Judge Dee (also, Judge Di) is the titular protagonist of Robert Van Gulik's series of detective novels. The series is set in Tang Dynasty China and deals with various criminal cases solved by the upright Judge Dee (judges often play the investigator role in ancient Chinese crime stories).Quoted from wikipedia
Judge Dee has a few things in common with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, he's a brilliant detective with amazing analytical and deductive skills, but the similarities end there.
Unlike Holmes, Dee is a family man and a skilled martial artist, with a reputable and stable job in the highly bureaucratic Chinese government of his time.
Dee has a multiple cast of well developed sidekicks. His friend, clerk and family retainer Sergeant Hoong, and Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, two ex highwaymen that join him after realizing how cool Judge Dee is.
Also, in contrast with his western colleague, he deals with numerous cases at the same time. These secondary cases more often than not provide a clue, or are otherwise linked to the solution of the main one.
I really enjoyed reading Van Gulik's novels. Each one of them was a page turner and just the right length to keep me entertained. His descriptions of ancient Chinese daily life in is captivating and vivid. Not the mention the way he skillfully weaves multiple narrative threads, offering us two or three solutions for each mystery, exposed trough Dee's inner musings. Invariably there is a fourth or fifth solution, neatly and plausibly explained when the last piece of the puzzle is found.
Another great aspect of the books is that Judge Dee has no qualms about joining the fray and defeating criminals directly. The novels are full of exciting sword fights and martial art combat scenes that would not be out of place in wuxia movies, like Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon.
Judge Dee's wikipedia article has a full bibliography. I recommend hunting down those books, they are a sure way to pass the time on a boring bus or train trip.
Ah, by the way, there was also a Judge Dee movie recently released, directed by none other than Tsui Hark!
Check out the trailer on youtube.
I hope to find this movie in theaters or get my hands on a copy soon!
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