Four Beauties

Four Beauties
The Four Beauties. From left to right: Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, Yang Guifei
Chinese	四大美女
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin sì dà měi nǚ Min - Hokkien POJ sì tāi bí-lú Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping sei3 daai6 mei5 neoi5
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	四大美人
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin sì dà měi rén Min - Hokkien POJ sì tōa bí-jîn Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping sei3 daai6 mei5 jan4

The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinese 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. 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.

Contents 1 Four beauties 1.1 Beauties 1.2 Quote 2 Characteristics 3 Cultural references 4 References

Four beauties

Beauties

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 how to swim and sink away from the surface when she walks by.^[1]
• 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.^[2]
• Diaochan (c. third century, Late Eastern Han/Three Kingdoms period), said to be so luminously lovely that the moon itself would shy away in embarrassment when compared to her face.^[3]
• Yang Guifei (719–756, Tang Dynasty), said to have a face that puts all flowers to shame.^[4]

Quote

A famous quote describes the four beauties.^[5] The exact origin of this quote is debated.

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 sinks fish Wang Zhaojun entice birds falling Diaochan eclipses the moon Yang Guifei shames flowers

Characteristics

According to some Chinese literature, 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.^[5] She was also said to have a large foot size.^[6] Yang Guifei supposedly suffered from a particular odour, which she attempted to wash away with lavish baths and cover up with scented powder.^[6]

Cultural references

The Singapore town Simei was named in honour of the Four Beauties by the minister of national development Teh Cheang Wan.^[7] Scholar Su Dongpo has compared Xi Shi's beauty with Hangzhou's West Lake in the work titled (飲湖上初睛居雨).^[8][9] Li Bai of the Tang dynasty also wrote a poem about Xi Shi.^[9] Modern mandopop singer Zhang Zan-fei (張真菲) wrote a song dedicated to the four beauties with its history and meanings.^[10] 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.'

References