Diao Chan
Famous Beauty of China Wall Scroll

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Diao Chan

Deadliest of the Four Beauties of Ancient China.

About the Four Beauties of China

In Chinese culture, there are four famous beautiful woman of China.

They are thought to be the most beautiful and significant woman of China's ancient history.

Although the stories about these woman are based on fact, they are also steeped in legend.

These woman have remained famous through history because of the drastic effects on the emperors, kings, and kingdoms with whom they were bound.

Some of the beauties brought kingdoms and dynasties to their knees.

Most of the beauties had lives that ended in tragedy or mystery.

The legend and history of these woman has inspired Chinese artists for generations to create paintings that depict these four famous beauties of ancient China.

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More about the beauty depicted on this scroll

The woman in this painting is known as "Diao Chan Xi Hua"

She is usually just referred to as "Diao Chan", and she was a key player in the epic novel, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Just like "Homer's Odyssey", nobody seems sure if the facts in the novel are truth, or fiction. But the legend of this woman is so strong that she lives on, regardless of whether she actually existed.

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Her Story

Diao Chan's legend is that she was so beautiful the she could cause men who were the closest of

During Three Kingdoms Period of China (220 A.D. - 280 A.D.), a man named Dong Zhuo was becoming the tyrant of the land; doing everything he could to gain more power.

After leveling false accusations against an official with whom he found displeasure, and then having that official beheaded on the spot, many were concerned for the future of the kingdom.

Diao Chan in an effort to have the evil Dong Zhuo removed from power, allowed herself to become betrothed to a warrior named Lu Bu. At the same time, she was offered as a concubine to Dong Zhuo. The plan was to infuriate the two men so much, that Lu Bu would finally kill Dong Zhuo. Every chance she had, she would fuel the fire between these two men. It is said that these men were so blinded by her beauty that they could not see the plot and trap that she had laid before them. With both men filled with rage, the warrior Lu Bu joined a plot to assassinate Dong Zhuo.

The plot was successful. Dong Zhuo was killed. His clan put into disarray, and taken from power.

For her part in manipulating the two men, Diao Chan was murdered by the surviving members of Dong Zhuo's clan.

You can draw your own conclusions about the lessons to be learned from this tale. If you want the whole story, you will have to read the book yourself.

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About the Artist:

The artist's name is Wang Jian-Qiu. The artist lives in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province in Northern China (about 5 hours south of Beijing). I was introduced to this artist's work at Qin Xia's studio in Jinan. This artist has been a long time friend of Qin Xia (You may recognize Qin Xia's name from artwork in our flowers and birds category).

This is a elaborate style painting using special black Chinese ink and watercolor on rice paper. After buying this art from the artist, it was mounted to a hand-made silk scroll.