Diaochan
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Diaochan (Traditional Chinese: 貂蟬; Simplified Chinese: 貂蝉; pinyin: Diāochán) was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have been born in AD 169. Unlike the other three beauties, she never appears in any historical writings known to exist and is quite possibly a fictional character. According to historical records, Lü Bu did have relations with a maid of Dong Zhuo's; however, there is no evidence that this person's name was Diaochan; in fact, it is extremely unlikely that it was, because "Diào" is and was not commonly used as a Chinese family name, and "diàochán" likely referred to sable (diào) tails and jade decorations in the shape of cicadas (chán), which at the time adorned the hats of high-level officials.
Diaochan appeared in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which she assisted in a plot by the official Wang Yun to persuade the warrior Lü Bu to kill his adopted father, the tyrant Dong Zhuo. She did this by becoming Dong Zhuo's concubine but also Lü Bu's betrothed, then manipulating the two through their jealousy and her charm. Dong Zhuo's tactician, Li Ru, saw that the dancing girl was driving both the Lord and the Warrior mad, so he proposed that Dong Zhou give Diaochan to Lü Bu instead of fighting over her. Upon hearing this he threatened Li Ru with death and stated that no warrior was worth what Diaochan was to him. Diaochan had Lü Bu wrapped around her finger. She told him that being with Dong Zhuo made her unhappy and wished to only be with him. Lü Bu was outraged and went to Wang Yun to plot Dong Zhou's death. Lü Bu had to escape shortly after killing Dong Zhuo and he lost a battle to Dong Zhuo's generals. However, he did meet up with Diaochan once more. Diào Chán followed Lü Bu during his time as a rogue leader until he took Cao Cao's castle of Puyang. Together they traveled the land until Lü Bu was later killed when Cao Cao's forces conquered his base, Xiapi. There is no mention of Diaochan in the novel after this.
Diaochan is also a playable character in the Koei video game Dynasty Warriors (Shin Sangokumusou) in which she attacks enemies by wielding twin maces (chúi).
[edit] Notable actress played Diaochan
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- Chen Hong (actress) in TV serial Romance of the Three Kingdoms
