Dee at Work.
References[edit]
- ^"The Chinese Maze Murders".www.wollamshram.ca.RetrievedAugust 27,2019.
External links[edit]
- The Chinese Maze MurdersatFaded Page(Canada)
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