Four Beauties

Four Beauties
Chinese	四大美女
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin sì dà měi nǚ Yue: Cantonese Jyutping sei3 daai6 mei5 neoi5 Southern Min Hokkien POJ sì tāi bí-lú
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	四大美人
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin sì dà měi rén Yue: Cantonese Jyutping sei3 daai6 mei5 jan4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ sù-tāi bí-jîn

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 Beauties brought kingdoms to their knees and their lives ended in tragedy.

The Beauties

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

• Xi Shi (c. 7th to 6th century BC, Spring and Autumn Period), said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink below the surface when seeing her reflection in the water.^[1]
• Wang Zhaojun (c. 1st 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. 3rd 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] Unlike the other Beauties, there is no evidence she actually existed.
• Yang Guifei (719-756, Tang Dynasty), said to have a face that puts all flowers to shame.

Idiom

Well known idioms describe the four beauties.^[4] The exact origin of these idioms is debated.

Chinese character	Pinyin	Jyutping	Pe̍h-ōe-jī	English
西施沉魚 昭君落雁 貂蟬閉月 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	Se Si tîm gû Chiau-kun lo̍k gān Tiau Siâm pì goa̍t Kùi-hui siu hoa	Xi Shi sinks fish Wang Zhaojun entices birds into falling Diaochan eclipses the moon Yang Guifei shames flowers

These separate idioms are sometimes merged to describe especially beautiful women or simply to refer to the four beauties' legendary good looks. The merged idiom is 沉魚落雁, 閉月羞花 (sinks fish and entices birds to fall, eclipses the moon and shames flowers); the two parts can also be used separately.

References

1. Big5.ce.cn. "Big5.ce.cn." 西施浣紗——沉魚. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
2. Big5.ce.cn. "Big5.ce.cn." 昭君出塞——落雁. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
3. Big5.ce.cn. "Big5.ce.cn." 貂蟬拜月——閉月. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
4. Xinhuanet.com. "Xinhuanet.com." 纪连海叹说四大美人 . Retrieved on 2010-02-20.