Judge Dee The Power Of Magistrates

Magistrates had a lot of power when ruling. They had the authority to torture a criminal to their liking as well as order subjects to the court. Magistrates had a few loyal and obedient lieutenants to help them in their work; "The lieutenants are the judge's legmen. He sends them out to make discreet inquires; he tells them to interview witnesses, trail suspects, find out the hiding place of a criminal and arrest him" (Preface, XI). The purpose of each of his servants was different; they included "former 'brothers of the green woods'…a reformed itinerant confidence man…an elderly retainer of the judge's family" (Preface, XI). With this small army of his, Judge Dee was able to accomplish many things. Judge Dee was an effective magistrate because

he was highly respected, never gave up, and solved three troubling mysteries just in the timeframe of the book.
Judge Dee was a highly respected official by almost everyone in the district. Besides "being a loyal servant of the Throne, Dee Jen-djieh was also a wise magistrate, a great gentleman who combined remarkable acumen with a benevolent and justice-loving disposition" (8). Since people "admired Judge Dee for his shrewdness" (15), he was able to execute harsh punishments. Torture was implemented into the process of admittance and was seen to be a regular action. Aside from his honesty, Judge Dee was also extremely fair to all people, no matter the gender or age. However, while executing the three criminals, he gave more respect to Hsu due to his schooling in the Confucian Classics. Everyone admired Dee as they "[bemoaned] the fate that took this wise and just magistrate away from them" (223). With admiration of this high authority, the people do what they can to help him out; information is given to help solve the cases. Judge Dee has earned the trust of his citizens, therefore making him a successful magistrate.
Judge Dee persevered through difficulties to reach the end.

There are multiple occurrences where he goes to his private office and then instantly hears the gong being rung signaling another trial has been brought to the court. The original author also did not include any details referring to Dee's personal life or feelings. This magistrate has gone through many hardships in order to solve the mysteries; "[he has] exhausted all the usual means; [he] employed threats, torture, and persuasion, but all failed. [He] must confess that [he doesn't] know what to do" (200). While the higher office was discussing Judge Dee's rulership, they noticed he "has solved a number of cases that were at least as puzzling as that of the poisoned bride" (210). Right before he was going to give up, Judge Dee used what he had to keep going and try to connect the pieces together. By doing this, he cracked the code. Judge Dee was so deeply involved in the case that he "[risked] the loss of his rank and position…He was motivated solely by the desire that justice be done and the death of a miserable, small merchant avenged" (211); "[he] cannot allow this murder to remain unsolved. [He is] going to risk [his] black cap in order to find the truth" (66). Judge Dee's dedication to his job is one of the contributing factors that led him to

victory.
Judge Dee found a solution to three mystery cases during the timeframe of the Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. Judge Dee "succeeded in solving an amazing number of strange and puzzling criminal cases" (8). Only a wise magistrate could have solved these cases, especially the one of the poisoned bride. Dee used the location of where the water was boiled, evaluated the conditions of the deck, waited for the water to be boiled, and then found the snake that had poisoned the tea pot. Through his dream, Dee found a hints and suggestions to the solution; "He marveled again at the accuracy of his dream in the temple" (109). The Judge having dreams about the mysteries exemplifies how involved he was. His lieutenants thought that Judge Dee was overworking himself, however, he kept pushing his abilities to the maximum. After taking on the double murder of Six Mile Village, Dee discovered the case of Bee Hsun. If this wasn't enough, the case of the poisoned bride was soon after brought to the surface right when things were at their busiest. The higher office realized that Dee's clever mind was noteworthy and therefore invited him to become one of them.
Judge Dee was a successful leader because of his respectability, perseverance, and ability to solve difficult mysteries. Because so many people admired this magistrate, it was easy for him to implement great plans of action. Since Dee had such a strong sense of perseverance, he was able to continue hunting down the answer until he found it. This leader had the ability to solve cases that no one else could; the answer was always different and more puzzling than that of the accuser. Judge Dee was an extremely effective magistrate during his time.