The Lacquer Screen
The Lacquer Screen is a gong'an detective novel written by Robert van Gulik and set in Imperial China (the early decades of 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 AD.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Robert van Gulik |
|---|---|
| Series | Judge Dee |
| Genre | Gong'an fiction, Mystery novel, Detective fiction, Chinese crime fiction |
| Publisher | Art Printing Works, Kuala Lumpur |
Publication date | 1962 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | The Red Pavilion |
| Followed by | The Emperor's Pearl |
The book features fourteen illustrations by the author.
Plot introduction
In 663, Judge Dee is the young magistrate in the fictional Chinese town of Peng-lai. On a visit to a senior magistrate Teng in Wei-ping, he is shown a beautiful lacquer screen which is mysteriously altered to show a murder scene instead of a love scene. With the senior magistrate Teng convinced he is going insane, a wealthy banker in town appears to kill himself, though it might be murder. Judge Dee and his servant Chiao Tai disguise themselves to go undercover and join a gang of robbers to solve the case.[1]
The town of Peng-lai was the setting for other Judge Dee stories including: The Chinese Gold Murders, and three of the short stories from Judge Dee at Work.[2]
References
- The Lacquer Screen.
- "The Lacquer Screen (1962) by Robert Van Gulik". crossexaminingcrime. 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2018-02-28.