Qing Dynasty depiction of Diaochan, one of the Four Great Beauties.

The Four Great Beauties (Chinese: 四大美人; pinyin: sì dà měi rén) are four ancient Chinese women, renowned for their beauty. Three of these women were genuine historical figures, but the scarcity of historical records concerning them meant that much of what is known of them today has been greatly embellished by legend. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Territory of Qing China in 1892 Capital Shengjing (1636-1644) Beijing (1644-1912) Language(s) Chinese Manchu Mongolian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1636-1643 Huang Taiji  - 1908-1912 Xuantong Emperor Prime Minister  - 1911 Yikuang  - 1911-1912 Yuan Shikai History  - Establishment of the Late... Diao Chan (貂蟬, py: Diāo Chán) was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... // For beauty as a characteristic of a persons appearance, see Physical attractiveness. ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ...

According to legend, the Four Great Beauties are the most beautiful women of ancient China. 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 tragic or under mysterious circumstances.

The Four Great Beauties lived in four different dynasties, each hundreds of years apart. In chronological order, they are:

• Xi Shi (c. seventh to sixth century BC, Spring and Autumn Period), said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget to swim and sink away from the surface when she walks by.
• Wang Zhaojun (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 (c. third century, Three Kingdoms period), said to be so luminously lovely that the moon itself would shy away in embarrassment when compared to her face.
• Yang Guifei (719–56, Tang Dynasty), said to have a face that puts all flowers to shame.

According to some Chinese literature, the Four Great Beauties each had their own uniquely human qualities. For instance, 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 foot size that is larger than any Chinese women at that time. Yang Guifei supposedly suffered from overpowering axillary malodor, which she attempted to wash away with lavish baths and cover up with scented powder, in addition to being rather plump by today's standards. Wang Zhaojun had a very proud and inflexible temperament, which caused her to anger palace officials of the Chinese court and resulted in her designation as a political bride/peace offering to what was viewed at the time as a barbarian tribe. Xi Shi (西施, Pinyin: XÄ« ShÄ«, c. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Overview Events 699 BC - Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire. ... (7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC - other centuries) (600s BC - 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Cyrus the Great conquered many... The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) was a period in Chinese history, which roughly corresponds to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (from the second half of the 8th century BC to the first half of the 5th century). ... Wang Qiang (王牆 also 王檣; 王嬙), more commonly known by her style name Wang Zhaojun (王昭君) was the consort of the Xiongnu shanyu Huhanye (呼韓邪). She is famed as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. ... (2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century - other centuries) The 1st century BC starts on January 1, 100 BC and ends on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The Roman... The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ... Diao Chan (貂蟬, py: Diāo Chán) was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. ... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... The Three Kingdoms period (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a period in the history of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties. ... Yáng GuìfÄ“i (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), Yáng: (a common surname), GuìfÄ“i: highest-ranking imperial concubine (literally means precious princess consort), (June 1, 719 — July 15, 756), born Yáng Yùhuán (楊玉環), was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. ... Events The church of Nubia transfers its allegiance from the Eastern Orthodox Church to the Coptic Church. ... Events Abd-ar-rahman I conquers Iberia and establishes a new Umayyad dynasty. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... Chinese literature spans back thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the matured fictional novel arising in the medieval period to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. ...

It should be noted that no historical accounts mention a person named Diaochan; unlike the other three of the Four Great Beauties, Diaochan had no distinctive personality and is only known by her reported deeds. Her claim to fame was that her affair with the Han general Lü Bu brought about a rift between him and his godfather, Dong Zhuo, stopping the latter's unpopular attempts to overthrow the Han Emperor; these deeds were recorded, however, more than a thousand years after her death, in the Ming Dynasty novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." No contemporary records mention her at all. While the official history of the Han dynasty, Hou Han Shu, discuss a servant girl of Dong Zhuo's with whom Lü Bu had an affair, she was not named; there is no reason to believe that Diaochan was that girl. Moreover, "Diao" is not a common Chinese last name, but diaochan was a term commonly used to describe top officials' hat decorations during the subsequent Jin Dynasty. She is the only one of the Four Great Beauties who, in all likelihood, never existed in reality. Lü Bu (? – 199) was a military general and later minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. ... Dong Zhuo (董卓; Pinyin: DÇ’ng Zhuō) (139 – 192) was a warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. ... The Book of Later Han (Chinese: 後漢書; pinyin: ) is one of the official Chinese historical works which was compiled by Fan Ye (Traditional Chinese: 范瞱; Simplified Chinese: 范晔; 398-445), using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources. ... Dong Zhuo (董卓; Pinyin: DÇ’ng Zhuō) (139 – 192) was a warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. ... Lü Bu (? – 199) was a military general and later minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. ... The Jin Dynasty (晉 pinyin: jìn, 265-420), one of the Six Dynasties, followed the Three Kingdoms and preceded the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. ...