Two Qiaos
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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: 大喬; simplified Chinese: 大乔) and Xiǎo Qiáo (traditional Chinese: 小喬; simplified Chinese: 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 three 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 also 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 as well as Warriors Orochi. In both games, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao wield twin fans. However, in the recent installment of the series, Dynasty Warriors 6, Da Qiao was cut out. For more information, see List of Dynasty Warriors characters.
- Both the Qiao sisters are present in the upcoming film by John Woo, Red Cliff. In a trailer, Xiao is shown to be hitting a soldier with a torch, hinting that perhaps she might participate in the battle.
