The Cases of Judge Dee (Part Three)

AnonymousJul 2024

3.5

Word count: 54K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Dee Goong An, originally titled The Four Great Strange Cases of Wu Zetian and also known as The Complete Biography of Duke Di Liang and The Four Great Strange Cases of Duke Di Liang, is a detective novel written in the late Qing dynasty. Set in the Tang dynasty during the reign of Wu Zetian, it tells how Di Renjie redressed unjust cases while serving as magistrate of Changping and rectified court discipline as prime minister. The plots are meticulously constructed and carry a political flavor. Structurally, Dee Goong An still belongs to the tradition of fiction uniting an honest official with chivalrous heroes, but the heroes have far fewer scenes than in The Cases of Lord Shi and The Cases of Lord Peng; the book is essentially devoted to Di Renjie's achievements in office. The cases are no longer those of the strong oppressing the weak, but difficult and perplexing cases.

Di Renjie was a famous official of Wu Zetian's reign, having served as judicial officer of the Bingzhou commandery and as assistant director of the Court of Judicial Review, and many legends about his case-solving circulated among the people. Unfortunately, the book names no author, and who the author actually was can no longer be determined.

Editor's review

This is the third volume of the late Qing casebook novel The Cases of Judge Dee, set in the era of Empress Wu Zetian and centering on Di Renjie as he redresses wrongful cases while serving as magistrate of Changping and later restores order at court as chancellor. Compared with The Cases of Judge Shi and The Cases of Judge Peng, this book gives noticeably less space to martial heroes, focusing instead on Di Renjie's administrative achievements and his handling of difficult cases; the plots are detailed and meticulous, with a political dimension. Readers can see the narrative characteristics of traditional honest-official case fiction: the cases are no longer simply the strong oppressing the weak but are mostly puzzling cases requiring careful deliberation, testing the magistrate's observation and judgment. This volume is best read after the first two, and also serves as a genre sample for readers interested in casebook fiction and legends of Di Renjie. Since the author is unknown, readers might focus on the structure of the cases and the depiction of officialdom rather than trying to trace the author's life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy traditional casebook fiction and want to learn about Di Renjie's cases
Readers interested in depictions of the ancient Chinese judicial system and officialdom
Readers who have finished the first two volumes and want to continue
Students and enthusiasts studying the genres of late Qing popular fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern, fast-paced suspense and mystery
Readers expecting extensive martial-arts fight scenes
Readers with limited patience for classical vernacular narrative

Reading tips

Read the first two volumes before this one so that the cases and character relationships connect more easily.
After finishing each case, review the clues to appreciate the reasoning methods of ancient case-solving.
Pay attention to Di Renjie's conduct as an official, and read in comparison with works such as The Cases of Judge Shi.
Look up ancient official titles as you go to reduce reading obstacles.

版权信息
古代断案小说：狄公案（三）
第三十四回接印绶旧任受辱发公文老民伸冤
第三十五回审恶奴受刑供认辱奸贼设计讥嘲
第三十六回敲铜锣游街示众执皮鞭押令念供
第三十七回众豪奴恃强图劫好巡捕设计骗人
第三十八回投书信误投罗网入衙门自入牢笼
第三十九回求人情恶打张昌宗施国法怒斩周卜成
第四十回入早朝直言面奏遇良友细访奸僧
第四十一回入山门老衲说真情寻暗室道婆行秽事
第四十二回王虔婆花言骗烈妇狄巡抚妙计遣公差
第四十三回王进土击鼓鸣冤老奸妇受刀身死
第四十四回金銮殿狄仁杰直言白马寺武三思受窘
第四十五回搜地窖李氏尽节升大堂怀义拷供
第四十六回金銮殿两臣争奏刑部府奸贼徇私
第四十七回众百姓大闹法堂武三思哀求巡抚
第四十八回武承业罪定奸僧薛敖曹夜行秽事

FAQ

I haven't read the first two volumes. Can I read the third directly?

Yes, but this volume is part of a series, and the characters and plot have some continuity. Reading it directly won't prevent you from understanding individual cases, though you'll have a weaker grasp of Di Renjie's earlier and later experiences. If time permits, it's best to start from the first volume for a more complete reading experience.

How is this book different from The Cases of Judge Shi and The Cases of Judge Peng?

All are casebook novels, but The Cases of Judge Dee gives noticeably less space to martial heroes, devoting more ink to Di Renjie's administrative achievements and his handling of difficult cases. The cases are no longer mainly about the strong oppressing the weak but are puzzling cases requiring deliberation, and they carry a certain political dimension.

Who is the author, and is there reliable biographical information?

The book names no author, and who wrote it can no longer be determined. There's no need to dwell on the author's life while reading; focus instead on the text itself—the structure of the cases and the depiction of officialdom.

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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.