The top four Beauties of ancient China
In the poem of Drinking, Tao Qian depicted “while picking asters 'neath the Eastern fence, my gaze upon the Southern mountain rests” to show his leisurely and carefree manners; and Su Shi using “ the waves of the mighty river flowing eastward have swept away the brilliant figures of a thousand generations” to present his bold and generous spirit. Although, the general public of all generations have a venerable respect for the universal feelings of them, I prefer poignant beauty---forlorn and miserable beauty. You may think this kind of beauty is too much crucial and heart-broken, while it is the truly embodiment of the inward man. When comes to this kind of honor, the top four beauties of ancient China are fully deserved. They are described by four parallel Chinese quotations: “Xi Shi sinks fish; Wang Zhaojun drops birds; Diao Chan eclipses the moon; Yang Guifei shames flowers,” not only for their external beauty, but for their life experiences. All of these were capable of evoking praises and tears.
Chinese Beautiful Ladies Painting
Xi Shi's beauty was said to be so extreme that while leaning over a balcony to look at the fish in the pond, the fish would be so dazzled that they forgot to swim and gradually sunk away from the surface.
Chinese Beautiful Lady-Xi Shi Painting
Wang Zhaojun's portion of the legend is that on a bright autumn morning she left her hometown on horseback and began a journey northward. Along the way, the horse neighed, making Zhaojun extremely sad and unable to control her emotions. As she sat on the saddle, she began to play sorrowful melodies on a stringed instrument. A flock of geese flying southward heard the music, saw the beautiful young woman riding the horse, immediately forgot to flap their wings, and fell to the ground. From then on, Zhaojun acquired the nickname "drops birds." "Zhaojun Departs the Frontier" played an important part in the history of the friendship and unity among Chinese nationalities as well as became a popular subject in Chinese poetry, drama, novels and paintings.
Chinese Beautiful Lady-Wang Zhaojun Painting
Legends related to Diao Chan are varied. One goes like this: When Diao Chan worshiped in the back garden and a sudden breeze blowing, the moon at midnight, Chang'e (the Chinese Moon Goddess) hurried to hide in clouds, for this beautiful lady made her feel inferior. The other version is that when Diao Chan paid offerings to the moon at midnight, suddenly a cloud covered the bright moon. Diao Chan’s father just saw that scene and strongly promoted his daughter’s beauty to everyone he met. “When comparing my daughter with the moon, my daughter is more beautiful than the moon, and even the moon quickly hid behind the clouds”. So the phrase “outshines the moon” in the beauty-describing idiom “beauty which outshines the moon and shames the flowers” embodies in an exaggerated way Diao Chan’s beautiful appearance.
Chinese Beautiful Lady-Diao Chan Painting
One day, Yang Yuhuan went to the garden to relax, seeing the full bloom of peonies, roses and so forth. Facing the flowers, Yang lamented the elapse of the time and wasted youth and said tearfully: Flowers you have lived most of your life in full bloom. How about my fate? When do I have the light of my life? She just touched the flowers, and petals immediately fading away and leaves immediately rolling up. Apart from this, Yang Yuhuan was also well known for the long poem, "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" written by the poet Bai Juyi describing Emperor Xuanzong's love for her and perpetual grief at her loss.
Chinese Beautiful Lady-Yang Yuhuan Painting
