The Red Pavilion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 University of Chicago Press - 1998 |
|
| Author | Robert van Gulik |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ed Lindlof |
| Series | Judge Dee |
| Genre(s) | Mystery, Detective Novel |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| Released | 1964 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 173 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-226-84873-6 |
| Preceded by | The Lacquer Screen |
| Followed by | The Monkey and the Tiger |
The Red Pavilion is a detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (rougly 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 six illustrations by the author and a map of Paradise Island (the setting for the story).
[edit] Plot introduction
Judge Dee, the magistrate of Poo-yang, has an unexpected meeting with the most powerful and famous courtesan on Paradise Island, Autumn Moon. Then, a man who was well known to be studying to pass the Imperial exams dies, was it suicide or was he murdered? His last week was spent in the company of Autumn Moon. Only a few hours later, she herself is found dead and Judge Dee is drawn into a web of lies and sad stories in the world of the prostitutes of Imperial China.
Poo-yang was the setting for many Judge Dee stories including: The Chinese Bell Murders, Necklace and Calabash, Poets and Murder, and The Emperor's Pearl.
