Diaochan

Also known as Diao Chan

Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Largely a fictional character, she is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which she becomes a key instrument in a scheme devised by Wang Yun, seducing Lü Bu and thereby provoking the formidable warrior to betray and kill his adoptive father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. Diaochan is often portrayed as an admirable and resourceful character; however, in some tales, she is presented as a femme fatale and executed by Guan Yu following Lü Bu’s downfall.

Key facts

Character.name: Diaochan
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Character.image: Diaochan Qing Dynasty Illustration.jpg
Character.caption: Qing dynasty's Romance of the Three Kingdoms illustration of Diaochan
Character.first_minor: Romance of the Three Kingdoms<!-- or
Character.first_issue: Per MOS:MINORWORK - minor works include TV episodes, chapters, songs and game missions -->
Character.last_minor: <!-- or
Character.last_issue: -->
Character.creator: Luo Guanzhong
Character.based_on: one of Dong Zhuo's courtesans
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Character.nicknames: -->
Character.alias: <!-- or
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Character.species: <!-- or
Character.race: for non-humans only -->
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Wikidata facts

Image: DiaoChan.jpg

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Commons category: Diaochan
name in native language: 貂蟬
Commons gallery: 貂蟬

Sources (4)

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Article

6 sections

Contents

Name and basis
In folk tales
In ''the Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
See also
References
Sources

== Name and basis == Chinese historical records indicate that Lü Bu had a secret affair with one of Dong Zhuo's courtesans and he constantly feared that Dong Zhuo would find out. This was one of the reasons why he betrayed and assassinated Dong Zhuo in May 192. However, the courtesan's name was not recorded. The name "Diaochan" first appeared in Sanguozhi Pinghua as the courtesy name of Lü Bu's wife. A later zaju Duoji (now lost) explained the name, which literally means "sable cicada", as derived from the sable tails and jade decorations in the shape of cicadas which adorned the hats of high-ranking officials in the Eastern Han dynasty.