The Chinese Nail Murders

The Chinese Nail Murders 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 630700 BC.

The Chinese Nail Murders
First UK edition
AuthorRobert van Gulik
SeriesJudge Dee
GenreGong'an fiction, Mystery, Detective novel, Crime
PublisherMichael Joseph (UK)
Harper & Row (US)
Publication date
1961
Media typePrint
Pages216
Preceded byThe Chinese Gold Murders 
Followed byThe Haunted Monastery 

Plot introduction

Judge Dee, and his four helpers, solve three murders: that of an honored merchant, a master of martial arts, and the wife of a merchant, whose corpse has no head. Judge Dee soon comes under pressure from higher-ranking officials to end his investigation. Naturally, Judge Dee refuses to give up until he has learned the whole truth.

A nail murder was a motif of crime in ancient China.[1]

The case of the headless corpse was based on an actual 13th-century Chinese murder casebook.

References

  1. Summers, WC (1999). "The Chinese Nail Murders: Forensic medicine in Imperial China". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 72 (6): 409–419. PMC 2579034. PMID 11138936.


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