Who You Gonna Call? Judge Dee!
The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is an 18th century Chinese Detective novel written anonymously that focuses specifically on three investigations where Judge Dee acts not only as the judge of the said case, but as the investigator, prosecutor, and jury. Judge Dee is said to be based off of the historically accurate, Judge Dee himself, a Chinese magistrate from the 7th century. This novel shares many similarities of its Chinese detective story predecessors, with a brief almost irrelevant interlude placed in the middle of the novel, a limited number of dramatis characters, keeping relatively short stories, and most importantly showcases a heroic, intellectual, and virtuous magistrate as the protagonist of the …show more content…
Judge Dee had a very Confucian outlook on the roles people played in society and believed that everyone should be held to different standards according to their social standing. For example, in the second chapter Judge Dee has a conversation with warden Pang and finds Pang abusing his power and being slanderous. He then continues to reprimand him saying, "You dog-heads, I am not asking to be advised by as the identity of the criminal…Now I shall first have you beaten with the heavy bamboo, and then I shall question you under torture"(15). This is a harsh and intense reaction, yet for Judge Dee it is completely valid. These men were supposed to be men of the law and they violated and abused their positions. These men have had the education and opportunities to behave more civilized, meaning their actions were not done out ignorance, therefore their punishment was a lot more extreme. Judge Dee's concern of status does not only extend to the superior but the inferior as well. An incident is brought to Judge Dee's attention where the murder of an elderly woman's son was almost left unsolved due to the elderly woman's imbecility. Judge Dee tells her, " You failed in your duty of supervising the conduct of your daughter-in-law, and consequently two heinous crimes were committed in your house. In view of the fact, however, that you are by nature an extremely stupid woman, and that you have Bee Hsun's daughter to suppor, I shall let you go free. Moreover, after Hsu Deh-tai has been executed, I shall allocate a portion of his forfeited property to you, for the education of your granddaughter" (208). These two examples demonstrate in what situation these Confucian ideals would be used in the justice system. While the concept may not be as objective and
The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is an 18th century Chinese Detective novel written anonymously that focuses specifically on three investigations where Judge Dee acts not only as the judge of the said case, but as the investigator, prosecutor, and jury. Judge Dee is said to be based off of the historically accurate, Judge Dee himself, a Chinese magistrate from the 7th century. This novel shares many similarities of its Chinese detective story predecessors, with a brief almost irrelevant interlude placed in the middle of the novel, a limited number of dramatis characters, keeping relatively short stories, and most importantly showcases a heroic, intellectual, and virtuous magistrate as the protagonist of the …show more content…
Judge Dee had a very Confucian outlook on the roles people played in society and believed that everyone should be held to different standards according to their social standing. For example, in the second chapter Judge Dee has a conversation with warden Pang and finds Pang abusing his power and being slanderous. He then continues to reprimand him saying, "You dog-heads, I am not asking to be advised by as the identity of the criminal…Now I shall first have you beaten with the heavy bamboo, and then I shall question you under torture"(15). This is a harsh and intense reaction, yet for Judge Dee it is completely valid. These men were supposed to be men of the law and they violated and abused their positions. These men have had the education and opportunities to behave more civilized, meaning their actions were not done out ignorance, therefore their punishment was a lot more extreme. Judge Dee's concern of status does not only extend to the superior but the inferior as well. An incident is brought to Judge Dee's attention where the murder of an elderly woman's son was almost left unsolved due to the elderly woman's imbecility. Judge Dee tells her, " You failed in your duty of supervising the conduct of your daughter-in-law, and consequently two heinous crimes were committed in your house. In view of the fact, however, that you are by nature an extremely stupid woman, and that you have Bee Hsun's daughter to suppor, I shall let you go free. Moreover, after Hsu Deh-tai has been executed, I shall allocate a portion of his forfeited property to you, for the education of your granddaughter" (208). These two examples demonstrate in what situation these Confucian ideals would be used in the justice system. While the concept may not be as objective and