The Chinese Maze Murders

by Gulik, Robert Hans Van

• ISBN13: 9780226848785
• ISBN10: 0226848787
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women lead Judge Dee to the heart of the Governor's garden maze and the answers to three interwoven mysteries. The Chinese Maze Murders represents Robert van Gulik's first venture into writing suspense novels after the success ofDee Gong An, his translation of an anonymous Chinese detective novel from the sixteenth century.

Author Biography

Robert van Gulik (1910–67) was a Dutch diplomat and an authority on Chinese history and culture. His many works include sixteen Judge Dee mysteries, a study of the gibbon in China, and two books on the Chinese lute.
 
 
 
 

Table of Contents

First Chapter A strange meeting takes place on a lotus lake; Judge Dee is attacked on his way to Lan-fang	1	(16)
Second Chapter Judge Dee opens the first session of the tribunal; He discovers in the archives an unsolved problem	17	(14)
Third Chapter The judge witnesses a quarrel on the market; A young man forecasts his father's murder	31	(9)
Fourth Chapter Tao Gan reports on a mysterious old mansion; An ingenious trap is set in the dark tribunal	40	(9)
Fifth Chapter Twenty ruffians attack in the dead of night; Judge Dee sets out on a dangerous excursion	49	(11)
Sixth Chapter Four guildmasters are received in the main hall; Mrs. Yoo visits the tribunal with an old picture	60	(12)
Seventh Chapter Three roguish monks receive their just punishment; A Candidate of Literature reports a cruel murder	72	(13)
Eighth Chapter An old General is murdered in his own library; Judge Dee goes to visit the scene of the crime	85	(7)
Ninth Chapter Judge Dee ponders alone in a dead man's room; The autopsy brings to light the cause of death	92	(11)
Tenth Chapter Judge Dee pays a visit to an eccentric young man; He presides an artistic meeting in the tribunal	103	(13)
Eleventh Chapter Tao Gan has an adventure in an old temple; Ma Joong meets his match in a drinking bout	116	(11)
Twelfth Chapter Judge Dee discusses the secrets of two pictures; A young girl discovers passionate love letters	127	(13)
Thirteenth Chapter Yoo Kee entertains a distinguished guest to tea; Judge Dee decides to revisit the General's studio	140	(10)
Fourteenth Chapter A strange clue is found in a dead man's room; Judge Dee sends his men to arrest a criminal	150	(8)
Fifteenth Chapter Painter Woo reveals his secret in the tribunal; Judge Dee orders a search of the Eastern city	158	(14)
Sixteenth Chapter Ma Joong investigates the licensed quarter; He is made a partner in a nefarious scheme	172	(12)
Seventeenth Chapter Mrs. Yoo pays a second visit to the tribunal; A queer discovery is made in an old mansion	184	(12)
Eighteenth Chapter Judge Dee decides to consult an old hermit; Ma Joong catches his man in the Drum Tower	196	(14)
Nineteenth Chapter A recluse discourses on the purpose of life; Judge Dee learns the old Governor's secret	210	(12)
Twentieth Chapter A rebel chieftain confesses under torture; A mysterious stranger is at last identified	222	(14)
Twentyfirst Chapter Judge Dee closes the case of the murdered General; Chiao Tai relates the story of a military disaster	236	(17)
Twentysecond Chapter Judge Dee explains the murder of General Ding; He reveals the secret of the scroll picture	253	(12)
Twentythird Chapter The judge leads his men to the heart of the maze; A gruesome discovery is made in a secret pavilion	265	(13)
Twentyfourth Chapter A young girl goes to visit a famous artist; A criminal is caught in an unexpected place	278	(16)
Twentyfifth Chapter Two depraved criminals suffer the extreme penalty; Judge Dee learns the secret of an abstruse couplet	294