-Biography of a widely popular author, as well as highly respected Asian scholar; available previously in Dutch and French and now for the first time in English -Based on primary sources such as the personal diary of Van Gulik, as well as recollections of immediate family, colleagues and friends -A must-read for Asian scholars, as well as the many fans of the Judge Dee mystery series Diplomat, Asian scholar, author, polyglot, polymath, and a passionate lover of life in all its forms, Robert van Gulik researched and wrote prolifically on a wide range of Asian subects, such as Chinese scroll mounting, sexual life in China, and the Chinese lute: an instrument that he also mastered as a musician. In addition to his more esoteric writings, van Gulik achieved wide popular fame as the author of a series of mystery novels based on the life of semi-fictional Judge Dee in ancient China. Two former colleagues and close acquaintances of Van Gulik have combined their own experiences with recollections of family and other contemporaries, as well as detailed entries in the diaries of the man himself to provide us with an entertaining and highly readable portrait of a remarkable life. A must-read for the Asian specialist as well as Van Gulik's many admirers among the general public. Contents: Forward and Acknowledgements; 1. The Beginning; 2. Primary School in Java; 3. Gymnasium Years in Nijmegen; 4. Student in Leiden; 5. First Japanese Period; 6. Secret Agent in Africa; 7. Chungking; 8. First Period in the Netherlands; 9. Washington D.C.; 10. Second Japanese Period; 11. India; 12. Second Period in the Netherlands; 13. Minister in the Middle East; 14. Ambassador in Malaysia; 15. Third Period in the Netherlands; 16. Third Period in Japan; 17. Illness and Death; Bibliography, Index