A Judge Dee Detective Story - The Chinese Bell Murders

The Chinese crime or courtroom novel was a later form of one of the main genres of the colloquial narrative tradition— the detective story. From the time of the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279), and probably much earlier, the common people delighted in listening to the tales of the storytellers who performed in the bazaars or on the streets of cities and towns. One of the popular detective heroes of the storytellers was Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh), a historical personage and statesman of the T'ang court who lived from A.D. 630 to 700. He and other magistrates, especially Pao Cheng (A.D. 999-1062), were celebrated by storytellers, dramatists, and novelists. In the process the histori¬cal deeds of the judge became the basis for legendary accom¬plishments in detection, unswervingly right conduct, and super¬human insight. The judge-detective became the central figure of a stereotype that permeated all forms of popular literature.