Diaochan

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.

Name and basis

The Records of the Three Kingdoms indicates that Lü Bu had a secret affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids 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 maid's name was not recorded. The name "Diaochan" first appeared in Sanguozhi Pinghua as the courtesy name of Lü Bu's wife. A Yuan zaju (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.

In folk tales

In earlier stories, Diaochan was described as Lü Bu's wife who had been accidentally separated from Lü Bu during the political disorder and was unaware of the conspiracy against Dong Zhuo. Later stories removed this background and had her more actively participating in the scheme.