The Chinese Gold Murders

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The Chinese Gold Murders
recent University of Chicago Press edition - 1996
University of Chicago Press - 1996
Author Robert van Gulik
Cover artist Ed Lindlof
Series Judge Dee
Genre(s) Mystery, Detective Novel
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Publication date 1959
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 214 pp (paperback edition)
ISBN ISBN 0-226-84864-7
Preceded by The Chinese Lake Murders
Followed by The Chinese Nail Murders

The Chinese Gold Murders is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (roughly speaking the Tang Dynasty). It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie), a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630700.

The book includes a map of the fictional town of Peng-lai.

[edit] Plot introduction

Judge Dee is a recently appointed magistrate to the miserable town/district of Peng-lai. His predecessor has been murdered and so Judge Dee must investigate. The investigation is made more complex due to the disappearance of his chief clerk as well as the new bride of a wealthy local shipowner. Meanwhile a tiger is terrorizing the district, the ghost of the murdered magistrate is stalking members of the court, a prostitute has a secret message for Judge Dee, and the body of a murdered monk is found to have been placed in the wrong grave. What could possibly relate all these events?

The town of Peng-lai was the setting for other Judge Dee stories including: The Lacquer Screen, and three of the short stories from Judge Dee at Work.