STORY OF XI-SHI /ZHAOJUN/DIAO CHAN/ YANG GUIFEI - FOUR BEAUTYS OF CHINA
Story of Xi Shi
The State of Yue, where Xi Shi and her family lived, was defeated in a war with its neighbor State of Wu and Gou Jian (520-465 BC), the king of the Yue was captured.While captive, the king swallowed his humiliation and worked very hard as a horseman for the king of Wu. As a result, three years later, he was set free.
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| STATUE, IN XI-SHI VILLAGE |
One advisor suggested the king to send an extremely beautiful woman to the Wu king as a tribute to allure him away from his state affairs. Hence, Xi Shi was brought to the Yue ruler.First, Xi Shi was persuaded to agree to help her home state to revenge for its humiliation and then, it took nearly three years of training and grooming to turn Xi Shi, a village girl, into a fair lady who was steeped in learning and exceptional good at painting, calligraphy and chess.
Gradually, the Wu king began to neglect his duties and spent most of his time with Xi Shi, dining and wining, and often taking Xi Shi out for carriage rides Xi Shi tried her best to keep the Wu king away from his court duties and frequently sent intelligence to her home state.A few years later, an opportunity came and the Yue army launched an all-out and merciless offensive against the State of Wu.
The once powerful Wu collapsed and its king killed himself.
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Fan and Xi Shi lived happily for the rest of their lives
In one disputed account, Xi Shi was secretly thrown into a river one night by soldiers following the order of the Yue king and drowned.King Goujian of Yue was once imprisoned by King Fuchai of Wu after a defeat in war, and Yue later became a tributary state to Wu.
Bewitched by the beauty and kindness of Xi Shi and Zheng Dan, Fuchai forgot all about his state affairs and at their instigation, killed his best advisor, the great general Wu Zixu. The strength of Wu dwindled, and in 473 BC Goujian launched his strike and completely routed the Wu army. King Fuchai lamented that he should have listened to Wu Zixu, and then committed suicide.
Influence
The Xi Shi Temple, which lies at the foot of the Zhu Luo Hill (苎萝) in the southern part of Xiaoshan, on the banks of the Huansha River.
Wang Zhaojun was one of the four China’s ancient beauties BORN 50 B.C. Like her peers, her fame was also tied to the political development of her time.
During the reign of the Han emperor Xuan (91-49BC), the Huns, or Xiong-Nu (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun), Han’s troublesome northern neighbor, split into five kingdoms, each led by a chieftain known as Shan-Yu.
Wars started among the five Shan-Yus in a bid for control.
Shan-Yu Khukhenye, who was defeated by his brother
Shan-Yu Zhizhi-Guduhu, decided to befriend the former foe in the south, Emperor Xuan, by suggesting that he pay the emperor a personal visit.
Khukhenye was the first Shan-Yu that ever came to pay tribute to a Han emperor. Rejoiced and feeling a bit flattered,
Emperor Xuan went out of his way to meet Khukhenye at the suburb of Capital Chang’an and held a grand banquet in his honor.
After a month’s stay in Chang’an, Khukhenye thought of going back home and asked Emperor Xuan for help. The emperor sent an army of ten thousand strong to escort him back and gave him a hundred thousand bushels of food to bring back to his starved people. The thankful Khukhenye was determined to maitain the friendly relationship with the Han Dynasty.
In the year of 33AD, he paid a second visit to the Han’s capital, where he asked to marry one of Emperor Yuan’s daughters to cement the relations of Han and his Xiong-Nu state. The emperor granted his request, but instead of his daughter, the bride would be a maid of honor.
Getting married would be a god-sent opportunity for a maid of honor to be freed from their perpetual solitude in the backyard of the palace. However, all but one volunteered to venture in to a matrimony that would destine their life in a foreign land. That was Wang Qiang, better known in history as Wang Zhaojun. She was extremely beautiful and intelligent. At the wedding in Chang’an, the emperor was awed by Zhaojun’s beauty
DIAO CHAN ,ONE OF CHINESE 4 BEAUTYS
In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Diaochan assists the official Wang Yun BORN IN 169A.D. in a plot to persuade Lü Bu to kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun presents her to Dong Zhuo as a concubine, but also betrothes her to Lü Bu at the same time. Diaochan uses her beauty to turn Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against each other by inciting jealousy between them
While Dong Zhuo is out one day, Lü Bu sneaks into his bedroom in the hope of seeing Diaochan. Diaochan pretends to be very upset and attempts suicide by throwing herself into the pond, saying that she is ashamed to see Lü Bu because she had been violated by Dong Zhuo.
Diaochan's eventual fate differs in various accounts: some said that she is killed by Dong Zhuo's followers, along with Wang Yun, after Lü Bu escapes; others claim that she follows Lü Bu while he roams around with his forces. In some adaptations of the novel, Diaochan is executed along with Lü Bu after Lü Bu's defeat at the Battle of Xiapi.
YANG GUIFEI ,ONE OF THE FOUR BEAUTYS
Yang was born in 719 during the Tang Dynasty, early in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Her great-great-grandfather Yang Wang (楊汪) was a key official during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, and, after the fall of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Wang was then killed when Wang Shichong was defeated by Tang forces in 621.[3] Yang Wang was from Huayin (華陰; in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), but his clan subsequently relocated to Yongle . Yang Xuanyan died when Yang Yuhuan was still young, so the latter was raised by her uncle Yang Xuanjiao (楊玄璬), who was a low-ranking official at Henan Municipality (河南府; modern Luoyang
Princess and Taoist nun
In 733, fourteen-year-old Yang Yuhuan married Li Mao, the Prince of Shou and the son of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Wu. She thus carried the title of Princess of Shou. After Consort Wu died in 737, Emperor Xuanzong was greatly saddened by the death of his then-favorite concubine.
Some time after that, however, Princess Yang somehow came into Xuanzong's favor and the Emperor decided to take her as his consort.
Yang Guozhong and An Lushan soon were in conflict,Yang Guozhong repeatedly acted provocatively, such as arresting and executing staff members from An's mansion in Chang'an.The soldiers of the imperial guard took this opportunity to proclaim that Yang Guozhong was planning treason along with the Tibetan emissaries, and they killed him, along with his son Yang Xuan (楊暄), the Ladies of Han and Qin, and Wei Fangjin. Wei Jiansu was severely injured and nearly killed, but was spared at the last moment. The soldiers then surrounded Emperor Xuanzong's pavilion and refused to leave, even after Emperor Xuanzong came out to comfort them and order them to disperse.
Chen publicly urged him to put Consort Yang to death. Emperor Xuanzong finally agreed.[citation needed] He had Gao take Consort Yang to a Buddhist shrine and strangle her. The official Li Kui spoke against it, pointing out that the imperial guard might again mutiny if he did so. However, Emperor Xuanzong secretly sent eunuchs to rebury her with a coffin.[citation needed] When they found the body, it had decomposed, but the fragrance bag buried with her was still fresh.[citation needed] The eunuchs returned with the fragrance bag, and upon its presentation to Emperor Xuanzong, he wept bitterly. When he returned to Chang'an, he had a painter create a picture of Consort Yang in a secondary palace, and often went there to view the portrait.
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