The Cases of Lord Lin

AnonymousJun 2024

3.3

Word count: 206K words
Chapters: 61

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are highly original, inventive and literary. Early forms of thought have striking features: religious theology, classical medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist and Hundred Schools thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, local customs and geography—all are vast and profound. This "Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture" series preserves the original appearance of the texts, aiming to preserve and transmit traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Lin Gong An is included in the "Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture" series, attributed to an anonymous author, and is a modern edition of a traditional Chinese case narrative. These tales follow the investigation and judgment of cases while also depicting social life and popular ethics. Readers are drawn along by the plot and can glimpse how traditional society imagined and articulated right and wrong. The editorial approach is to preserve the original text without extensive modernization, so readers encounter a narrative voice and structure close to the source, which helps in appreciating the rhythm of traditional vernacular or semi-classical Chinese. Its value lies not in providing rigorous legal-historical material but in serving as a specimen of traditional narrative literature, allowing readers to experience how case stories were told and what moral concerns they carried. For reading situations, it suits segmented leisure reading, and also comparison with similar case fiction to observe similarities and differences in character setup and plot conventions. It should be noted that this is not a scholarly edition; annotations and textual research are limited, so readers interested in textual history or historical background should consult specialized studies separately.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy traditional case stories and want to experience the original narrative voice
General readers interested in ancient social life and popular ethical expression
Readers looking for strongly plotted classical Chinese material for leisure reading
Readers who wish to compare it with similar case fiction and compare narrative conventions

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tight reasoning or a structure like modern detective fiction
Scholars needing detailed annotations and textual scholarship
Readers with low tolerance for ancient vernacular or semi-classical Chinese

Reading tips

Read case by case, pausing briefly after each to review characters and clues.
Read alongside similar case fiction and note similarities and differences in plot conventions and character setup.
Mark unfamiliar ancient objects or titles first, then look them up together after finishing a section.
Do not aim for word-by-word close reading; focus on experiencing the narrative voice and social description.

版权信息
第１回试秋闱良材获售参县幕奇案亲查
第２回片言折狱名重公卿老役缉捕石打太守
第３回身入谏台揭参降将心存叵测谋刺贤臣
第４回爱贤才老师荐幕友入险境侠女救书生
第５回长途仆仆响马追踪良夜迢迢霜锋飞至
第６回以德服人释放刺客告养归里饱受虚惊
第７回访能人酒客说真话受愚弄干役入牢笼
第８回捉盐枭老谋深算访恶霸微服私行
第９回金鸡湖恶霸行凶白石洞贤臣受困
第１０回遇义侠林公脱险入江湖恶霸弃家
第１１回侠恩爵讨差拿要莽杨彪出手打高僧
第１２回首凶正法大快人心义士探庄共商良策
第１３回探葛庄杨彪陷机关拿恶棍幼德奋神勇
第１４回史大娘报德追赃邱船主以寡胜众
第１５回巧遇凶徒瓮中捉鳖私通寡妇海底翻澜
第１６回宿山村侠士锄强奉上谕贤臣升任
第１７回酒客说出逃荒恶习吏胥串吞赈济巨金
第１８回亲勘灾荒扫除积弊略施小技惊走群雄
第１９回赴东河巡三门砥柱登北岸睹只手拔船
第２０回获正犯解案销差吐真情同仇敌忾
第２１回利国驿巡抚被掳抱犊峪名捕购线
第２２回史林恩弃暗投明张保仔兽心人面
第２３回任封圻保障东南查漕弊救济州县
第２４回买缸寻衅巧遇名家聚众复仇又逢大吏
第２５回捞浅拉舟运河冰冻奸姑杀嫂命案奇冤
第２６回遭诬陷无辜被逮得真情奋勇缉凶
第２７回帮匪囊空劫渔船令尹幕客弄玄虚
第２８回充巡捕化装查案接公文添差缉凶
第２９回王安福奋勇捉帮头史林恩渡江获要犯
第３０回访命案跑堂泄真相缉凶首县署请添差
第３１回悍帮头菜馆遭擒获小粮户茶肆发牢骚
第３２回茶肆无聊畅谈漕弊谩藏诲盗忽见奇人
第３３回侠丐冰筵怅怀陈迹贤臣规划重整漕规
第３４回秋汛届期履勘险要堤防巩固江汉安澜
第３５回施老海小试富阳法黄爵滋请禁鸦片烟
第３６回厉烟禁加重论罪拟复奏附列良方
第３７回陈锦堂戒烟得美缺杨天德匿怨访同僚
第３８回至友告讦变生意外美姬设计妙绝人寰
第３９回助力感恩委身擅宠失官盗印报怨相当
第４０回奏请禁烟维持银价拿获贩土重拟罪名
第４１回美凤姑乔装护亲夫贤观察奉委访猾吏
第４２回遇樵夫问路历险境见逃犯假意说卑词
第４３回缴烟枪当场烧毁施丸药普渡众生
第４４回论烟害追源往事闻严禁运动权奸
第４５回权奸得贿倒行逆施公愤难平上疏抗议
第４６回尤协镇狂妄辱钦差邓制军直言论权相
第４７回移檄英主会禁种烟传谕夷贩呈缴存土
第４８回绝供给降服英领事缴鸦片禀复林钦差
第４９回移节虎门收缴烟土激恼领事遣回夷船
第５０回撒盐灰销毒务尽验水量夹带难瞒
第５１回伤人命严正交涉关天培添建炮台
第５２回义律霸阻夷船入口英皇怒派军舰示威
第５３回轻启兵端损船折将火攻匪艇焦头烂额
第５４回澳门交兵英将逃遁定海失守林公见疑
第５５回功罪倒持林公去位昏庸渎职琦善私和
第５６回失虎门关提督殉国战省河杨参赞扬威
第５７回赔兵费捏词蒙听垦边疆遣戍立功
第５８回长都统殉难乍浦城陈提督炮毁英兵舰
第５９回良将阵亡议和辱国贤臣开复奉旨平番
第６０回化民释怨匪患肃清暴病归真全书结束

FAQ

Is this book a complete collection of case stories?

According to the materials, this is a case narrative work in the "Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture" series, attributed to an anonymous author, with an editorial approach that preserves the original text. The exact table of contents should be checked against the physical book; readers are advised to look at the contents before arranging their reading order and not to expect the completeness of a modern story collection.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Basic reading ability in classical Chinese will make it smoother, because the book preserves the original text and has not been rewritten in vernacular Chinese. If ancient official systems, titles, and objects are unfamiliar, keep reference works at hand for consultation. It is not necessary to study legal history systematically first; reading the book as traditional narrative literature is enough.

Is this book suitable as a substitute for detective fiction?

Expectations should be adjusted. Traditional case stories focus on case judgment, social description, and ethical expression; their chains of reasoning and structural approach differ from modern detective fiction. Readers expecting tightly reasoned detection may find the pace and logic not to their expectations; read as a specimen of traditional narrative, its interest comes through more clearly.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.