It’s been a while since I sat down to enjoy a good Judge Dee mystery from Robert Van Gulik. They always offer such a pleasurable glimpse into the past, and with thrills to boot!

A Little About Robert Van Gulik

My copy of this novel, The Chinese Bell Murders, includes an introduction by Donald F. Lach about Robert Van Gulik, which I found quite enlightening. Besides sharing his personal history (including the man’s interest in ancient Chinese and Japanese erotic art and literature, which explains his naked-lady illustrations that always make into his book), Lach also describes why Van Gulik appeals to modern readers. He writes:

For the Westerner, direct translations of Chinese popular tales are often too foreign in nature and leave references to common matters too frequently unexplained for full comprehension. The insights and elucidations offered by Van Gulik provide the Westerner with a painless and pleasant introduction to pre-modern China, and with an understanding of how different, yet sometimes how similar, are the peoples in societies of China and the West. And, besides, these are entertaining stories and should be appreciated simply for their own sake. (12-13)

The Story in Summary

The book opens quite strangely, in that an old man from the Ming Dynasty discovers in a friend’s apartment an antique mirror-stand which holds Judge Dee’s own hat from hundreds of years prior. Donning the hat himself, the man falls into a trance, where he then relives the three cases we find in this book from Judge Dee’s early career in PuYang.

The three cases include a rape-murder and burglary, a corrupt businessmen’s decades-long feud with an elderly widow, and an odd promise to barren women from wealthy monks in a fertility temple. While these varied cases might have proved confusing, I was glad to see the first one solved in relatively short order. The stories also overlap slightly, with a new one coming as an old one is solved, a literary element that mirrors reality far more than the “one case only” feel we get with TV mystery episodes.

This being Judge Dee’s introduction to PuYang, we get to join him as he explores the backstreets and meets some of the prominent people in the region. I was also glad to see Dee’s faithful entourage again in this book. Sergeant Hoong is always present and trustworthy, as are his three lieutenants:

• Tao Gan – Former crook who knows all the tricks and scams
• Ma Joong – The burly boxer-bodyguard-type who takes no guff
• Chiao Tai – The archer and swordsman always willing to lend a hand

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this novel and was glad to slake my thirst for pleasurable mysteries after two recent failed attempts—A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1888) and Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (1923). I simply couldn’t get into those books, but with Dee there was something different, something special.

Apart from my love for China, I think it was Dee’s near-infallibility that made me enjoy this so much. Justice seems always to win in this book, even if some of the characters feel like justice arrived too late. It’s a matter of fate, though, in a seemingly fair world, so (not to stretch the point too far), I feel like Judge Dee represents God in a way.

If you enjoy mysteries and have never read Robert Van Gulik before, I think he’s well worth a read, and this second publication is a nice place to start.

©2025 E.T.

Read More from Robert Van Gulik:

• The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert Van Gulik (1957)
• The Chinese Bell Murders by Robert Van Gulik (1958)
• The Haunted Monastery by Robert Van Gulik (1961)
• Judge Dee at Work by Robert van Gulik (1967)
• The Chinese Gold Murders by Robert Van Gulik (1979)