Written by: Van Gulik, Robert (Editor)
Submitted By: Robert Rath
I confess that I first read this book because it was assigned in my Civilizations of Asia class. In fact, most people only read it because it will get them a grade.
Which is a pity, because it's an excellent book. So good, in fact, that I read it in one sitting.
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, or 'Dee Goong An' is a Chinese detective novel written about a historical character in Dynastic China. The stories attributed to him are probably fictional, but the character or Judge Dee did truly exist.
In the justice system of Imperial China, the Judge wore many hats. In addition to his role as the head of the court, he also investigated the crimes, sat as both prosecution and defense, and of course, determined the fate of the accused.
The Chinese Judicial system is fascinating, the central pillar being that to be convicted, a suspect must confess his or her crime. Therefore, to convict, a judge had to gather an overwhelming body of evidence through forensics, questioning, cross-examining, and torture. However, should the judge be found to have tortured or convicted an innocent person, he himself would take on the sentence he imposed.
The book deals with three intertwined cases, tales filled with murder, jealousy, cunning and greed. (As any good detective story should be.) I can guarantee the cases will keep you guessing until the end. Especially in the infamous 'Case of the Strange Corpse'.
However, though the cases may be puzzling, Judge Dee and his henchmen (repentant highway robbers-- Confucianists are oh-so-big on repenting a life of crime) will find the clues and crack the case.
