Diaochan

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Illustration in a Qing edition of the Three Kingdoms Story .

Diaochan ( Chinese  貂蟬  /  貂蝉 , Pinyin Diāo Chán ) is the only one of the Four Beauties of China that has no historical reports. She may be a fictional character . She is believed to have lived under the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was born in 162. Documents from that period indicate that General Lü Bu had an affair with one of Mr. Dong Zhuo's maids .

Surname

The name Diāo Chán means sable - cicada . It is probably a later invented name, as Diāo is not a common Chinese family name . The name Diāo Chán (sable cicada) may allude to the headgear of the high officials of the Eastern Han dynasty who wore hats (caps) decorated with sable tails and jade cicadas .

The story of the three kingdoms

Lü Bu (left), Dong Zhuo (center) and Diao Chan (right)

In Luo Guanzhong's novel The Story of the Three Kingdoms, the virtuous Minister Wang Yun of the Eastern Han Dynasty ponders a way to overthrow the cruel and unpredictable Commander in Chief Dong Zhuo . To do this, he recalls the story of Xi Shi , the first of the four beauties who brought down King Fuchai of Wu through her beauty and charm . Wang Yun decides to incite General Lü Bu against his Commander-in-Chief Dong Zhuo. To this end, he plays the two men off against each other by making his adopted daughter Diao Chan, with her consent, first Lü Bus's fiancé and then Dong Zhuo's concubine , which brings Lü Bu up against Dong Zhuo. This strategy is supported by Diao Chan's beauty and charm, which both men court at the same time. Dong Zhuo's strategist Li Ru sees through the stealth and recommends his master Diao Chan to leave Lü Bu. But Dong Zhuo insists that no man is as important to him as this girl, and threatens Li Ru with execution. Meanwhile, Diao Chan wraps Lü Bu around her little finger and complains that she is extremely unhappy with the uncouth Dong Zhuo and only wants to live with him, Lü Bu. Lü Bu gets angry about this and finally kills his rival . Diao Chan accompanies Lü Bu on his campaigns against Cao Cao and during his conquest of Puyang . After Lü Bu is beaten by Cao Cao at Xiapi , Diao Chan is no longer mentioned in the novel.

Web links

Commons : Diaochan  - album with pictures, videos and audio files