Literary evidence shows that the same applies to the following remarks as to how the system worked. The social structure of the 18th century does not differ in substance from that prevailing during the Tang dynasty.
The Chinese judicial system can be understood properly only if one views it against the peculiar background of the ancient Chinese government system, and the structure of Chinese society in general.
Abuse of judicial authority was checked by several controlling factors. In the first place, the district magistrate was but a small cog in the colossal administrative machinery of the Empire. He had to report his every action to his immediate superiors, accompanied by all pertaining original documents. Since every official was held completely responsible for the actions of his subordinates, these data were carefully checked, and if there was any doubt, a retrial was ordered. Furthermore anyone had the right to appeal to a higher judicial instance, going up as high as the Throne. Finally, there were the dreaded Imperial Censors, who travelled strictly incognito all over the country, vested with absolute powers, and responsible only to the Throne; they were empowered to have any official summarily arrested, and conveyed to the capital for an investigation.
A second control lay in the practise of denunciation. Every official had the right to denounce his superior to higher authorities. He was even compelled to do so for his own safety, for he would have been held responsible for a judicial error to the same degree as his superior; “acting under orders” was not accepted as a valid excuse by Chinese law. If, for instance, an innocent prisoner died under torture, the judge who ordered the torture, the constable who executed the order, and the headman who supervised it, might all have been decapitated.
It does credit to the democratic spirit that has always characterised the Chinese people, despite the autocratic form of their ancient government, that the most powerful check on abuse of judicial power was public opinion. All sessions of the tribunal were open to the public, and the entire town was aware of and discussed the tribunal proceedings. A cruel or arbitrary judge would soon have found the population against him. The teeming masses of the Chinese people were highly organised among themselves. Next to such closely-knit units as the family and the clan, there were the broader organisations of the professional guilds, the trade associations, and the secret brotherhoods. If the populace were to choose to sabotage the administration of a magistrate, taxes would not have been paid on time, the registration would have become hopelessly tangled, highways would not have been repaired; and after a few months a censor would have appeared on the scene, for the purpose of investigation.
The present novel describes vividly how careful a judge must be to show to the people at large that he conducts his cases in the right way.
The greatest defect of the system as a whole was that in this pyramidal structure too much depended on the top. When the standard of the metropolitan officials deteriorated, the decay quickly spread downward. It might have been held in check for some time by an upright provincial governor, but if the central authority remained weak for too long, the district magistrates were also affected. This general deterioration of the administration of justice became conspicuous during the last century of Manchu rule in China. One need not wonder, therefore, that foreigners who observed affairs in China during the 19th century, did not have much favourable comment on the Chinese judicial system.
A second defect of the system was that it assigned far too many duties to the district magistrate. He was a permanently overworked official. If he did not devote practically all his waking hours to his work, he was forced to leave a considerable part of his task to his subordinates. Men like Judge Dee of our present novel could cope with this heavy task, but it can be imagined that lesser men would soon have become wholly dependent on the permanent officials of their tribunal, such as the senior scribes, the headman of the constables, etc. These small people were particularly liable and most prone to abuse their power. If not strictly supervised they would engage in various kinds of petty extortion, impartially squeezing everyone connected with a criminal case. These “small fry” are wittily described in our present novel. More especially the constables of the tribunal are a lazy lot, most reluctant to do some extra work, and always keen on squeezing a few coppers here and there; yet at times surprisingly kind and human, and not without a certain wry sense of humour.
It may be added that the function of district magistrate was the stepping stone to higher office. Since promotion was based solely on actual performance, and since the term of office rarely exceeded three years or so, even lazy or mediocre persons did their utmost to be satisfactory “father-and-mother officials,” hoping in due course to be promoted to an easier post.
All in all, the system worked well. The most flagrant violations of the principles of justice recorded in Chinese history concerned cases of political and religious persecution—a respect regarding which our own record is not too clean either! Finally, the following statement by Sir George Staunton, the capable translator of the Chinese Penal Code, may be quoted here as a tribute to the ancient Chinese judicial system, all the more so since those words were written at the end of the 18th century, when the central authority, the dynasty of Manchu conquerors, was already disintegrating, and when consequently many abuses of judicial power had set in. “There are very substantial grounds for believing,” this cautious observer says, “that neither flagrant, nor repeated acts of injustice, do, in point of fact, often, in any rank or station, ultimately escape with impunity.”
R.H.v.G.
Dramatis Personae
THE CASE OF THE DOUBLE MURDER AT DAWN
THE CASE OF THE STRANGE CORPSE
THE CASE OF THE POISONED BRIDE
It should be noted that in China the surname — here printed in capitals — precedes the personal name.
Main Characters
DEE Jen-djieh, referred to as “Judge Dee,” or “the judge.” Magistrate of Chang-ping, a town district in the Province of Shantung. The three criminal cases solved by Judge Dee occurred in the town itself, and the villages surrounding it.
HOONG Liang, sergeant over the constables of the tribunal of Chang-ping, and Judge Dee’s trusted adviser. Referred to as “Sergeant Hoong,” or “the sergeant.”
MA Joong, first lieutenant of Judge Dee.
TAO Gan & CHIAO Tai, second and third lieutenants of Judge Dee.
Persons connected with “The Double Murder at Dawn”:
PANG Deb, warden of Six Mile Village, where the murders were committed. Referred to as “Warden Pang.” DIAO San, his assistant.
KOONG Wan-deh, owner of the hostel in Six Mile Village, where the two victims stayed.
LIU Guang-chi
SHAO Lee-huai
DIAO Wan-chuan traveling silk merchants from Kiangsu Province.
WANG, a carter.
MRS. WANG, his widow.
DJANG, owner of a hostel in Divine Village.
DJIANG Djung, warden of Divine Village.
LOO Chang-po, manager of a silk shop in Divine Village. Referred to as “Manager Loo.”
Persons connected with “The Strange Corpse”
HO Kai, warden of Huang-hua Village, where the murder was committed. Referred to as “Warden Ho.”
BEE Hsun, a shopkeeper in Huang-hua Village, the victim.
MRS. BEE, his old mother.
MRS. BEE, née DJOU, his widow. Referred to as “Mrs. Djou.”
TANG Deh-djung, a Doctor of Literature. Referred to as “Dr. Tang.”
DOO & HSU Deh-tai, students of Dr. Tang.
Persons connected with “The Poisoned Bride”:
HUA Guo-hsiang, a former Prefect, living retired in Chang-ping. Referred as “Mr. Hua.”
HUA Wen-djun, a Candidate of Literature, Mr. Hua’s son, and groom of the unfortunate bride. Referred to as “Wen-djun.”
MRS. LEE, mother of the bride.
MISS LEE, the bride.
HOO Dso-bin, a Candidate of Literature, class-mate of We
n-djun. Referred to as “Candidate Hoo.”
MRS. HOO, his mother.
CHEN, an old maid servant in the Hua mansion.
Appears in Chapters 29 and 30 only
YEN Lee-ben, an Imperial Censor.
The Celebrated Cases
of
Judge Dee
Chapter 1
JUDGE DEE IS APPOINTED MAGISTRATE OF CHANG-PING; THE PEOPLE CROWD HIS TRIBUNAL TO REPORT GRIEVANCES
ALTHOUGH ALL PEOPLE hanker after a magistrate’s office, few realise all that is involved in solving criminal cases: Tempering severity by lenience, as laid down by our law makers, and avoiding the extremes advocated by crafty philosophers.
One upright magistrate means the happiness of a thousand families, the one word “justice” means the peace of the entire population. The exemplary conduct of Judge Dee, magistrate of Chang-ping, is placed here on record, for the edification of the reading public.
In the end, as a general rule, no criminal escapes the laws of the land. But it is up to the judge to decide who is guilty and who is innocent. If, therefore, a judge is honest, then the people in his district will be at peace; and if the people are at peace, their manners and morals will be good. All vagabonds and idlers, all spreaders of false rumours and all trouble makers will disappear, and all of the common people will cheerfully go about their own affairs. And if some wicked people from outside should happen to settle down in such a district, they will better their lives and reform of their own accord; for they see with their own eyes, and hear with their own ears, how strictly the laws are enforced, and how sternly justice is meted out. Therefore it can be said that the amelioration of the common people depends on the honesty of the magistrate; never yet has a dishonest official improved the people under him.
The honesty of a magistrate does not only consist of negative qualities like not accepting bribes and not doing harm to the people; it also implies positive qualities such as, in serving the State, doing what others cannot or dare not do, and, in ruling the people, rectifying wrongs that others cannot or dare not rectify. The subtle clues to be found among the populace, and the complicated intrigues in the official world, all such things a judge should investigate impartially. His motto should be: “To demonstrate clearly the just retribution meted out by Heaven, never failing in its hair-fine accuracy.” Judges answering these high qualifications, have been duly honoured by our August Rulers, since the days of remote antiquity.
There are, however, also magistrates who let their conduct of a case be influenced by bribes, or who, fearing lest they lose their position if they do not dispose quickly of a great number of cases, pronounce hasty verdicts on the basis of confessions obtained by torture, or from some shreds of evidence. Such officials have failed to cultivate themselves, and therefore should never be appointed as rulers over others. For how could such men make their subordinates honest, and bring peace to the common people!
In moments of leisure, leafing through books old and new, and searching through all kinds of minor historical records, I have come across many a weird story concerning criminal cases solved by famous judges of former times. Few of these, however, can match what is placed on record here.
The present book describes complicated criminal investigations, baffling crimes, astounding feats of detection, and marvelous solutions of difficult cases. It tells about people who commit murder to be able to live to the end of their days in an odour of sanctity; who commit crimes in order to amass riches; people who become involved in crimes through adulterous relationships; people who meet sudden death by drinking poison not destined for them; people who through words spoken in jest lay themselves open to grave suspicion, and who, although innocent, barely escape heavy punishment. All these things could never have been set aright if there had not been an able and diligent magistrate who, on occasion altering his voice and dress, went about in disguise to make secret investigations himself, or who sometimes even assumed the role of a ghost from the Nether World, just to find the solution of a case, to redress a wrong, and to apprehend a criminal, thus successfully bringing to an end the most strange and most amazing trials.
Now, while the vernal breeze encourages idleness, and I find myself with time hanging heavily on my hands, I am putting this story on record, to be offered to the reading public. While I would not make bold to assert that the narrative of these strange happenings will caution the people and thus improve their morals, I yet venture to hope that its perusal will serve to beguile some idle hours.
A poem says:
While placing on record these strange and baffling cases,
One cannot but admire this judge of days gone by:
Unselfish and perspicacious, he was a man of supreme rectitude,
He shall always be remembered as redresser of grievous wrongs.
The present book describes some exploits of a magistrate who lived during our glorious Tang dynasty, in the first half of the seventh century A.D.
This magistrate was a native of the town Tai-yuan, the capital of Shansi Province. His family name was Dee, his personal name Jen-djieh, while he had adopted the literary appellation of Hwai-ying. Being a man of exemplary honesty and penetrating wisdom, he was in due time appointed to a high position at the Imperial Court, and by his frank and courageous memorials to the Throne helped tide over many a crisis in state affairs. In recognition of his loyal service, he was later appointed a governor, and finally ennobled as duke Liang. His illustrious deeds are duly entered in the official “History of the Tang Dynasty”, and this material is thus easily accessible to all interested persons.
A number of facts, however, relating to the early career of Dee Jen-djieh, who at that time was famous as “Judge Dee”, have either been omitted or only treated cursorily in the official records. One must search for them in minor historical writings, in the local records of the towns where he served as magistrate, and suchlike sources. Yet these lesser-known facts are of no mean interest. They serve to heighten our respect for Judge Dee. These facts show that, next to being a loyal servant of the Throne, Dee Jen-djieh was also a wise magistrate, a great gentleman who combined remarkable acumen with a benevolent and justice-loving disposition and who, as a district magistrate, succeeded in solving an amazing number of strange and puzzling criminal cases.
The present story, therefore, is concerned only with the early phase of Judge Dee’s career, going back to the time when he was appointed district magistrate of Chang-ping.
Having assumed his office there, Judge Dee immediately devoted all his energy to the weeding out of unruly elements, the protection of the law-abiding citizens, and to the disposition of pending litigations.
Judge Dee was ably assisted by four trusted followers in accomplishing these burdensome tasks.
His chief assistant was a man called Hoong Liang, an old servant in the Dee paternal mansion, who had seen Judge Dee grow up from a small boy. Although well advanced in age, Hoong Liang was nevertheless a courageous person, who promptly executed any dangerous or delicate job that Judge Dee assigned him, showing considerable tact and a natural gift for detection. Judge Dee appointed him sergeant over the constables of his tribunal, and treated him as his confidential adviser. Two others, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, Judge Dee used for all especially dangerous jobs connected with the apprehension of criminals. Originally these two had been “brothers of the green woods”, or, in plain language, highway robbers. Once, when Judge Dee was traveling to the capital on some official business, these two men attacked him and his party on the road intending to rob them. Judge Dee at once saw that Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, far from being common thieves, were men of a heroic disposition, while the passes they made at him showed him convincingly that they were well versed in the arts of fencing and boxing. It seemed to Judge Dee that he might well try to reform these men, and engage their service later to assist him in executing the King’s business; in such a way their talents might be used to good purpose. Thus Judge Dee, not deigning to draw his sword, just
ordered them sternly to desist. Thereupon he gave them a good talking to which greatly moved Ma Joong and Chiao Tai. The former said respectfully:
“The two of us have resorted to this despicable occupation only because we found the Empire in turmoil, and wicked ministers in charge at Court. We, having nothing in this world but our able bodies and our knowledge of the martial arts, and finding no one who would employ us, thus had no other course open to us than to become highwaymen. But since Your Honour has now so kindly spoken to us, our only desire is to be allowed henceforward to follow your whip and hold your stirrup, in order thus to show our gratitude for Your Honour’s favour”.So Judge Dee accepted these two braves as his lieutenants. His fourth lieutenant was a reformed itinerant swindler, named Tao Gan. This man had long before mended his ways, and he had become a runner for a certain magistrate’s tribunal. But since there were many people who harbored grudges against him, he was continually harassed and bothered by these old enemies, and finally sought refuge with Judge Dee. He was a man of many parts and great cunning, so Judge Dee retained him as his assistant. This Tao Gan became a close friend of Sergeant Hoong, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai.
Since his assumption of office in Chang-ping, these four men proved very useful to Judge Dee. They were kept busy on secret investigations for the Judge, and the information they gathered helped him to solve not a few difficult criminal cases.
One day Judge Dee was sitting in his private office at the back of the court hall, attending to some routine business, when he suddenly heard the sound of the gong at the entrance of the tribunal. Thus apprised that a case was being brought in, he hurriedly donned his official robe and cap, and having entered the court hall, seated himself behind his high bench. Below, in front of the bench, the clerks, constables and other minions of the law had already lined up themselves in two rows, to the left and right. Looking towards the entrance of the hall, Judge Dee there saw a man of the common people, of about forty years old. He seemed in a state of great agitation, his face was all covered with perspiration. He stood there incessantly crying that a great wrong was being done him.
The Celebrated Cases Of Judge Dee Page 3