As the old saying goes..."A friend in need is a friend indeed". The honorable Judge Dee will learn this out very quickly to his great regret, when passing through the resort of Paradise Island from unpleasant duties in the Imperial Capital, Chang'an ( now Xi'an) ...no Disneyland but notorious in seventh century China during the Tang Dynasty, A.D. 668. Calling this an island is stretching it, mostly surrounded by a river though, an adult area for gambling houses, imbibing and brothels quite prosperous, everyone is making money, well most are, the magistrate here is the obese, fun loving, lethargic Lo Kwan-choong. Finding himself in a bit of a pickle, making a promise he can't keep, to Autumn Moon the exquisite courtesan, and flees hastily, after begging the good Dee for help to take over while attending "vital business" faraway, he should have kept on the road not stopping to see Lo. The unenthusiastic able man has no choice, one little case his friend said pending , a routine suicide becomes a triple mystery going back thirty years, but are they murders or just more suicides this is the puzzle; how badly the uncomfortable Judge Dee desires to get home to Poo-yang, and the peaceful atmosphere there. Plots for power, ambushes from vicious gangs, boats colliding in the dark river, attempted seductions, an old lethal plague absolutely important in discovering the truth, all add to the unreal turmoil in the island. With the assistance of trusted lieutenant Ma Loong, a lusty man also, he too gets involved... what else a girl working in a house of ill repute Silver Fairy. She's from his own village and extremely beautiful , he falls in love. Even contemplates buying and marrying her, risking his friends teasing but not caring. The boisterous festival of the Dead weeks long, is crowding the streets in Paradise Island, the people are joyful and drinking rather...
heavily while the celebrations continue the unhappy Dee is working . The academic Lee Lien's death was it really by his own hand, suspects are plentiful and the beautiful Autumn Moon pays an unexpected visit to the Red Pavilion, the scene in the exact room of the hostel, where the blood occurred. Only a man with the fortitude of the judge could remain unemotional looking at the semi-nude woman. Still he is not afraid of ghosts or sleeping there, and what about Feng Dai the warden here , is he a respectable person or another criminal. A neglected crime novel which is more than this, for people who a good mystery and gain knowledge about a different culture. You are immersed in the day to day living from an ancient era and still feel how civilization continues its progress or lack of, the climb up above the clouds to a better world, is not always in a straight line.114 s Nikoleta697 320

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???. 223-224.
historical mystery23 s Kostas Papadatos50 21

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???? ????????????? ??? ????????. ???????????? ??? ????????????? ?? ??????, ?????? ?? ??? ?????????? ??? ????? ???.
19 s Steve441 530 Read

After the Dutch diplomat, orientalist and author Robert van Gulik (1910-1967) translated the Ming dynasty mystery novel Dee Goong An (Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

into English and had it published in Tokyo in 1949, it seems he was then on a mission - he wanted to convince the Chinese that their mystery tradition was strong enough to stand against that of the Occident and to convince the West that it was overlooking a good thing. It appears that he made at least some publicity for his view, since his Judge Dee series was quite successful both in the West and the East. (He translated some of the books into Chinese himself and arranged for them to be translated into Japanese, as well.)

In carrying out his mission, van Gulik did more than write his detective series with Judge Dee (who is the investigating magistrate in many of the Chinese novels, irrespective of author) as primary protagonist and with T'ang dynasty China as the setting; he also mined the Chinese literature for stories to tell and even adopted the structure of Dee Goong An by having three separate incidents of murder to solve, at least in this The Red Pavilion (1961). He was counting on his Chinese audience to recognize the stories and to see in the stories' success in the West that they could be proud of their literature.(*)

I don't ordinarily review popular fiction when I read it, but the circumstances surrounding this series are sufficiently unusual to write a few paragraphs. It would appear that others share this opinion, for The Red Pavilion and further volumes of the series are published by no less than the University of Chicago Press. Not to fear - these are not dusty academic tomes.

Circumstances, not careful planning, saw to it that I read this book first. It may or may not be representative of the series. Frankly, Dee Goong An had a great deal more flavor than this book does. The characters in the former were much more boldly drawn, and the marked distance in time, culture and attitude of Dee Goong An was foreshortened in this book. In the original, Judge Dee was more adventuresome, cantankerous and arrogant (and worried about his neck) than in van Gulik's book. And the quotidian torture and executions of the Chinese tradition are suppressed here. The drama of contention, of struggle, is largely absent, whereas it was central in Dee Goong An. What saves this book from itself are three of the secondary characters, Ma Joong, the Shrimp and the Crab, who wryly and amusingly comment on their "betters" and their doings from the peanut gallery. As a mystery story, this one is not bad, but I think that a pure genre reader would be disappointed.

I acquired a few more books from this series, but I'll only report on them if they have more to offer than does The Red Pavilion.

(*) Recall that China was at another of its historical low points, having emerged from under the Japanese boot heel to be torn again by civil war. And the ultimate winners of that civil war did not have a picnic in mind when they finally got the reins of power in their hands.

Rating

http://leopard.books.com/post/811...19 s Dora444 16

??????????? ????? ? ???????? 7 s Ivonne Rovira2,046 212

Judge Dee, magistrate of Poo-yang, eagerly heads home after an unpleasant hearing in the capital surrounding some chicanery and illicit sex at a Buddhist monastery in the earlier The Chinese Bell Murders. Dee finds himself unexpectedly thrust into the role of investigator into an alleged suicide in the pleasure district of Paradise Island in the neighboring district. Paradise Island served as the Las Vegas of its day, with plenty of gambling, drinking and prostitution. The contrast between the “anything-goes” attitude of the denizens of Paradise Island and the moralizing, strait-laced Judge Dee sets up quite a few amusing scenes.

Judge Lo Kwan-Choong, the magistrate of the neighboring district of Chin-hwa, returns to add comic spice to The Red Pavilion. He also provides the reason for Dee’s need to investigate in the first place. The womanizing sybarite Magistrate Lo first appeared in The Chinese Bell Murders, the second Judge Dee novel released in the United States (although not the second chronologically). As befits the irresponsible and careless Lo, he dashes off from Pleasure Island to the city of Chin-hwa to avoid some unpleasantness, and Lo asks Judge Dee to finish off the investigation into the suicide of a brilliant young scholar named Lee Lien, who had just been appointed a member of the Imperial Academy and had everything to live for. Author Robert van Gulik crafts The Red Pavilion as a locked-door mystery, which, at first, throws Judge Dee off the scent. It’s only after yet another murder that Dee realizes that Lee’s death was no suicide.

Although resentful at Lo’s fecklessness, the long-suffering, meticulous Dee ignores Lo’s suggestion that he just sign off on the suicide and looks into that matter. During the several days that Judge Dee and his trusty lieutenant Ma Joong investigate, they not only learn the truth about Lee’s death but also resolve the murder of the beautiful but cruel courtesan Autumn Moon and yet another murder committed 30 years earlier. In those two cases, the victims, Lee, died behind locked doors inside the self-same Red Pavilion. Readers won’t guess the murderer until the penultimate chapter.

The Red Pavilion also shows a sweet side to the normally devil-may-care Ma Joong. To say anything more would spoil the novel.

For those new to the series, author Robert van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat, linguist and Asian scholar, relied on a real-life Chinese magistrate during the T'ang Dynasty named Ti Jen-chieh for his Judge Dee novels. Simplifying the magistrate's name to Judge Dee Jen-djieh, van Gulik first introduced the West to Judge Dee in Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, first published in 1949 (although not translated into English until 1976). 5 s Nancy Oakes1,965 785

After The Haunted Monastery, this one is quite possibly my favorite.

We find our hero, Tang-dynasty magistrate Dee on the pleasure capital called Paradise Island, where, as usual, he must deal with murder & mayhem. As usual, one crime leads to the uncovering of others, and I love to watch the magistrate pick up and unravel every strand of mystery. It is also cool to read these stories & begin to get a bit of a feel for everyday life in ancient China.

#9 in the series, so don't start with this one. Start with the first one. Recommended for people who want something different in their mystery reading; also, I think anyone who s historical mystery should enjoy this series as well. crime-fiction historical-crime-fiction4 s Paul Cornelius833 28

Finally! A Judge Dee mystery whose conclusion and revelation surprised me. But did it come with a cost? Perhaps. For The Red Pavilion seems just a bit below the usual standard of one of Dee's tales. Most of the book seems to plod along a bit mechanically. It is a nice touch to allow the bridge between two of the murders cross the span of 30 years. And it's very interesting to see Van Gulik work more cultural history into Red Pavilion than is his usual wont. The fusing of the Festival of the Dead into the plot and detailing the festival's practices, yes, that works to save things. So does the much better than average melancholy ending of the story. So, in the end, yet another satisfying escape into Tang China and the determined detective work of Judge Dee.literature-asian literature-dutch-modern literature-european4 s Minh Hi?n35 25

N?i b?t trong H?ng Lâu Án là nh?ng m?i tình tay ba tay t?, t? ??i cha ông ??n t?n ??i con cháu, oán oán thù thù d??ng nh? không có l?i thoát. ?i?u mình l?u tâm sau khi ??c là có th? hi?u rõ h?n v? s? ph?n c?a nh?ng ng??i k? n? ch?n l?u xanh, nh?ng cô gái buôn hoa bán ph?n mua vui cho ph??ng háo s?c.

"Trong Trung Hoa Toàn Qu?c Phong T?c Chí c?a H? Phác An t?ng ghi chép r?ng: ngày x?a ? Trung Hoa, vì m?c ?ích kinh doanh nên các tú bà ?ã tuy?n mua các bé gái xinh ??p v? d?y ?àn hát và các k? x?o ?? ph?c v? nh?m moi ti?n c?a khách làng ch?i. H? s? b?t ??u chi?n d?ch ?ào t?o các cô gái ?y thành các k? n? thanh lâu tuy?t ??nh, tr? thành cây hái ti?n cho h?.

Các ma ma s? ??u t? vào các cô gái b?ng vi?c cho ?n ngon, m?c ??p, ???c ch?m sóc k? càng. Các cô gái ???c h?c ch?, ??c sách, làm th?, h?c hát, th?i sáo ch?i ?àn, c?m k? thi h?a ?? c?. C? nh? th?, khí ch?t d?n d?n ???c b?i ??p và tr? thành “món hàng” r?t có giá tr? c?a các k? vi?n.

K? n? chính là các cây ti?n c?a các ma ma, vì th? ???ng nhiên h? ph?i tr? công b?ng cách "ti?p khách". Tr??c khi ti?p khách, các ma ma ??u cho h? u?ng m?t lo?i thu?c có tên “?o?n Cân Thang” ?? c? ??i không th? sinh n?.

Nh?ng cô gái có nhan s?c bình th??ng s?ng trong k? vi?n, khi còn nh? s? làm a hoàn cho các k? n? ?ã thành niên. H? ph?i quét nhà, bê n??c, b?ng c?m canh ??n t?n gi??ng cho các k? n? tr??ng thành. Nh?ng a hoàn này th??ng xuyên b? ?ánh, b? m?ng ch?i th?m t?. Các k? n? không ???c phép cáu g?t tr??c m?t khách. Vì th?, bao nhiêu ?m ?c b?c b?i ??u trút lên ????u ?ám a hoàn này.

Khi ?ánh ?ám a hoàn, b?t k? là g?y hay cán ch?i, v? ???c cái gì dùng cái ??y, c?ng ch? kiêng n? là m?t hay b? ph?n nào trên thân th? h?. Vì th?, ?ám a hoàn này th?t s? r?t ?áng th??ng. N?u ch?ng may ch?c t?c m?t k? n? xinh ??p nào thì không ch? có k? n? ?ó tr?ng ph?t, mà còn ph?i ch?u thêm c?n th?nh n? c?a ma ma.

Cu?i tri?u Thanh ? ch?n l?u xanh còn l?u hành m?t trò tiêu khi?n vô cùng r?n ng??i ?ó chính là “k? n? mù”. B?n chúng b? ti?n mua nh?ng cô bé có nhan s?c. ??n khi tr? thánh thi?u n? 14, 15 tu?i, tú bà dùng ??c th? làm mù m?t h? sau ?ó l?p m?t gi?. ?ôi m?t ?ã mù không còn kh? n?ng kháng c?, không phân bi?t ???c ??p x?u, già tr?, c?ng không có kh? n?ng ch?y tr?n, c? ??i v?n m?nh do tú bà n?m gi?, c? nh? th? h? ?ành ch?p nh?n ? l?i ch?n nh? nh?p này bán ngón ?àn l?i ca, bán thân làm nghi?p. Chính nhu c?u quái ??n c?a ?ám khách làng ch?i vô tri và th? ?o?n bi?n thái c?a ?ám tú bà ??c ác ?ã gây ra vô s? nh?ng m?nh ??i thê l??ng có các thi?u n?."3 s Alessia Scurati341 109

Un giorno, mentre controllavo le offerte del mese su un noto portale dove si possono scaricare eBook, noto tra i titoli in promozione una serie di titoli di Robert van Gulik. Ora, a costo di sembrarvi un po’ barbona (come diciamo dalle mie parti), devo dire che quando vedo a 1,99€ dei romanzi dei quali non so nulla ma che potrebbero interessarmi, vengo su Goodreads a fare un controllo delle recensioni e, se sono positive, decido di dare loro una possibilità. Questo romanzo aveva recensioni molto positive (una media superiore a 4 su un migliaio di voti non è un campione di poco conto).
Così, mi sono ritrovata nel Kindle questo giallo scritto da un diplomatico olandese che, a quanto pare, ha iniziato la sua carriera letteraria traducendo un testo del diciassettesimo secolo dal mandarino all’olandese, nel quale si faceva menzione di un delitto risolto da questo leggendario giudice Dee (o forse sarebbe stato meglio Di), personaggio storico effettivamente vissuto da qualche parte durante la dinastia Tang. Questo Dee diventa il protagonista di tutta una serie di gialli ambientati nello Xiang imperiale, con tanto di disegni a corredo del testo, ispirati però alle illustrazioni che circolavano durante la dinastia Ming (in essi non sono presenti Gesuiti euclidei vestiti da bonzi, però).
Del tutto ignara di quel che avrei trovato, devo ammettere che invece sono stata presa tantissimo dal giallo, che è un po’ Agatha Christie un po’ Kill Bill, un po’ Philo Vance e parecchio wuxia con un tocco di ironia parecchio moderna. Anzi: è proprio il tono piuttosto moderno che mi ha colpito. Per assurdo, andando a raccontare le vicende di questi personaggi vissuti in una Cina passata e lontana, è un po’ come averli messi in un pezzo d’ambra: restano lì belli vivi, non soffrono nemmeno molto del passare del tempo (van Gulik è morto a fine anni ’60). Il giallo in sé non è nemmeno male. Ho capito chi era il colpevole a metà del tutto, ma questo è colpa del fatto che all’ora di pranzo guardo la Signora in Giallo da quando avevo 8 anni. Sono cose che segnano. Ormai, anzi, ci rinuncio proprio: arrivo prima al colpevole in quasi qualunque giallo tradizionale. Al prossimo inizierò direttamente dalla fine, giusto per vedere l’effetto che fa.
3 s kostas vamvoukakis424 12

????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?????????? ???? ???? ???????. ?? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????3 s Ver506 5

I'm giving this piece one more star for the amount of humor in the book. I don't think the other parts I've read were so funny. The mystery was connected with brothels - not my favourite type of places an it turned out it went back many years. It had a very melodramatic ending and maybe it wasn't all that great but other side stories were really entertaining, probably more than the main mystery. As usual, I'm a fan of judge Di and going to read the whole series. audiobook detective2 s Karmakosmik408 3

Il giudice Dee deve vedersela con ben 3 casi di suicidio sospetto avvenuti tutti in una stanza chiamata "Il Padiglione Scarlatto", all'interno di un'isola famosa per i suoi divertimenti e le sue cortigiane. Ennesimo romanzo di alta classe per Van Gulik, dove le riflessioni acute del giudice riusciranno a trovare il bandolo della matassa in mezzo a false testimonianze e mezze verità.gialli2 s Desmond23 6

Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee mysteries are always a pleasant undertaking as anachronistic as they may be.

I tend to n them to the works of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories where the character of the Judge and his assistants is just as important to the enjoyment of the stories as the mysteries.

In 'The Red Pavilion' there is the usual caveat of Judge Dee having to deal with more than one mystery at a time though in this instance they are all tied together by the titular Red Pavilion. A feature I've always enjoyed about the Dee mysteries is that as might be expected for an official of his type the Judge has more than one case occur concurrently.

This particular novel is rather short, and a quick read, but I still rather enjoyed it. van Gulik had a knack for keeping things simple that I definitely appreciate.mystery2 s Con Bé Ki265 82

Có c?p ?ôi tôm - cua Hà T? - Gi?i T? là d? th??ng ?áng yêu mà thôi. Ch? là còn thi?u Mu?i hihi. 1 Ivan830 30

La rencontre sur une île isolée dédiée aux plaisirs mondains, tout aussi similaire au monde actuel de célébrités, se passe de manière à lancer le trouble dans l'esprit du juge, cependant il retrouve tout son calme et équanimité après certaines révélation sur le passé des personnages.

Ce que je trouve moins appréciable est le fait qu'en sachant que certaines maladies excluaient en Chine (et excluent encore aujourd'hui) totalement la possibilité du mariage, même avec les courtisanes rachetées, une partie de l'intrigue tomberait à l'eau. Étrange erreur, et connaissant l'expertise de Van Gulik pas ses ouvrages de recherche.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review1 Phrodrick945 49

A fast read. Nice variation on the locked room mystery

his is a fairly good selection in the Judge Dee series.

The judge finds himself in a capital of the Ukiyo (floating world or pleasure district), in particular the aptly named Pleasure Island. Think Las Vegas, with Fewer (!) vice laws. The island is in the midst of the Festival for the Dead and rooms are scarce. No manger for him, the room at the Inn he checks into is the Red Pavilion.
Its most recent inhabitant apparently committed suicide for love of the Island's most desired courtesan, the crowned "Flower Queen". More than this the suite was host to another apparent suicide 30 years before. Within hours it will be home to yet another suspicious death, this time aforesaid Flower Queen. At least three dead in one room - one of them during the Judge's watch. The game is afoot.

(Repeated from my review of The Emperor's Pearl The Emperor's Pearl (Judge Dee Mystery Series)) The author, a diplomat, scholar, musician, artist and mystery novel writer has much to recommend him. Many of his scholarly publications are or were considered definitive studies.
His scholarly works included topics from The Chinese lute, to Chinese sexual practices to Chinese art. He was a linguist and enough of an artist to illustrate his Judge Dee Books.

Judge Dee, was an actual Judge or to quote the sources: Ti Jen-chieh (c. 630-c. 700), magistrate and statesman of the T'ang court. Van Guik came to know of him via a second hand book relating later stories that had grown up around the market place story - teller tales that had collected in the name of Judge Dee.

In most of the Van Gulik mysteries, he will mix in Chinese crime solving traditions (Ghosts and spirit world connections) with the more prosaic western style. This is lacking in this selection. Lacking but not necessarily missed. Also typical in Judge Dee stories is descriptions of life in Japan. Here we are exposed to, but never lectured on, period Japanese attitudes and customs in the world of gambling and courtesans.

It may be a weakness to this story, but the various murders, suicides and complex human dramas are almost secondary to the casual exploration of the "Floating World" that is the setting for The Red Pavilion.

My e copy was a few dollars in cost and was just under 180 pages. Invest this small change and a few hours for a nicely written mystery. The clues are there, although it will help if you have some familiarity with Van Gulick's style. Altogether a satisfying read.1 Giannis67

The first book by van Gulik I read.
If I didn't know that he had worked as a diplomat in Asian countries and that he was considered an authority on their literature and way of life, I would say that he wrote the whole book using Western world stereotypes towards China in order to create a "Chinese atmosphere". For instance, the expressions "he had his morning / afternoon / evening rice" or "how do you earn your daily rice" (instead of ours "to earn one's bread") seemed funny at first reading, but when I saw them reappear regularly , did not just become tedious, but gave me the impression that van Gulik built a caricature of ancient China rather than a respectable representation - as one would expect from an expert. The various anachronisms are not missing, but I will respect that as a writing choice and it was not strong enough to bother.
The same (but more noisy) applies to the representation of women. Most of the women mentioned in the book are concubins, and shallow ones too, while the author devotes ten times more space to describe their appearance and clothes than their behavior or personality. Also here are to be found plenty of stereotypes about women. Of course I realize that it is not necessary for a writer to force female protagonists into his work, but at least it would be nice to ommit the sexist references (some so-called "jokes"), which were so many, that make me believe they were not introduced as necessary elements of the spirit of their time, but because van Gulik felt they had something to offer to the work. Also, it was somewhat embarrassing that the names of the women were not left untranslated the men, a choice of the author that I did not understand at all.
In any case, the book is one of the typical "easy" of its kind. They are the ones you will read in three to four hours and you will not pick them up never again nor will you probably have a single thought about them. The plot is quite simple: Judge Dee, returning home from another trip, is forced to make a two-day stop at the ancient Chinese counterpart of Vegas, where an irresponsible colleague puts him in charge of investigating a case that at first glance looks a suicide. During the investigation, another crime is committed, while another, older one is discovered, which are loosely connected to each other, and everything has happened in the famous red pavilion. Eventually the solution is given in a fairly obvious way, with the discovery of a document that was the key to the whole case, and that if the Judge had thought to seek earlier (as in a classic crime investigation, in which the personal documents of those involved are taken as evidence) , would have saved at least some fifty pages of pointless spinning, with the interrogated keep lying and Dee keeps exposing them - only for them to lie again and start from the beginning ...
Admittedly, however, I did not get bored in its short reading since the flow of action is continuous and comfortable without being too fast.
I believe the above justifies the two stars I gave, and I also think I was quite generous with it.

?? ????? ?????? ??? van Gulik ??? ????????.
?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ?????????? ?? ????????? ????? ??? ??? ?????????? ???????? ??? ?????????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ????, ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????????????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ????, ??????????? ?? ???????????? "???????? ??????????". ??????????????, ?? ????????? "????? ?? ??????/????????????/??????? ??? ????" ? "??? ????????? ?? ?????????? ??? ????" (???? ??? "????? ???" ??? ????????? ?? ???? ???) ??? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????, ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???????????????? ???????, ??? ?????? ???? ???????????, ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ? van Gulik ?????????? ??? ??????????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ???????????? - ???? ?? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ????????. ??? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ????????????, ???? ???? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????????.
?? ???? (???? ??? ?????????) ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???????????? ??? ????????. ?? 90% ??? ???????? ??? ??????????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????????, ??? ?????????? ????? ?????, ??? ? ?????????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?? ?????????? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????????? ???? ? ??? ????????????? ???? . ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?????????? ??? ?? ????????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ????. ?????? ?????????????? ??? ??? ????? ?????????? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ??????????????? ??? ???? ???, ???? ??????????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????????? ???????? (??????? ????? "???????"), ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??????, ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?????????? ?? ???????? ??? ????????? ??? ??????, ???? ?????? ? van Gulik ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????????? ???? ??? ????. ?????, ????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????????? ???? ??? ??????, ??? ??????? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????????.(?.?. ? ???? ??? ????? ?????????? ????????? ??? ???????)
?? ???? ??????????, ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ?????? "??????" ??? ?????? ???. ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?? ????????? ?? ????? - ???????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??????????? ???? ?????????? ?? ?? ????????????. ? ????? ????? ?????? ????: ? ???????? ??, ????????????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ??????, ??????????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ??????, ???? ???? ????????? ?????????? ??? ??? ??????????? ?? ??? ?????????? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????????. ???? ??? ??????, ???????????????? ??? ????? ???????, ??? ????????????? ??? ??? ?????, ??????????, ?? ????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ????, ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????. ?????? ? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????, ?? ??? ????????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????????, ??? ??? ?? ? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????????? ???????? (???? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ??????????, ???? ????? ?????????? ?? ????????? ??????? ??? ????????????), ?? ???? ???????? ??????????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ???????????????, ?? ???? ???????????? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?????????? - ??? ????? ?? ????????????? ??? ???? ?? ??'??? ????...
????????????? ??????, ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? "??????".
?????? ?? ???????? ???????????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ?????, ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????????.2022 ????-??? ???? ...more KevinAuthor 9 books2

Judge Dee is traveling through a neighboring district and has to spend the spend the night on a resort island noted for its gambling, prostitution and shopping. The local magistrate begs Dee to stay on for a couple of days to cover for him while he makes a sudden and unexpected trip. While there Dee is faced with three deaths that have occurred in the same (locked) room over the course of thirty years and appear to be suicides ... with just a few loose ends.

This story really belongs to Judge Dee's long time assistant, and reformed highwayman, Ma Joong. Judge Dee uncharacteristically dismisses information that Ma Joong provides early in the investigation, and seriously underestimates Ma Joong's character -- especially at the close of the book.

Otherwise, this is a good, quick read. Not the best of the Judge Dee stories, but not the worst, either.historical-fiction judge-dee mystery1 Kathy Chung1,351 22

I find that the story was a big dissappointing.

here Judge Dee was asked by his colleague to help "closed" a simple case of suicide. However the case did not turn out as simple as it looked.

a courtesan died and it was in the Red Pavilion. the same goes for the suicide case and another suicide case 30 years ago.

What I about this book was Ma Joong, Crab and Shrimp. These three saves the story. Otherwise it would have been pale.

what I don't about this story was the explanation of each crime. it was revealed in quite a dry way. the ending should have been tear jerking but I found myself nonchalant about it.

overall it had been good but not one of his best1 Filip1,004 39

This might be my favourite Judge Dee novel (yes, I realize I have been saying this about each of the last two Dee books I've read). A very intriguing setting, a plot that isn't a political conspiracy (I tend to dis those) and that reaches far into the fast - an interesting cast of characters and a really good riddle. The solution comes a bit out of the left field and I don't know how anyone could guess it (even though that I admit that some of the clues were there) and it's a pity only Ma Joong accompanies the Judge in this novel, but I still enjoyed it immensely. Now to get my hands on more of these novels... 5-stars historical-fiction mystery-action-thriller1 Garrett148 2

The Judge Dee novels are purely brilliant. Robert Van Gulik was a true Sinophile, weaving carefully studied bits of Chinese culture into his mystery novels to draw foreign crowds into an extravagantly exotic setting. Unfortunately, the Red Pavilion pales in comparison to Van Gulik's other novels. The conclusion lacks the punch many of his other novels, though two of the most interesting characters anywhere in the series make their appearance in this volume. Still, a must read for any Judge Dee fans.1 Sasu ?26

Ma Joong is the man. I thought the solution was a bit too neat, but otherwise I d Dee & Ma Joong in Vegas. Also loved the crustacean bros.1 VPM161 2

Not my favorite one of these. 1 Brynn34 4

V tomto roku po 17 rokoch vyšla reedícia vynikajúcej detektívky Roberta van Gulika, ktorého diela sa jednozna?ne vyrovnajú románom so Sherlockom Holmesom ?i Herculom Poirotom a sle?nou Marplovou. Robert van Gulik totiž zvolil rovnaký spôsob písania. Dej odsýpa a ?itate? pátra po náznakoch, ktoré by ho mohli privies? k vyriešeniu prípadu. Alebo sa len tak nechá unáša? atmosférou ?ínskej kultúry, ktorá z jeho kníh srší...

Robert van Gulik bol totiž orientalista, ktorý vyrástol v Indonézii, vedel po ?ínsky a dlhé roky pôsobil ako diplomat nielen v ?íne, ale aj v Indii, Japonsku a Libanone. ?o v tých krajinách spoznal, zažil, ?o sa nau?il, to všetko zužitkoval v románoch, v ktorých sa snúbi znalos? s talentom. A ke?že van Gulik sa okrem štátnej ?innosti venoval aj súdnym sporom, inšpirácie mal na rozdávanie.

?ervený pavilón je jeden z románov, kde hlavnú úlohu zohráva sudca Ti. Sudca, ktorý je skuto?nou historickou osobnos?ou. Sudca Ti Žen-?ie totiž žil v ?asoch rozkvetu ?ínskeho cisárstva za vlády Tchangov (618 – 719).

„Aké hlúpe! Ten chlap je známy všadenos. Dúfam, že nezistí...“ Znepokojene potriasol hlavou.

Pre našinca môže by? trochu zložité orientova? s v ?ínskych menách, ?asto dokonca s netypickými prezývkami kurtizán, vo svete ktorých sa v tomto románe ocitneme. No van Gulik na za?iatku príbehu uvádza ako pomôcku zoznam postáv aj s popisom, kto je kto.

Sudca Ti prichádza do hostinca pochybnej povesti s názvom U ve?nej blaženosti, pretože všetky izby všade naokolo sú beznádejne obsadené. Aj v tomto hostinci je dostupný jedine tzv. ?ervený pavilón, o ktorom Ti netuší, že sa v ?om stala vražda.

Pavilón stál v úzadí rozsiahlej kvetinovej záhrady, spola ukrytý za vysokými krami oleandrov, vysadenými naokolo. Sudca Ti sedel v kresle pred vysokou zástenou, poma?ovanou rozkvitnutými slivkovými halúzkami... Bolo tam ve?mi ticho, ozýval sa iba bzukot v?iel, lenivo poletujúcich medzi bielymi kvetmi oleandrov.

Sudca sa nachádza v Rajskom ostrove, ostrove vášní a nespútanej zábavy, plnom kurtizán rozli?ných tried. Ti však nedbá, potrebuje si aj so svojím pobo?níkom Ma Žungom odpo?inú?. A hne? na úvod stretne krá?ovnú kurtizán, Jesenný kvet.

Tá vzápätí zomiera. A len chví?u pred ?ou zomrel akýsi akademik, ktorý spáchal samovraždu práve v ?ervenom pavilóne – a spáchal ju údajne kvôli nej. Sudca Ti sa ujíma vyšetrovania a spustí tým smrš? udalostí. Zistia, že pred tridsiatimi rokmi v tom istom pavilóne spáchal úplne rovnakú samovraždu ešte jeden muž.

Kurtizány sú posiate sinkami, umierajú, správca ostrova ?osi tají, majite? starožitníctva má zrejme na svedomí ?osi nepekné, Ma Žung sa zamiluje do kurtizány Strieborná víla, ostrov obchádza malomocný a kdesi žije bývalá krásna kurtizána, ktorej vek a choroba vzali pôvab. Zostal jej len zamatový hlas, ktorým každého dokázala omámi?. A ktosi chce zabi? i samotného sudcu Ti. A akademik namiesto listu na rozlú?ku nakreslil záhadný symbol:

O?ividne sa najprv pokúšal nakresli? kruh jediným ?ahom štetca. Opakoval svoj pokus a potom pod to napísal tri razy dve slová: Jesenný Mesiac.

Sudca Ti má nad ?ím premýš?a?. Ale podobne ako ostatným slávnym literárnym detektívom, aj jemu to skvelo myslí.

Tajomstvo ?erveného pavilónu bolo nevýslovne odporné a hrozné, dokonca ešte hroznejšie ako ?udná no?ná mora, ktorá sa mu tam prisnila, ke? našiel kurtizánino nahé biele telo na ?ervenom koberci.

Doteraz som van Gulika nepoznala a ako fanúši?ku Agathy Christie ma rozhodne oslovil.
??????? ????????????278 8

????? ??????????? ??????? ?? ???????????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ????????? ???? ???? ????. ? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????????? ??????? ???? ??? ??????????, ???? ????????? ??? "??????????". ? ????????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???????????? ????????? ????, ??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ??? "?????" ??? ??. ??????? ???????? ???????...

? ?? ?????? ??? ???????, ?? "??????? ???????", ?? ???? ???? ???? ???????????, ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ? ??? ?????????? "??????????", ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???- ???? ????????, ???? ??????? ??????- ????? ???! ???? ????. ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ??? ??????????,

? ???????? ???????? ??? 660 ?? ????? ??? ????????? ????????, ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ???????? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ??????????? ??? ??? ?????. ? ?? (????????, ??? ???????? ?????????) ?????????????? ??? ??? ??????????? ????????, ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????????? ??? ????????? ???????. ? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? : ???? ???? ??? ??????? ????, ???? ??? ??????????? ???????. ??? ????????, ?? ???????? ??? ?????????? ????? ??? ????, ???? ??????????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????????????. ????? ??????????? ??????????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????????. ? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ????, ???? ? ??? ??????? (?????????? ??? ????????????? ??????????) ??? ??????????? ??? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? (1?? ??????, 2?? ?????? ??? ??????), ??? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ????.

??? ??? ?????? ??? ????, ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?????????. ??? ?? ????!!ollandese-belga1 Ad727

After a stay in the capital, Judge Dee is on his way to his district. He must pass through Paradise Isle, a famous entertainment center (gambling and courtesans) located in Chin-hwa, the district of his friend Judge Lo. In fact, Judge Dee meets Lo on the island, but Judge Lo says he is called away by an urgent matter, and asks his friend to resolve the case of the suicide (or murder?) of a young civil servant, in a locked room which happens to be precisely the room where Judge Dee is staying. It is just a routine matter, says Judge Lo, before he removes himself so fast from the scene that it seems he is fleeing for something. That evening, Judge Dee also has an unexpected meeting with the most powerful and famous courtesan on Paradise Island, Autumn Moon. Later, she will be found dead in the Judge's bedroom...

This novel is the start of the second series of Judge Dee novels, in which Van Gulik dropped the traditional Chinese form of the novel such as introductory frame story and chapter titles in parallel lines, and moved the action to somewhere outside Judge Dee's own district to enable him to confront new, unusual situations. On top of that, he reduced the number of characters, and in these new novels he only had Judge Dee accompanied by one of his assistants, a different one in each book. In The Red Pavilion that is Ma Joong. Two delicious characters in this novel are The Shrimp and The Crab and their art of chain fighting with deadly iron balls. They are among the best creations by Van Gulik.


Jeanette3,535 689

This is a temporary comrade decreed duty stop on a journey by Judge Dee coming back from the Capitol after required testimony. The return journey going back to his magistrate head authority district assignment.

Paradise Island is similar to Vegas early days. This town is the location of his delay. All types of gambling and low life pleasures are the sources of profit and industry. With various male icons as leaders of different paths for the varying profit categories. We even have the antiques or pawn groups. Mostly fake valuables shipping outward.

The case is based on a cursed room, deaths within it. A nasty, nasty Queen of the courtesans is crux. As are our two extremely funny yet deadly enforcer bouncers named Crab and Shrimp. It was an easy read with the usual cast duplicity and tongue in cheek humor. Dee deciphers multiple crimes and gets on his way in two days.

Over the top women of the night in this one. And this particular one of the series has huge Ma, Dee's lieutenant- at the core of action plus analysis. He does it all, it is his kind of town. Leaving broke, no surprise!3 s Karen GoatKeeperAuthor 20 books32

Judge Dee's way home from the capitol goes through Paradise Island, a Chinese Las Vegas of gambling dens and courtesans. The neighboring magistrate has the island in his province and is there to relax and attend to business as the son of a high ranking official has committed suicide there. He has a problem and drops the case in Judge Dee's lap before leaving.
The leading courtesan is murdered in Judge Dee's rooms where the suicide took place while he is away at dinner. The suicide is reminiscent of one from thirty years before in the same room. His lieutenant is attacked. Were all of these murders? Who is around who remembers thirty years ago?
This is a fast paced book with many threads interwoven. The work of the courtesans is central to the case and dealt with frankly. Several aspects of Chinese self defense and legalities play a role in the story. There is a map of the island to help the reader keep oriented as the characters go to different places and buildings in the story.adult-fiction read2021 young-adult-fiction Carlos Rodríguez73 4

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