Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, had a beloved consort named Lady Li. Originally a courtesan, she was not only stunningly beautiful but also skilled in song and dance, earning the emperor's deep affection. Tragically, her beauty was short-lived; she fell gravely ill at a young age and soon passed away. The emperor was heartbroken and constantly missed her. Deeply superstitious, he hoped to summon her spirit through divine powers and see her once more.
Coincidentally, a necromancer named Shaoweng arrived in the capital Chang'an from the Qi region, claiming he could summon the spirits of the dead to reunite with the living. Emperor Wu, overjoyed, immediately commanded him to summon the soul of Lady Li.
Shao Weng took the clothes Li Furen had worn in life and ordered a clean room prepared. One evening, he lit candles, set up curtains, and asked Emperor Wu to wait in another curtained area. Entering the inner space, Shao Weng sprayed water, chanted spells, and performed his rituals. After a long while, the emperor faintly glimpsed a slender figure slowly approaching. She seemed to be Li Furen, sitting gracefully within the curtains for a moment, then pacing gently back and forth.
The more Emperor Wu looked, the more he realized she resembled Lady Li, and he unconsciously stared in a daze. After a while, he wanted to enter the tent to meet Lady Li, but was stopped by Shaoweng as he came out. When he looked again, there was no one inside. His heart stirred with grief once more, and he immediately composed a short lyric:
Is This Right or Wrong?
Standing and gazing, he murmured, "Why does she come so slowly, so hesitantly?"
That means: "Is this you or not? I can only watch you from afar. Why are you coming so slowly?"
Later, Emperor Wu ordered musicians to set this short lyric to music and have it performed, using the song to express his deep and enduring longing for Lady Li.
Later, the idiom "sauntering in late" came to describe someone arriving very slowly and belatedly.
Source: *Book of Han*, "Biography of the Imperial Relatives"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "姗姗来迟" came to describe how someone arriving very slowly and belatedly.