= First Chinese language Judge Dee mystery publication by Van Gulik. Extremely rare and collectable. In 30 years of interest in Van Gulik's works we have never before seen a copy of this work on the western market. WorldCat lists no more than ten copies worldwide, with one holding in The Netherlands, one in the UK and eight more in the United States. Exceptionally fine copy of this notoriously fragile publication from a period of time from which not many books have survived. The Chinese Maze Murders was first published in Japanese in Tokyo in 1951, translated from the author's still unpublished English into Japanese by Van Gulik's friend Ogaeri Yoshio; then in Chinese in Van Gulik's own translation from the English (Singapore, 1953). It was not before 1956 a first Dutch translation was published alongside the first English language edition (both The Hague, 1956). Judge Dee is a semi-fictional character inspired by the historical figure Di Renjie (c. 630-700), a renowned magistrate and statesman during China's Tang dynasty. In traditional Chinese gong'an (court case) literature, Judge Dee is portrayed as an upright and astute official who investigates and adjudicates complex criminal cases. The character gained prominence in the 18th-century Chinese detective novel Di Gong An (also known as Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee), which was translated into English by Dutch diplomat and sinologist Robert van Gulik in 1949. Van Gulik was inspired by these ancient Chinese plots and decided to write his own Judge Dee mysteries. Robert van Gulik (1910-1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician, and writer. After translating Di Gong An [Dee Goong An], he was inspired to write his own series of Judge Dee mysteries, blending elements of Chinese detective fiction with Western narrative styles. Van Gulik's Judge Dee series comprises 17 novels and short story collections. Van Gulik's Judge Dee novels have been translated in 31 languages and have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.