The Chinese Bell Murders


		Robin Hardy Online


	*The Chinese Bell Murders* Robert van Gulik (The University of Chicago Press, 1977, originally published 1958)

Full disclosure: This book is not Robin's, but belongs to her daughter Stephanie, who was assigned to read it by a professor as an introduction to Imperialist (pre-communist) Chinese culture. Stef then recommended it to her mother as a rip-roaring good detective story. Robin agreed.

Author Robert Hans van Gulik (1910-1967) was a linguist, Dutch by birth, who served in diplomatic posts in The Hague, Tokyo, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Chungking, and Japan. He developed a consuming interest in Oriental art and literature. "In 1940 Van Gulik had run across an anonymous eighteenth-century Chinese detective novel that entranced him. Thereafter . . . [he studied] Chinese popular literature, especially detective and courtroom stories. He prepared an English translation of a traditional detective tale which he published at Tokyo in a limited edition in 1949 under the title Dee Goong An. This story in three episodes was the first of the publications [numbering at least 17] through which the Western world learned of the exploits of Judge Dee, one of China's traditional detective heroes." (Introduction, p. 3)


		In the Postscript, author Van Gulik offers many fascinating insights: "'Judge Dee' . . . was a historical person, one of the well-known statesmen of the T'ang dynasty. His full name was Ti Jen-chieh, and he lived from A.D. 630 till 700. In his younger years, while serving as magistrate in the provinces, he acquired fame because of the many difficult criminal cases which he solved." (p. 285) "It is a fundamental principle of Chinese law that no criminal can be pronounced guilty unless he has confessed to his crime. To prevent hardened criminals from escaping punishment by refusing to confess even when confronted with irrefutable evidence, the law allows the application of legal severities, such as beating with whip and bamboo, and placing hands and ankles in screws. Next to these authorized means of torture magistrates often applied more severe kinds. If, however, an accused should receive permanent bodily harm or die under such severe torture, the magistrate and the entire personnel of his tribunal were punished, often with the extreme penalty [death]. Most judges, therefore, depended more upon their shrewd psychological insight and their knowledge of their fellow men than on the application of severe torture. All in all the ancient Chinese system worked reasonably well." (p. 284)

	"In the present novel the Buddhist clergy is placed in a very unfavourable light. In this respect also I followed Chinese tradition. The writers of ancient novels were mostly members of the literary class who as orthodox Confucianists had a prejudice against Buddhism. In many ancient Chinese crime stories the villain is a Buddhist monk." (p. 286)

posted March 27, 2006 back to top back to Old Book Shoppe



	In this illustration by author Van Gulik (on p. 19) a curio collector, excited to find an ancient box with mirror belonging to Judge Dee, opens it to find Judge Dee's black judge hat. Putting it on, the collector is subjected to strange and terrifying visions which lead into the story of The Chinese Bell Murders.