ROBERT VAN GULIK
The Monkey and the Tiger
In the accompanying Chinese zodiac—always represented with the south at the top — the images of the Monkey and the Tiger indicate their correct position; the other animals are represented by their cyclical signs only. The complete set, known as the 'Twelve Branches of Heaven', consists of 1 Rat (Aries), 2 Cow (Taurus), 3 Tiger (Gemini), 4 Hare (Cancer), 5 Dragon (Leo), 6 Serpent (Virgo), 7 Horse (Libra), 8 Sheep (Scorpio), 9 Monkey (Sagittarius), 10 Cock (Capricorn), 11 Dog (Aquarius) and 12 Pig (Pisces). This series also indicates the 24 hours of a natural day: the Rat 11-1 a.m., the Cow 1-3 a.m., etc.
A second cyclical series (not depicted here) consists of the 'Ten Stems of Earth', which represents also the Five Elements and the Five Planets, viz. I chia, II yi (both wood and Jupiter), III ping, IV ting (fire, and Mars), V mou, VI chi (earth and Saturn), VII keng, VIII Ўisiti (metal and Venus), IX Jen, X kuei (water and Mercury). The twelve 'branches', combined with the ten 'stems', form a sexagenary cycle: I-1, II-2, III-j, IV-4, V-5, VI-6, VII-7, VIII-8, IX-9, X-10, I-11, II-12, III-1, IV-2 and so on till X-12. This cycle of sixty double signs is the basis of Chinese chronology. Six cycles indicate the 360 days of a tropical year and the twelve lunar months, and also the years themselves in an ever-repeating series of sixty — 'A cycle of Cathay'! The year 1900 was VII-1, a year of the Rat, and we are living now in the cycle that began in 1924 with the year of the Rat I-1; this particular cycle ends in 1984. The current year, 1965, is II-6, a year of the Serpent, 1966 will be III-7, a year of the Horse.
The octagonal design in the centre of the zodiac is explained in the Postscript.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Note that in Chinese the surname—here printed in capitals—precedes the personal name
The Morning of the Monkey:
Judge DEE magistrate of Han-yuan, in A.D. 666
TAO Gan one of his lieutenants
WANG a pharmacist
LENG a pawnbroker
SENG Kiu a vagabond
Miss SENG his sister
CHANG another vagabond
The Night of the Tiger:
Judge DEE travelling from Pei-chow to the capital, in A.D. 676.
MIN Liang a wealthy landowner
MIN Kee-yu his daughter
Mr MIN his younger brother, a tea merchant
YEN Yuan bailiff of the Min estate
LIAO the steward
Aster a maidservant
THE MORNING OF THE MONKEY
Dedicated to the memory of my good friend the gibbon Bubu, died at Port Dickson, Malaya, 12 July 1962.
Judge Dee was enjoying the cool summer morning in the open gallery built along the rear of his official residence. He had just finished breakfast inside with his family, and now was having his tea there all alone, as had become his fixed habit during the year he had been serving as magistrate of the lake district Han-yuan.* (* It was here that Judge Dee solved the Chinese Lake Murders, London, Michael Joseph, 1960.) He had drawn his rattan armchair close to the carved marble balustrade. Slowly stroking his long black beard, he gazed up contentedly at the tall trees and dense undergrowth covering the mountain slope that rose directly in front of the gallery like a protecting wall of cool verdure. From it came the busy twitter of small birds, and the murmur of the cascade farther along. It was a pity, he thought, that these relaxed moments of peaceful enjoyment were so brief. Presently he would have to go to the chancery in the front section of the tribunal compound, and have a look at the official correspondence that had come in.
Suddenly there was the sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs. Two furry black shapes came rushing through the tree-tops, swinging from branch to branch by their long, thin arms, and leaving a rain of falling leaves in their wake. The judge looked after the gibbons with a smile. He never tired of admiring their lithe grace as they came speeding past. Shy as they were, the gibbons living on the mountain slope had become accustomed to that solitary figure sitting there every morning. Sometimes one of them would stop for one brief moment and deftly catch the banana Judge Dee threw at him.
Again the leaves rustled. Now another gibbon came into sight. He moved slowly, using only one long arm and his hand-like feet. He was carrying a small object in his left hand. The gibbon halted in front of the gallery and, perched on a lower branch, darted an inquisitive look at the judge from his round, brown eyes. Now Judge Dee saw what the animal had in his left hand: it was a golden ring with a large, sparkling green stone. He knew that gibbons often snatch small objects that catch their fancy, but also that their interest is short-lived, especially if they find they can't eat what they have picked up. If he couldn't make the gibbon drop the ring then and there, he would throw it away somewhere in the forest, and the owner would never recover it.
Since the judge had no fruit at hand to distract the gibbon's attention from the ring, he quickly took his tinderbox from his sleeve and began to arrange its contents on the tea-table, carefully examining and sniffing at each object. He saw out of the corner of his eye that the gibbon was watching him. Soon he let the ring drop, swung himself down to the lowest branch and remained hanging there by his long, spidery arms, following Judge Dee's every gesture with eager interest. The judge noticed that a few blades of straw were sticking to the gibbon's black fur. He couldn't hold the fickle animal's attention for long. The gibbon called out a friendly 'Wak wak!' then swung itself up onto a higher branch, and disappeared among the green leaves.
Judge Dee stepped over the balustrade and down onto the moss-covered boulders that lined the foot of the mountain slope. Soon he had spotted the glittering ring. He picked it up and climbed back onto the gallery. A closer examination proved that it was rather large, evidently a man's ring. It consisted of two intertwined dragons of solid gold, and the emerald was unusually big and of excellent quality. The owner would be glad to get this valuable antique specimen back. Just when he was about to put the ring away in his sleeve, his eye fell on a few rust-brown spots on its inside. Creasing his bushy eyebrows, he brought the ring closer. The stains looked uncommonly like dried blood.
JUDGE DEE SAW THAT THE GIBBON WAS WATCHING HIM
He turned round and clapped his hands. When his old house steward came shuffling out to the gallery, he asked:
'What houses stand on the mountain slope over there, steward?'
'There are none, sir. The slope is much too steep, and covered entirely by the dense forest. There are several villas on top of the ridge, though.'
'Yes, I remember having seen those summer villas. Do you happen to know who is living there?'
'Well, sir, the pawnbroker Leng, for instance. And also Wang, the pharmacist.'
'Leng I don't know. And Wang, you say? I suppose you mean the owner of the large pharmacy in the market-place, opposite the Temple of Confucius? A small, dapper fellow, always looking rather worried?'
'Yes indeed, sir. He has good reasons to look worried, too, sir. His business isn't going very well this year, I heard. And his only son is mentally defective. He'll be twenty next year, and still he can neither read nor write. I don't know what is to become of a boy like that ...'