Judge Dee, Tang Dynasty Detective Page at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore

          Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese
had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates.
These judges held a unique position: at once judge and detective, responsible for all aspects of keeping
the peace and for discovering, capturing and punishing criminals. One of the most celebrated historical
magistrates was Judge Dee, who lived in the VIIth Century A.D.
            The real person of Judge Dee [Di Renjie, c. 630-c. 700] lived in the T'ang Dynasty of Ancient China, and was the subject of folk tales written down around 1500 AD and of the "Di Gong An (Tales of Judge Dee)" novel of the XVIIIth Century. Dutch Diplomat Robert van Gulik [1920-67] translated that document during World War II, and followed with 16 original Judge Dee books.
            French author Frédéric Lenormand has written a series of Judge Dee novels not yet available in English. The Hong Kong martial arts epic "Detective Dee and The Mystery of The Phantom Flame" was released in 2010 in China and elsewhere, and in the U.S.A. in September 2011.

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee book translated by Robert van Gulik

"Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee" [1949] translated by Robert van Gulik
Three intertwined stories: "The Case of The Double Murder At Dawn", "The Case of The Strange Corpse", and "The Case of The Poisoned Bride". Dee is the newly-appointed Magistrate of Chang-ping in the Province of Shantung; he has four lieutenants on staff: Sgt. Hoong, Chiao Tai, Ma Joong, and Tao Gan
Dover Publns pb [6/76] for $8.95

"The Chinese Maze Murders" [circa 670; 1957] written in 1950, published in Japanese in 1951

"The Monkey and The Tiger" [1965]
short stories "The Morning of The Monkey" [circa 667] and "The Night of The Tiger" [circa 676]

"Judge Dee At Work" [8 stories 1967]
includes "The Coffins of The Emperor" [circa 672], "Five Auspicious Clouds" [circa 664], "He Came With The Rain"
[circa 663], "Murder On New Year's Eve" [circa 674], "The Murder On The Lotus Pond" [circa 666], "The Red
Tape Murders" [circa 663], "The Two Beggers" [circa 668], and "The Wrong Sword" [circa 668]

"La Dernière Enquète du Juge Ti" [circa 675; 2008]
by French author Sven Roussel ISBN 9782953220605

"Detective Dee and The Mystery of The Phantom Flame" [2010]
Chinese-language novelization by Lin Qianyu ISBN 9787538548594

"Judge Dee" mini-series
[Granada Television April-May 1969]

Judge Dee mini-series from Granada Television

six hour-long b&w episodes: "Traitors In High Places", "A Place of Great Evil", "The Haunted Pavilion", "A Festival of Death", "The Day of The Scavengers", and "The Curse of The Lacquer Screen" Produced by Howard Baker; directed by Howard Baker & Richard Doubleday; written by John Wiles; starring Michael Goodliffe, Penny Casdagli, Arne Gordon, Susan Lefton, Garfield Morgan, Pamela Roland, Norman Scace & David Ashton
DVD/Blu-ray not available • credits at IMDb

"Judge Dee and The Monastery Murders"
TV movie [ABC-TV 1974]

Judge Dee and The Monastery Murders TV movie on ABC-TV

While on a journey with his three wives, Magistrate Dee stops overnight at a Taoist monastery. He soon discovers that the former abbot died of unnatural causes; several more deaths follow before Dee uncovers the killer. Produced by Gerald Isenberg; based on the novel "The Haunted Monastery", script credited to Nicholas Meyer & Robert van Gulik; starring Khigh Dhiegh {as Judge Dee}, with an all-Asian cast including Mako, Soon-Tek Oh, Keye Luke, Miiko Taka, Irene Tsu, Susie Elene, Beverly Kushida, Ching Hocson, Yuki Shimoda, Robert Sadang & James Hong; nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Television Feature Script
DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb

BlackHat Mystery BookstoreJudge Dee, Chinese Detective

BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Judge Dee, Chinese Detective