The Phantom of the Temple.I arrived in Tokyo in Febr.1965,and
there completed this novel,the sixth of the New Series.I
chose as setting Lan-fang,the border district where the Maze
Murders were located,and where I could again introduce the
Tartar element.Many readers had written me that they regret-
ted the liquidation of Sergeant Hoong,others wanted more of
Judge Dee's family life.Therefore I introduced into this
novel two of Judge Dee's Lieutenants viz. Sergeant Hoong and
Ma Joong,and I devoted some space to Judge Dee's three wives.
The novel was published largely as written down in my first
draft.