The Emperor's Pearl

infobox Book |
name = The Emperor's Pearl


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 = 1963
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 184 pp (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-226-84872-8
preceded_by = The Haunted Monastery
followed_by = The Lacquer Screen
crime-task-force = yes

"The Emperors Pearl" 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.

Plot introduction

Judge Dee, has settled in to the job as the chief judge for the town/district of Poo-yang. At the annual Dragon boat race, a young drummer dies myseriously and shortly thereafter, a young woman is found dead in a deserted country estate. The mystery involves the cruel river goddess, a wealthy merchant's young mute wife, and the legendary Emperor's Pearl. Judge Dee will not rest until this mystery is resolved.

Poo-yang was the setting for many Judge Dee stories including: The Chinese Bell Murders, Necklace and Calabash, Poets and Murder, and The Red Pavilion.

Literary significance and criticism

"Whether the reader or the writer is the first to tire of a formula may be argued with the aid of any given example such as this story. The fact remains that the characters, events, and tricks now seem close to played out."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]

References