The lute, ch'in or guqin is one of China's oldest and most revered musical instruments. Records indicate that it has been a favourite of the literary classes for more than 2,500 years; Confucius himself was a great lover of the instrument. Over the centuries, it became representative of the life, ta[...]
The Judge Dee Novels provides a comprehensive survey of Robert van Gulik's series of novels (1949-1968) featuring the Tang dynasty magistrate, Judge Dee. In addition to providing a synopsis of each of the Judge Dee stories (with commentaries on the plots, the characters, and the thematic and histori[...]