jds@duke.UUCP (09/27/83)
Someone recently asked about Japanese mysteries. While I know nothing about the Japanese tradition, the Chinese have a very old tradition of mysteries. It should be noted that the Chinese style is quite different from the western style. One difference is a strong element of magic or supernatural. Another difference is that the culprit is generally know throughout the story. The story usually centers around the clever way the detective is able to catch him. Other stylistic differences include a very large number of characters and strong moral overtones. Thus, westerners tend not to enjoy Chinese mysteries. All this leads us to Robert Van Gulik. Van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat who served in Japan and China. He became interested in Chinese mysteries and translated at least one. Realizing the difficulties in translating, he then change to writing or rewriting. Essentially, he took traditional plots and westernized them. I believe it was the case that he wrote some of them in Japanese and then translated them to English. Thus, you may be getting the English translation from the Japanese of Chinese mysteries actually written by a Dutchman. Van Gulik's stories are about Judge Dee. While Judge Dee was a real person, much folklore has grown up about him and Van Gulik makes no attempt at accuracy. Van Gulik became sloppy as he went along so his first books are much, much better than his later books. The University of Chicago has about 5 in paperback, and these are the ones to start with. Dover has published a couple of them along with the translation. I can't recommend the translation, at least to start with. You're missing a real treat if you pass these by. Joe Sloan (duke!jds)