Four Beauties
Encyclopedia
The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 women, renowned for their beauty. The scarcity of historical records concerning them meant that much of what is known of them today has been greatly embellished by legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

. They gained their reputation from the influence they exercised over kings and emperors and consequently, the way their actions impacted Chinese history. Three of the Four Great Beauties brought kingdoms to their knees, and the lives of all four ended in tragedy or under mysterious circumstances.

Beauties

The Four Great Beauties lived in four different dynasties, each hundreds of years apart. In chronological order, they are:
  • Xi Shi
    Xi Shi
    Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue....

     (c. seventh to sixth century BC, Spring and Autumn Period), said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink away from the surface when she walks by.
  • Wang Zhaojun
    Wang Zhaojun
    Wang Qiang , more commonly known by her style name Wang Zhaojun was the consort of the Xiongnu chanyu Huhanye...

     (c. first century BC, Western Han Dynasty), said to be so beautiful that her appearance would entice birds in flight to fall from the sky.
  • Diaochan
    Diaochan
    Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have been born in 161 or 169 or 176, depending on the source. However, unlike the other three beauties, there is no known evidence that suggests her existence, therefore she is likely to be a fictional character.Diaochan...

     (c. third century, Late Eastern Han/Three Kingdoms
    Three Kingdoms
    The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

     period), is probably the only mythical one in the group. Said to be so luminously lovely that the moon itself would shy away in embarrassment when compared to her face.
  • Yang Guifei
    Yang Guifei
    Consort Yang Yuhuan , often known as Yáng Guìfēi , known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen , was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China...

     (719–756, Tang Dynasty
    Tang Dynasty
    The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

    ), said to have a face that puts all flowers to shame.

Quote

A famous quote describes the four beauties. The exact origin of this quote is always in debate.
Chinese quote Pinyin Jyutping English (lit.)
西施沉魚
昭君落雁
貂嬋閉月
貴妃羞花
xī shī chén yú
zhāo jūn luò yàn
diāo chán bì yuè
guì fēi xiū huā
sai1 si1 cam4 jyu4
ciu1 gwan1 lok6 ngaan6
diu1 sim4 bai3 jyut6
gwai3 fei1 sau1 faa1
Xi Shi
Xi Shi
Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue....

 sinks fish
Wang Zhaojun
Wang Zhaojun
Wang Qiang , more commonly known by her style name Wang Zhaojun was the consort of the Xiongnu chanyu Huhanye...

 drops birds
Diaochan
Diaochan
Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have been born in 161 or 169 or 176, depending on the source. However, unlike the other three beauties, there is no known evidence that suggests her existence, therefore she is likely to be a fictional character.Diaochan...

 eclipses the moon
Yang Guifei
Yang Guifei
Consort Yang Yuhuan , often known as Yáng Guìfēi , known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen , was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China...

 shames flowers

Characteristics

According to some Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...

, the Four Great Beauties each had their own uniquely human qualities. For example 2008 modern author Ji Lin-hoi (紀連海) wrote a book about the four beauties called "Ji Lin-hoi admire the Four beauties" (紀連海嘆說四大美人).

Xi Shi reputedly suffered from constant chest pains, although the face she made when she winced in pain made her more distinctively lovely than ever. She was also said to have a large foot size. Yang Guifei supposedly suffered from a particular odour, which she attempted to wash away with lavish baths and cover up with scented powder. Diaochan was said to have one big ear and one small ear. Wang Zhaojun was said to have shoulders one high, one low.

Cultural reference

The Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 town Simei
Simei
Simei is a housing estate located in the eastern part of Singapore, situated next to Tampines New Town across the Pan-Island Expressway. The name Simei is pinyin for "four beauties" in Chinese. Initially, the roads in this area was named after the four great beauties in Chinese history...

 was named in honour of the Four Beauties by the minister of national development Teh Cheang Wan
Teh Cheang Wan
Teh Cheang Wan was an architect who was in charge of the Housing Development Board as Minister for National Development of Singapore. He served as the minister between 1979 to 1986.-Education:...

. Scholar Su Dongpo has compared Xi Shi
Xi Shi
Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue....

's beauty with Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...

's West Lake
West Lake
Xī Hú is a famous fresh water lake located in the historic center of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China. The lake is divided by the causeways of Sū Tí , Bái Tí , and Yánggōng Tí...

 in the work titled (飲湖上初睛居雨). Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...

 of the Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 also wrote a poem about Xi Shi
Xi Shi
Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue....

. Modern mandopop
Mandopop
Mandopop is a colloquial abbreviation for "Mandarin popular music." It is categorized as a subgenre of commercial Chinese-language music within C-pop. Mandopop was the first variety of popular music in Chinese to establish itself as a viable industry. As the name implies, Mandopop features songs...

singer Zhang Zan-fei (張真菲) wrote a song dedicated to the four beauties with its history and meanings.
In the ninth season of America's Next Top Model, the final four girls are given a historical lesson of the Four Beauties.
Xi Shi is mentioned in Zhuang Zi (the inner writings) chapter 2: discourse about the equality of things. 'A distinction is made between a straw and a pillar, between a mut and the fair Xi Shi.'
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