Title: The willow pattern
First published: 1965
Description: Judge Dee has been appointed emergency governor of the plague- and drought-ridden Imperial City. As his guards help the city fend off a popular uprising, an aristocrat from one of the oldest families in China suffers an "accident" in a deserted mansion. In The Willow Pattern, the illustrious judge uses his trademark expertise to unravel the mysteries of the nobleman, a shattered vase, and a dead bondmaid. Along the way he encounters a woman who fights with loaded sleeves, a nearly drowned courtesan, and an elaborate trap set for a murderer.
Subjects: Judges, History, Fiction, Fiction, mystery & detective, general, Dee jen-djieh (fictitious character), fiction, China, fiction, Fiction, historical, Dee Jen-Djieh (Fictitious character)
Places: China
People: Renjie Di (629-700)
Time periods: Tang dynasty, 618-907