have been completely incomprehensible to them, they objected very strongly to picturing the uncovered feet of women, which they considered as highly indecent. Although in recent years this view is becoming dated, I still thought it wise to conceal the naked feet of the women depicted in my novels, with a view to the Chinese-language versions of the series.
ROBERT VAN GULIK
About the Author
Robert van Gulik was born in the Netherlands in 1910. He was educated at the Universities of Leyden and Utrecht, and served in the Dutch diplomatic service in China and Japan for many years. His interest in Asian languages and art led him to the discovery of Chinese detective novels and to the historical character of Judge Dee, famous in ancient Chinese annals as a scholar-magistrate. Van Gulik subsequently began writing the Judge Dce series of novels that have so captivated mystery readers ever since. He died of cancer in 1967.
[1] In the year 665 Judge Dee was transferred from Peng-lai to Hanyuan, and thence in 658 to Poo-yang in Kiangsu Province. In 670 he was appointed to the magistracy of Lan-fang, on the western frontier, where he stayed five vears. In 676 he was transferred to Pei- chow in the far north, where he solved his last three cases as district magistrate. In the same year he was appointed President of the Metropolitan Court of justice, in the Imperial Capital.
