The Haunted Monastery

infobox Book |
name = The Haunted Monastery


image_caption = University of Chicago Press - 1997
author = Robert van Gulik
cover_artist = Ed Lindlof
series = Judge Dee
genre = Mystery, Detective Novel
publisher = University of Chicago Press
release_date = 1961
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 196 pp (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-226-84879-5
preceded_by = The Chinese Nail Murders
followed_by = The Emperor's Pearl
crime-task-force = yes

"The Haunted Monastery" 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 630–700.

The book contains eight illustrations by the author as well as a diagram of the Monastery where the action takes place.

Plot introduction

Judge Dee and his four aides are forced to take refuge in a strange Taoist monastery due to a terrible storm. While there, the chief abbot dies suddenly and Judge Dee thinks it was murder. When investigated the monastery proves to be filled with strange people, frightening statues, and young girls under duress.

Literary significance and criticism

"Some interesting sidelights on Confucian and Taoist beliefs emerge from this tale of corruption and murder in a monastery, where Judge Dee runs into considerable danger but ends up administering justice in a primitive way. Perhaps because it is short and somewhat huddled, this work does not remain in the memory as one of his best."Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. "A Catalogue of Crime". New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8]

On Screen

In 1974 the novel "The Haunted Monastery" was produced as a TV movie by Gerald Isenberg with the title "Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071703/] . It was filmed with an all Asian cast (including Mako and James Hong). Writing was credited to Nicholas Meyer and Robert van Gulik. It was nominated for and Edgar Award, for "Best Television Feature or Miniseries" in 1975.

References