The Phantom of the Temple
First edition | |
Author | Robert van Gulik |
---|---|
Series | Judge Dee |
Genre | Gong'an fiction, Mystery, Detective novel, Crime |
Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1966 |
Media type | |
Pages | 206 |
Preceded by | Murder in Canton |
Followed by | Judge Dee at Work |
The Phantom of the Temple is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (roughly speaking the Tang dynasty). It is a fiction based on the real character of Judge Dee (Ti Jen-chieh or Di Renjie), a magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700.
The book features nine illustrations by the author and a map of the town of Lan-fang.
Plot introduction
Judge Dee, a magistrate in the fictional Lan-fang district has a problem: a mysterious phantom is haunting a Buddhist temple. In addition, some 20 bars of gold have gone missing, not to mention the merchant's beautiful daughter. When a body is discovered without a head, Judge Dee must quickly solve the case.
Lan-fang was the setting for another Judge Dee novel, The Chinese Maze Murders and two short stories from Judge Dee at Work.
Literary significance and criticism
"It is regrettable that this latecomer to detection should have died suddenly and at a relatively early age, but this next-to-last product of his pen suggests that the quite original formula he popularized is exhausted. The concealment of robbery by faked supernatural doings is old hat, and the events that Judge Dee unravels here are too cluttered to be either attractive or puzzling".[1]
References
- ^ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8
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- Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
- The Chinese Maze Murders
- The Chinese Bell Murders
- The Chinese Gold Murders
- The Chinese Lake Murders
- The Chinese Nail Murders
- The Haunted Monastery
- The Red Pavilion
- The Lacquer Screen
- The Emperor's Pearl
- The Willow Pattern
- Murder in Canton
- The Phantom of the Temple
- Judge Dee at Work
- Necklace and Calabash
- Poets and Murder
- Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
- Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)
- Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018)
- Amazing Detective Di Renjie (2004)
- Amazing Detective Di Renjie 2 (2006)
- Amazing Detective Di Renjie 3 (2008)
- Mad Detective Di Renjie (2010)
- Young Sherlock (2014)
- Judge Dee's Mystery (2024)
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