What do XiShi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei have in common? They are ancientChinese women highly regarded for their beauty. Legend has it, in fact, theyare ancient China'sfour most beautiful women, and among the nation's most significant historicalfigures. They are famous, or perhaps infamous, because they were able toinfluence emperors and kings, with whom they were involved. In some cases, theybrought kingdoms, even dynasties, to their knees. For most of them, however,their lives ended in tragedy and/or mystery.

 
Xi Shi: Causing Fish to Sink

Xi Shi, who was born in Zhuluo Village, of Zhuji (now Zhuji City, ZhejiangProvince), the capital of ancient Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period(770-476 BC), has widely been considered the most beautiful of ancient China's"four beauties." It has been said Xi, while washing veil, caused thefish, which were frozen by her beauty, to sink to the bottom of the river.

Aroundthat time, the State of Yue was defeated bythe State of Wu,whose king was Fu Chai. Gou Jian, king of Yue, was imprisoned for three years,and Yue was annexed by Wu. To get his revenge, Gou took the advice of Wen Zhong,one of his ministers, and selected beautiful women to offer to Fu. Fan Li,another minister of Yue State, eventually offeredXi Shi and Zheng Dan, another beauty, to Fu.

 Enchantedby the beauty of both Xi and Zheng, Fu paid less attention to state affairs,and he became less interested in what his ministers had to say. He even orderedthe death of his top general, Wu Zixu, at the urging of the beautiful women.The power of Wu State weakened gradually, and Fu was eventually conquered byYue's army. After the defeat, Fu committed suicide.

 Accordingto legend, Xi Shi then lived with Fan Li, who had quit his post after Fu'sfall. Nobody saw Xi or Fan again.

Wang Zhaojun: Grounding the Geese
 

WangZhaojun, also called Wang Qiang, was born in ZiguiCounty (now Xingshan County, HubeiProvince), during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). During the reign ofEmperor Yuan (49-33 BC), Wang entered the court as one of the many candidatesfrom whom the emperor would choose his concubines. She was not selected.

Wang, whowas straightforward and honest, had refused to bribe the court's painter, MaoYanshou, as the others had done. Mao painted portraits—used by the emperor toselect the concubines—of the candidates. That prompted Mao to paint anunflattering portrait of Wang, and, as a result, the emperor overlooked her.

In 33 BC,Huhanye, the Khan of Huns, a nomadic people to the north, wanted to establishgood relations with the Western Han Dynasty. Huhanye visited the capital,Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province),and requested a princess whom he could marry. Such gestures were often used toestablish good relations in those days.

Instead,Emperor Yuan decided to offer Huhanye one of the would-be concubines. Theemperor asked someone to volunteer, and he agreed she would be treated like aprincess. Most of the candidates were not willing to leave their homeland andgive up their comfortable lives in the palace. Only Wang, who was tired of herboring life, volunteered.

Before thecouple had a chance to leave Chang'an, Emperor Yuan met Huhanye and Wang. Theemperor was floored by Wang's beauty, and he regretted his decision. A shorttime later, the emperor discovered what had happened, and he ordered thepainter's death.

Accordingto legend, Wang felt sad while leaving her homeland. She played melancholicmusic on the qin, a stringed instrument, while riding a horse. A flock ofgeese, flying overhead, forgot how to fly—after seeing the beautiful, butdistraught, woman playing the sad music—and plummeted to the ground.

Wang soonbecame one of Huhanye's favorites, and she gave birth to two sons.Unfortunately, only one baby survived. After Huhanye died, Wang adhered to Hunscustom, and became the wife of the next Chanyu. During her second marriage,Wang gave birth to two daughters.
Thanks to Wang's selflessness, there was peace between the middle kingdom andHuns for more than 60 years.

Diao Chan: Forcing the Moon to Hide
 

Diao Chanis unlike the other beauties: She has never been mentioned in history books,and she might be a fictional figure. Her story is told in the famous historicalnovel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. Diao was a pretty singerduring the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), and she resided with the family ofWang Yun, who was an official.

One night,Diao was in the garden, praying to the full moon. Suddenly, a cloud floated byand blocked the moon's glow. Wang Yun witnessed the event, and he told others,"Diao Chan is more beautiful than the full moon. The moon felt shame andhid behind the cloud."

Accordingto legend, Diao joined a plot, initiated by Wang, to persuade Lv Bu, the greatwarrior, to kill his godfather, the despotic Dong Zhuo, who planned to usurpthe throne. Wang had Diao became involved with Lv, and later offered her toDong as a concubine.

Afterlearning Dong had taken Diao as a concubine, Lv became angry and killed Dong,at Wang Yun's urging. Later, Diao married Lv and they had children. Lv waseventually killed by Cao Cao1, and Diao was never heard of again.

Yang Guifei: Shame on the Flowers
 

YangGuifei, whose name was Yang Yuhuan, was born into an official's family inYongle (now Huayin County, Shaanxi Province) in 719 AD, which wasduring the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In addition to her beauty, Yang was anaccomplished singer and dancer. When she was 16, Yang married Prince Shou, whowas Emperor Xuanzong's 18th son.

Attractedby her beauty, the emperor wanted to marry Yang. He forced her to divorcePrince Shou, and then made her convert to Taoism. He gave her the title ofTaizhen, and she resided in Taizhen Palace. Later, PrinceShou married a general's daughter, and then Yang became the emperor'shigh-ranked imperial concubine. Benefiting from their association with Yang,many of her relatives became high-ranking officials—including her cousin, YangGuozhong, who assumed the post of prime minister.

One day,as legend has it, Yang walked through the garden and, attracted by the beautyof the flowers, she touched one of the plants. That caused the flower's petalsand leaves to curl. One of the maids witnessed the event, and she told everyonethe flower had bowed its head in shame after having seen Yang's beautiful face.Yang had touched a mimosa flower.

During theAnshi Rebellion2, the emperor fled Chang'an for Chengdu. Along the way, the soldiersprotecting the emperor stopped at Mawei post3 (now in Xinping, ShaanxiProvince). They believed the primer minister Yang Guozhong, was responsible forthe country's upheaval, and they demanded his death. Xuanzong had no option butto agree. The soldiers also demanded Yang Guifei be killed. At age 38, shehanged herself.

Ten Signs of Beauty in Ancient China
 

Conceptsof beauty have changed throughout the various periods of China'shistory, but the following 10 characteristics have continuously been consideredsigns of beauty:

1.Lustrous black hair;
2. Hair loosely coiled on the head to create the appearance of greater height;
3. Finely shaped black eyebrows. During the Tang Dynasty, many women shavedtheir eyebrows, and then drew eyebrows with pigment;
4. Large, bright and expressive eyes;
5. Red lips and white teeth. In addition to beauty, this was considered a signof good health;
6. Graceful fingers and arms. A pretty woman was expected to have well-shapedhands, with slim, soft fingers, and fair, fleshy arms;
7. Slender waist and fair skin. Throughout history, women have wanted a willowyfigure;
8. Tiny feet and a light, elegant gait;
9. Dressing according to complexion, figure and disposition; and
10. A fragrant body. It's said a concubine of Qing Emperor Qian Long(1711-1799) gave off a natural fragrance.

Note：
1. Cao Cao (155–220 AD) was a regional warlord and the last Chancellor of theEastern Han Dynasty. As one of the central figures of the Three KingdomsPeriod, he laid the foundation for what eventually became the Kingdom of Wei(220-265 AD). Although generally characterized as a cruel and suspiciouscharacter in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other folkaccounts, the historic Cao Cao was a brilliant ruler, military strategist andpoet.

2. TheAnshi Rebellion occurred during the Tang Dynasty, from 755 to 763. An Lushan, amilitary governor of the Tang Dynasty, started the rebellion in 755 AD. At theheight of his power, An was murdered by his own son. Shi Siming, on of An'ssubordinates, became the leader of the rebellion after he murdered An's son.Although the rebellion was suppressed during the reign of Daizong, Xuanzong'sson, the Tang Dynasty was badly weakened and, in its remaining years, wastroubled by persistent warlordism.

3. One ofseveral relay stations, along a fixed route, that provided fresh riders andhorses to deliver the mail.