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    The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery
    The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery
    The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery
    Ebook169 pages3 hours

    The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery

    By Robert van Gulik

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    About this ebook

    It all begins on the night of the Poo-yang dragonboat races in 699 A.D.: a drummer in the leading boat collapses, and the body of a beautiful young woman turns up in a deserted country mansion.  There, Judge Dee—tribunal magistrate, inquisitor, and public avenger—steps in to investigate the murders and return order to the Tang Dynasty.   In The Emperor’s Pearl, the judge discovers that these two deaths are connected by an ancient tragedy involving a near-legendary treasure stolen from the Imperial Harem one hundred years earlier. The terrifying figure of the White Lady, a river goddess enshrined on a bloodstained altar, looms in the background of the investigation. Clues are few and elusive, but under the expert hand of Robert van Gulik, this mythic jigsaw puzzle assembles itself into a taut mystery.
     
    “If you have not yet discovered Judge Dee and his faithful Sgt. Hoong, I envy you that initial pleasure which comes from the discovery of a great detective story. For the magistrate of Poo-yang belongs in that select group of fictional detectives headed by the renowned Sherlock Holmes.”—Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
     
    “The title of this book and the book itself have much in common. Each is a jewel, a rare and precious find.”—Atlanta Times  
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateOct 15, 2010
    ISBN9780226849072
    The Emperor's Pearl: A Judge Dee Mystery

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    Reviews for The Emperor's Pearl

    4/5

    92 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      And so began my fascination with the Orient...Wonderful moods.
    • 4/5
      This book is a volume from the Judge Dee mystery series. Judge Dee lived from 630 to 700 b.c.e. and the books are set in the Tang dynasty. Judge Dee was a county magistrate in Poo-Yang a prosperous area on the Grand Canal. He was responsible government affairs, including criminal investigations, in his county. I enjoy the study of Imperial China and these books give a good feel for what life was like in that era.In this book there are four murders instead of the usual three. Judge Dee solves the murders using logic to sift through clues and come to a conclusion. He works with Sergeant Hoong, an old family retainer, who he tries out his theories on. The logical approach is straight from Confucianism and Judge Dee provides a good example of Confucianism in action.There is an element of the supernatural which appear in many of the Judge Dee books. It adds some flavor of the unusual to the story. It you want to know the story of the Emperor's Pearl you will have to read the book.China during the Tang dynasty was a very cosmopolitan society with people from all over East Asia. Miss Violet Liang is a good example. She is about 6' tall and a trained fighter from Mongolia who shows her talents in the book. She had been a favorite in the Imperial Palace who ended up in Poo-Yang due to politics in the Imperial palace.I always enjoy these books and hadn't read this one in a long time. A nice way to end the year.
    • 2/5
      I've never really been a fan of mystery books, but got this out of my recent interest in Chinese culture. I felt like the story itself was rather bland and left me feeling rather unfulfilled. The style of the narrative was also a bit strange in that Judge Dee would talk at length with his constable about his theories and suspects, yet it felt somewhat played. Perhaps this is due to the author trying to give it an authentic Chinese feeling. However, it did provide a glimpse into the life in China during the time period of Judge Dee (Tang dynasty, if I remember correctly), so in that it was a success. I doubt I will read more of the Judge Dee books.
    • 5/5
      Another terrific Judge Dee mystery. From start to finish the reader is immersed in the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of seventh century China, in this case Poo-yang on the night of the annual Dragon Boat festival. An accident during the boat race is revealed to be murder and as the body count mounts up, so too does the list of suspects: a businessman, a physician, a collector and all of them with connections to the antiques trade. Add to this a measure of political intrique related to a missing and highly valuable Pearl belonging to the Emperor, a neglected River Goddess upon whose land the murders occur, local superstition, beautiful women and even a female wrestler and the mystery deepens. The esteemed and highly intelligent Judge Dee works through the list of suspects with his usual efficiency, attention to detail, rational deductions and insightfulness. The trap he sets to catch the cuprit was so atmospheric it had me reading under the bed covers. This is the fifth Judge Dee mystery I have read and they have all been great reads. Highly recommended particulary of fans of historical mysteries.
    • 5/5
      another one of my favorites, #8 in the series. We find our intrepid magistrate in a city called Poo-Yang, where two seemingly unrelated deaths occur. Of course, Judge Dee & his assistants are on both of them, along with the theft of a valuable pearl. Fun reading & you'll want to own them all.
    • 5/5
      Set in 699 AD, China, Judge Dee is confronted with two very puzzling cases.It is the day of the Dragonboat Festival, an all day celebration that culminates with a race of nine dragonboats. The celebration is in honour of the River Goddess.Just as the boats are crossing the finish line, one of the drummers collapses. The man is determined to be dead from a heart attack, but Judge Dee has his own coroner, who notices some irregularities and determines poisoning to be the cause. This means murder.Judge Dee later comes upon a lady, who asks him to escort her to an old, abandoned house on the edge of the Mandrake Grove. The property was thought to belong to the White Woman — the River Goddess. The woman is going there to purchase a valuable item. The sale results in robbery and her death.Judge Dee is now confronted with two murders that are somehow connected. There is also the matter of the missing Emperor’s Pearl.Piece by piece, Judge Dee puts this jigsaw together to match the connections and solve the mysteries.Interesting note: The author, Robert van Gulik, was a recognized authority on Chinese history and pulled his plots from Chinese literature…detective novels from the 17th Century!

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    The Emperor's Pearl - Robert van Gulik

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