Two Qiaos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
According to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Two Qiaos, daughters of Qiao Xuan, were known as two of the great beauties of ancient China. Their names are not recorded, so they are referred to simply as Dà Qiáo (Traditional Chinese: 大橋 or 大喬; Simplified Chinese: 大桥 or 大乔) and Xiǎo Qiáo (Traditional Chinese: 小橋 or 小喬; Simplified Chinese: 小桥 or 小乔), literally "the elder Qiao" and "the younger Qiao".
The elder Qiao sister was married to Sun Ce, the lord of Wu; they had two children: an adopted son, Sun Shao, and two daughters who were later married to Zhu Ji and Lu Xun. The younger sister was married to Sun Ce's friend and ally Zhou Yu; they had three children: Zhou Xun, Zhou Yin, and Zhou Ying.
In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the two Qiaos were one of the major causes of the Battle of Red Cliffs. Zhuge Liang manipulated Zhou Yu under the guise of advising him of Cao Cao's plot to obtain the Qiao sisters for himself. Enraged, Zhou Yu plotted with Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to attack Cao Cao.
[edit] Modern references
Both of the Qiao sisters are playable characters in the popular Koei video game series, Dynasty Warriors, in which they are portrayed as warriors who wield twin fans as weapons, "Qiao Beauty" by Da, and "Qiao Grace" by Xiao. Da Qiao is always portrayed with darker hair than her sister, and tends to wear darker shades of red, while Xiao has lighter hair and often wears orange or light pastel coloured clothing. Also, Da Qiao generally wears skirts, and Xiao Qiao often wears short pantaloons. Da is portrayed as far more sensible and feminine than her younger sister, who has a very childish and short-tempered personality. The pair also fight differently, with Da's attacks being more deliberate and concentrated, while Xiao has a tendency to flail around and launch herself at incoming enemies.
Unless selected by the player, the pair will almost never be seen on the field of battle, and do not appear at all in Dynasty Warriors 5 unless using either Sun Ce, Zhou Yu or one of the Qiao sisters. Completing the game with Da results in Sun Ce overcoming the curse placed upon him by Yu Ji, while completing the game with Xiao results in Zhou Yu not succumbing to illness during the Battle of Chibi. Both Sun and Zhou credit their survival to the love and support of their wives.
