The Chinese Bell Murders
There is seldom a better window into the life and ways of a time and place than through the study of their stories. These tales, whether written or maintained through oral tradition, are a vehicle through which the historian can travel to knowledge and understanding of a culture and a peoples unbeknownst to him in direct experience. Robert Van Gulik’s The Chinese Bell Murders is just this type of story. Although written by a man of Dutch birth, the book captures the essence of the Ming mystery story, common to 16th century Chinese literature. Van Gulik spent most of his career in the far East, and thus became intrigued with the historic Judge Dee, a famous scholar-magistrate. Through Judge Dee and his escapades, Van Gulik not only demonstrates the Ming mystery model, but also provides valuable insights into aspects of Chinese culture and tradition, such as the role of the magistrate and the court, the position of women and the status of various religions and social classes in China. Characteristic of Ming mystery stories, the role of the detective in The Chinese Bell Murders is played by the magistrate. The magistrate is often involved in simultaneously solving three or more unrelated cases. Thus, the structuring of the nov
There are other more subtle feature of the Ming mystery that are captured by Van Gulik. The promotion of Judge Dee by presenting him with a plaque and the rewarding of the Yang sisters is in line with the concept of compensating the deserving persons involved. The novel presents men and life as it was in the sixteenth century, though the scene is set several centuries earlier. It is also typical of Ming crime novels to begin with a brief introductory story that outlines the main events of the tale in veiled terms. This is achieved through the strange experience the narrator has in a curio shop in the first chapter. The chapter headings in two parallel sentences are also characteristic of the Chinese style. At the same time, he solves the case of the secret door to the Buddhist Temple. His assistant Tao Gan brings it to his attention that the temple of Boundless Mercy has become the wealthiest entity in the city due to the supposed miraculous power of the goddess Kwang Yin to grant offspring to childless couples who spend the night meditating at the temple. The judge and his lieutenants are highly suspicious of the temple, but are unable to find anything until the judge employs the help of two former prostitutes from another district, Apricot and Blue Jade Yang. By going undercover as the wide of a rich official from the capital, Apricot discovers the secret door to the ladies’ chamber through which the monks would enter and rape the women, and then demand large sums of money and gifts in order not to expose and dishonour them.
Some topics in this essay:
Van Gulik,
Poo Yang,
Judge Dee,
Bell Murders,
Buddhism Confucian,
Lin Fan,
Pure Jade,
Candidate Wang,
Lin Fan’s,
Jade Yang,
judge dee,
van gulik,
ming mystery,
secret door,
van gulik’s,
chinese bell,
candidate wang,
pure jade,
murder half moon,
punishment criminals,
medieval china,
half moon street,
door buddhist temple,
aspects chinese culture,
rape murder half,
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Approximate Word count = 1703
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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