صفحة 207 من 266

[Chang Yu alludes to the conduct of Pan Ch'ao's devoted followers

in 73 A.D. The story runs thus in the Hou Han Shu, ch. 47: "When

Pan Ch'ao arrived at Shan-shan, Kuang, the King of the country,

received him at first with great politeness and respect; but

shortly afterwards his behavior underwent a sudden change, and he

became remiss and negligent. Pan Ch'ao spoke about this to the

officers of his suite: 'Have you noticed,' he said, 'that Kuang's

polite intentions are on the wane? This must signify that envoys

have come from the Northern barbarians, and that consequently he

is in a state of indecision, not knowing with which side to throw

in his lot. That surely is the reason.