“Yuanfang, what do you think?” (元芳，你怎么看？) The phrase once went viral on the Chinese internet, which came from a classic detective TV drama named Detective Di Renjie. Obviously, the protagonist of this drama is Di Renjie, and Yuanfang is his assistant.
Judge Dee and Robert van Gulik
In real history, Di was a famous chancellor of Empress Wu Zetian during the Tang Dynasty. He had served as Dali Temple Chancellor, the highest judicial institution, to handle court cases, equivalent to today’s Supreme Court.
Di handled a large backlog of cases there, with no wrongful convictions. However, he was not called “Detective Di” or “Judge Dee” at that time, and these titles mainly came from novels such as the Judge Dee mystery series written by Dutch diplomat and sinologist Robert van Gulik (高罗佩).
Van Gulik was obsessed with Chinese culture. In the 1940s, he accidentally came across a Qing Dynasty detective novel called Four Great and Strange Cases From the Era of Empress Wu Zetian (《武则天四大奇案》) in a second-hand bookstore, which sparked his interest.
Van Gulik spent years translating it into English, and named it Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, making Di known in the West as “Judge Dee”. Afterwards, he created his own masterpiece titled Judge Dee Mysteries (《大唐狄公案》). This novel achieved great success, making “Eastern Sherlock Holmes” Judge Dee popular worldwide.
Influenced by van Gulik, European and American authors continued the adventures of “Judge Dee” to create novels or spin off novels, further expanding the popularity of Di.
Di’s Story in Traditional Chinese Operas
Di’s story is also presented in various traditional Chinese operas. It has undergone multiple interpretations in both forms and contents. For example, in the Beijing Opera The Purple Robe (《紫袍记》), Di Renjie, who was then the governor of Yuzhou, spoke frankly and offer advice to Empress Wu Zetian, and was bestowed with a purple robe for his outstanding abilities.
While Pingju Opera A Beautiful Evening (《良宵》) tells a beautiful love story between Di in his youth, and Li Xiuru, a widow who runs an inn. After the two met, a romantic spark ignited between them. Although struggled with ethical and emotional conflicts initially, they eventually broke free from the shackles of feudal ethics and achieved a touching love story.
Becomes a Super IP
Nowadays, Di’s story has transformed into a super IP that combines cultural depth and commercial vitality. Its modern adaptation demonstrates strong plasticity, spanning across multiple fields such as film and television, animation, gaming, and cultural and creative industries.
There have been numerous TV and film adaptations of Di’s detective stories. For example, a TV series called Judge Dee’s Mystery (《大唐狄公案》) explores the detective tales of Di, and blends historical mysteries with AI visuals, and universal values. Di’s story is also revitalized on the big screen, such as Hong Kong director Tsui Hark’s Detective Di franchise, using magic tricks to create complex illusions.
The modern adaptation of Di’s IP has also been extended to the fields of online and offline gaming, as well as cultural and creative industries. Some designers have launched Q-version Di’s figurine. Multiple regions have launched themed secret rooms with the theme of Detective Di. Various online games are constantly emerging, too.
Di’s IP seems to always achieve success, so that some people called it an “evergreen tree” IP.
Written by Sha Liu, picture designed by Di Wang.
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