Chinese Culture
The Chinese Lake Murders were written by author, Robert Van Gulik and can be used to learn about pre-modern Chinese civilization. The book was set during the Ming Dynasty in the town of Han-yuan, which is about 60 miles north west of the imperial capital. The novel tells the tale of how Judge Dee, the magistrate (an official responsible for catching criminals as well as sentencing them) of Han-yuan solves crime cases while indulging himself in beautiful women, greed and political matters. Van Gulik uses this book and many of his others to describe the culture that of Imperial China. Imperial/Confucian culture lasted in China for about 2,100 years (from 200 BCE to 1900 CE and it) and it still keeps the image oh Chinese society strong. To many we are unable to know what Imperial/Confucian culture was like. In reading Robert Van Guli
Kevin Reilly, the West and the World: History of civilization (Princeton: Markus Weiner Publishers, 1989). The district judges and provincial magistrates could and did abuse their power. Lastly, ranks of nobility decayed from one generation to the nest. So if you were of one noble rank, your children would be of the next lower rank, and their children would just be commoners, but this rule did not apply for the emperors children. In addition, treatment of women and minorities was very poor. In reading the book, I learned that each village or section of a town had a warden who was responsible for knowing who lived in his area and what they did. Another aspect that I got from the book is that Robert Van Gulik tries to portray Judge Dee as a superhero. In conclusion, in reading The Chinese Lake Murders I have learned a lot about pre-modern Chinese civilization and culture. In many ways the world of Judge Dee was totalitarian because everything stabilized the social order. Robert Van Gulik the author of The Chinese Lake Murders was in fact an historian and an expert on Chinese culture. Van Gulik's story and other stories are not biographical, although many of the crimes he describes appeared in various Chinese texts. Women had no say in politics and little legal protection. To keep things honest, imperial censors traveled throughout the empire incognito, with the authority of the Emperor himself to arrest or condemn officials deemed abusing their authority. Robert Van Gulik, The Chinese Lake Murders (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1977).
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Acceptance Essays
