Episode 35: Judge Dee - Crime and Punishment in Imperial China

Chinese novels on crime, mystery and justice have a long and separate history from crime novels in the west. Often written by retired officials, they are useful both as entertaining, and as a description of how courts, laws, and investigations happened in the Imperial Chinese Justice system.

Today we talk about Judge Dee（狄仁杰）, a real Tang Dynasty judge and statesman, subject of countless works. Specifically the 18th century novel that was translated by Robert Van Gulik as 'Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee'. Listen in and learn how magistrates solve crimes, how trials are conducted, and why you never want to find yourself in an Imperial Chinese court (as a victim or a defendant!).

https://www.amazon.com/Celebrated-Cases-Judge-Detective-Stories/dp/0486233375