Pagina 188 de 266

Huan Kung, in peril of his life, was obliged to consent,

whereupon Ts'ao Kuei flung away his dagger and quietly resumed

his place amid the terrified assemblage without having so much as

changed color. As was to be expected, the Duke wanted afterwards

to repudiate the bargain, but his wise old counselor Kuan Chung

pointed out to him the impolicy of breaking his word, and the

upshot was that this bold stroke regained for Lu the whole of

what she had lost in three pitched battles.]

29. The skilful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now

the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains.

["Shuai-jan" means "suddenly" or "rapidly," and the snake in

question was doubtless so called owing to the rapidity of its

movements. Through this passage, the term in the Chinese has now

come to be used in the sense of "military manoeuvers."]