Robert van Gulik

Robert Van Gulik was a Dutch author, born in Zutphen, the Netherlands, on August 9, 1910. He is renowned for his historical mystery novels and short stories, particularly the Judge Dee Mysteries series. Van Gulik's early years were spent in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he acquired knowledge of multiple languages. He returned to the Netherlands and earned his PhD from Leiden University in 1935. Subsequently, he began working as a linguist for the Dutch Foreign Service.

At the onset of World War II, Van Gulik was in Tokyo, but was evacuated and sent to China. It was there that he met his future wife, Shui Shifang, and started a family. His life after this period was characterized by frequent moves around the world. However, he died in The Hague, the Netherlands, on September 24, 1967, while serving as the Dutch ambassador to Japan.

Van Gulik's writing career commenced in 1948 with the translation of his Dutch novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. The inspiration for the protagonist of his Judge Dee series came from the Chinese detective book, Dee Goong An, written in the 18th century by an unknown author. Throughout his career, Van Gulik wrote academic books, mostly on Chinese history, and was a noted diplomat, orientalist, and musician. His father served as a medical officer in the Netherlands Army.