I like the book. It is different from the other's that this author wrote, although he keeps it pretty close. This is a translated book written by someone else in the 18th century that was later translated by Robert Van Gulik during WWII. It is a very good read and you also get an interesting history of china and how there legal system works. ( )

weird ancient chinese detective drama.I read this for world history II. ( )

One of my favorites! A rich depiction of traditional China (probably Ming/Wing era) and excellent insight into the Chinese legal system. These stories echo many traditional story-telling formats in a very convincing way. While it is not an authentic piece of Chinese lit it may be an accessible approximation with many curricular possibiiities. A review of these stories is available from Education about Asia, http://www.aasianst.org/EAA/wilson.ht... ( )

http://www.fireandsword.com/Reviews/j...

Long before Jessica Fletcher opened up the Cabots Cove branch of the Pinkertons, the Chinese developed the detective novel to a high degree. But like pasta, gunpowder, and sea borne voyages of trade and conquest, they decided it was overrated and left it to the uncivilized monkey people of the European littoral. Back in WWII Robert van Gulik took a break from his war duties and translated a Chinese detective novel. It was the Dee Goong An, a fictionalized account of crimefighting by a historical jurist of 8th century China.