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Murder in Canton: A Judge Dee Mystery
Murder in Canton: A Judge Dee Mystery
Murder in Canton: A Judge Dee Mystery
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Murder in Canton: A Judge Dee Mystery

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Brought back into print in the 1990s to wide acclaim, re-designed new editions of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee Mysteries are now available.

Written by a Dutch diplomat and scholar during the 1950s and 1960s, these lively and historically accurate mysteries have entertained a devoted following for decades. Set during the T'ang dynasty, they feature Judge Dee, a brilliant and cultured Confucian magistrate disdainful of personal luxury and corruption, who cleverly selects allies to help him navigate the royal courts, politics, and ethnic tensions in imperial China.  Robert van Gulik modeled Judge Dee on a magistrate of that name who lived in the seventh century, and he drew on stories and literary conventions of Chinese mystery writing dating back to the Sung dynasty to construct his ingenious plots.

Murder in Canton takes place in the year 680, as Judge Dee, recently promoted to lord chief justice, is sent incognito to Canton to investigate the disappearance of a court censor. With the help of his trusted lieutenants Chiao Tai and Tao Gan, and that of a clever blind girl who collects crickets, Dee solves a complex puzzle of political intrigue and murder through the three separate subplots "the vanished censor," "the Smaragdine dancer," and "the Golden Bell."

An expert on the art and erotica as well as the literature, religion, and politics of China, van Gulik also provides charming illustrations to accompany his engaging and entertaining mysteries.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 15, 2010
ISBN9780226849058
Murder in Canton: A Judge Dee Mystery

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Rating: 3.7777777777777777 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This Van Gulik was much better than The Willow Pattern, I found it more enjoyable.In The Murder of Canton we find Judge Dee and his faithful companions going to Canton to solve the mystery of the disappeared Imperial Censor. This is a complicated plot involving Arabs (Muslims), Tanka (Chinese outcasts of low blood), political intrigue, love and lust gone horribly wrong and murder. Oh, and crickets.My problem with Van Gulik continues to be with the unnecessary nudity of women and the near misogyny. No woman seems to escape bad-mouthing or being punished for some vaguely inferred "sin." And while I understand that Van Gulik is reframing Judge Dee from seventh century Chinese stories, the appearance of two completely naked 16-year-old twins seems to be a little much. As does the half Persian half Tanka prostitute who dances nearly completely naked, except for the emerald in her belly button, for a muslim host and his Chinese guests. If, as we are led to believe, Mansur is indeed a deeply devout Muslim, no such immodestly dressed woman would have been allowed in his presence.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    All of van Gulik's books set wonderful settings...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    One of the weaker Judge Dee novels, with a muddled, confusing mystery. However, the scene where Judge Dee tells who did it is great.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    y chance I read this, the thirteenth Judge Dee book, before reading any of the previous stories. Judging from some of the other comments, I am in for a real treat because while I greatly enjoyed this installment in this unique detective series, the others are reputedly much better. Hurrah for that. The Judge Dee books were written by China scholar, linguist, and diplomat Robert Van Gulik (1910-1967) mostly between 1950 and his premature death. Judge Dee is a 7th century Confucian magistrate and detective. Van Gulik got onto writing his own detective stories after translating a book of 18th century Chinese detective stories set in the 7th century and featuring "Judge Dee" (or Ti Jen-chieh). 'Murder in Canton' takes Judge Dee to that southern city to covertly investigate the disappearance of a high central government official (Imperial censor). Dee is accompanied by his two aides Chiao Tai and Tao Gan as they unravel the apparently traditional "three puzzles". They find themselves caught in a web of intrigue that includes a possibly rebellious Arab, a sensuous Arab dancer, wealthy Cantonese merchants and financiers, part-Persian slave girls and dead bodies left and right. Van Gulik uses his knowledge of China to weave fascinating details of 7th century Canton into his tale, including his own illustrations (some quite pleasantly, umm, revealing). Interesting, educational, and an awful lot of fun to read. I look forward to the rest of series with most un-Confucian desire.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    #12 in the series, set in Canton.Judge Dee goes the city of Canton to investigate the disappearance and (as it turns out) murder of a Chinese court official. Several subplots (which are Van Gulik's forte) get tossed into the story, including a blind cricket-collector as well as creepy Arab assassins. As always, Judge Dee painstakingly unravels each mystery using his magnificent deductive powers. I have really enjoyed this series and have reread these books many times.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    At first, I thought the writing style was ‘old’, that it would deter me from enjoying a smooth reading experience. It wasn’t the case, and I read it pretty quickly, enjoying the plot and twists of Dee’s investigation in Cantonese politics and murders. Only drawback: I do not know if this is done on purpose for realism in fiction or if it is authorial opinion, but the Chinese characters are often given to racism and xenophobia throughout the novel, foreign communities in Canton are nothing less than ghettos and inter-community relationships are strictly forbidden. If it is done to represent a specific era, fine, but I wouldn’t like to think it is an authorial opinion.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It's the one book from the series I don't like, because Van Gulik kills off one of the main characters. Although he is consistent, in book one of the series he foreshadows this death in the form of a retold prophecy.

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Murder in Canton - Robert van Gulik

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