Diaochan

Diaochan
A portrait of Diaochan from a Qing dynasty edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Names
Traditional Chinese	貂蟬
Simplified Chinese	貂蝉
Pinyin	Diāochán
Wade–Giles	Tiao1-ch'an2

Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Unlike the other three beauties, however, there is no known evidence suggesting her existence; Although she is mostly a fictional character, it was mentioned in Chinese historical records that Lü Bu had a secret affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids and was constantly afraid of being discovered, and this was one of the reasons why Lü killed Dong in 192. The maid's name was not recorded in history. Diaochan is best known for her role in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, she had a romance with the warrior Lü Bu and caused Lü to betray and kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. The name "Diaochan", which literally means "sable cicada", is believed to have been 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.

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Diaochan assists the official Wang Yun in a plot to persuade Lü Bu to kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun presents her to Dong Zhuo as a concubine, but also betrothes her to Lü Bu at the same time. Diaochan uses her beauty to turn Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against each other by inciting jealousy between them.

While Dong Zhuo is out one day, Lü Bu sneaks into his bedroom in the hope of seeing Diaochan. Diaochan pretends to be very upset and attempts suicide by throwing herself into the pond, saying that she is ashamed to see Lü Bu because she had been violated by Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu is heartbroken and promises that he will not let her suffer further at the hands of Dong Zhuo. Just then, Dong Zhuo returns and sees them embracing each other. As Lü Bu flees, Dong Zhuo chases him and hurls a spear at him, but misses. On the way, Dong Zhuo meets his advisor, Li Ru, who suggests to him to let Lü Bu have Diaochan, so as to win Lü's trust. Dong Zhuo goes back to Diaochan later and accuses her of betraying his love, saying that he intends to present her to Lü Bu. Diaochan replies indignantly that Lü Bu embraced her against her will and attempts suicide to "prove her love" for Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo is moved and dismisses the idea of relinquishing her.