Legendary Story (5) Zhang Baotong 2019.3.13

There are four beauties in China, namely the sinking fish and the wild goose and the closed moon flower. The sinking fish is because when Xi Shi was in the river, the clear water reflected her handsome figure, so that the fish forgot to swim and sank to the bottom of the river. The wild goose fell because Wang Yujun said goodbye to his homeland, and when he went north, on the mount, plucked the strings and played a tragic parting song, so that the wild geese flying south forgot to swing their wings and fell to the ground. The closed moon is when the sable cicada worships the moon in the back garden, and suddenly a light wind blows, and a floating cloud covers the bright moon. In order to publicize how beautiful his adopted daughter looks, Wang Yun said to everyone, my daughter is more beautiful than the moon, and the moon can't be compared, so he quickly hid behind the clouds. After Yang Yuhuan entered the palace, he missed his hometown. One day she went to the garden to enjoy the flowers and relax, saw the blooming peonies and moon seasons, and thought that she was locked up in the palace and wasted her youth, and sighed, just when she touched the flowers, the petals immediately shrank, and the green leaves rolled up.

There are so many beautiful women in China, but why should the four of them be listed as the four great beauties of ancient China? In addition to the fact that they do have the appearance and beauty of a sunken fish and a wild goose and a flower in the closed moon, another important reason is that they have a great influence on Chinese history. It's a pity that they are all tragic characters, and although they were once very popular, they all ended tragically. Among them, the birth and ending of Diao Chan are the most regrettable.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the traitorous ministers were in charge, and the Taishi Dong Zhuo was tyrannical and brutal, monopolized power, and had a long heart of usurpation. One day, Dong Zhuo invited a banquet to hundreds of officials, and during the banquet, Lu Bu rushed to show a secret letter from the courtier Sixuan Zhang Wen to Yuan Shu. Dong Zhuo was furious and ordered Lü Bu to execute Sixuan Zhang Wen on the spot. Everyone in the civil and military affairs was frightened, and they dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. Situ Wang Yun is an upright person, worried about the country and the people, he returned to the mansion sullen, and wanted to get rid of Dong Zhuo, but there was nothing he could do. When he was upset, he came to the back garden late at night and heard the sound of whimpering and crying in the garden. Wang Yun heard the sound and searched for it, and saw that it was the singer Diao Chan in the house. Diao Chan is eighteen years old, has excellent color and art, and can sing and dance. She understands righteousness and is willing to sacrifice herself to save the country. Wang Yun was overjoyed when he saw it, and decided to accept Diao Chan as a righteous daughter, and set up a series of plans to lure Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu father and son to take the bait. Wang Yun gave Lu Bu a golden crown. Lu Bu was overjoyed in his heart and came to thank him.

Wang Yun set up a banquet to entertain Lu Bu, and ordered Diao Chan to come out of the hall to toast during the banquet. As soon as Lu Bu saw Diao Chan, his spirit immediately drifted and he couldn't control himself. Seeing this scene, Wang Yun immediately agreed to marry Diao Chan to Lu Bu, and agreed to send her to Lu Mansion to complete the marriage. Wang Yun invited Dong Zhuo to a banquet again, and ordered Diao Chan to lead all the dancers to dance, Diao Chan's peerless elegance and dancing posture made Dong Zhuo intoxicated. Dong Zhuo was amazed and called Diao Chan a fairy figure. Wang Yun dedicated Diao Chan to Dong Zhuo on the spot. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed, that is, he took Diao Chan back to the house. After Lu Bu heard this, he was very angry and reasoned with Wang Yun, Wang Yun said that he was helpless, and took the opportunity to separate the relationship between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Lu Bu entered the Taishi's Mansion to see Diao Chan several times, but he failed to say anything, but was driven away by Dong Zhuo, and he was furious.

One day, Lu Bu took advantage of Dong Zhuo's ascension to the court and went to Fengyi Pavilion to meet Diao Chan. Lu Bu was afraid that he would be bumped into by Dong Zhuo and wanted to leave, but Diao Chan did not allow it, and pretended to commit suicide by throwing himself into the pool, but Lu Bu hurriedly stopped him. At that time, Dong Zhuo returned home and collided. Dong Zhuo was furious, pulled out his halberd and stabbed Lu Bu, Zhuo's son-in-law Li Ru rushed to dissuade him, and Lu Bu took the opportunity to take the road away. Wang Yun provoked Lu Bu again, Lu Bu was determined to get rid of Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun sent someone to falsely pass on the edict of the Son of Heaven and ordered Dong Zhuo to go to Jinque. Dong Zhuo rushed over and was surrounded by Wang Yun and other officials with swords, and Lu Bu stabbed Dong Zhuo in the throat with a halberd.

Later, Diao Chan became Lu Bu's concubine, and after Dong Zhuo's department defeated Li Dao and Lu Bu, she came to Xuzhou with Lu Bu. After the Battle of Xiapi, Lü Bu was killed by Cao Cao, and Diao Chan followed Lü Bu's family to Xuchang, where he was captured by Cao Cao in the army. However, since Lu Bu Baimenlou died, this courageous strange woman has disappeared without a trace. Was he going to Jiuquan with the defeated Lü Bu, or was he taken back to Xuchang by the victorious Cao Cao? This question has not been concluded from the beginning of the struggle for hegemony to the unification of the Jin Dynasty. Whether the author inadvertently ignored such an important figure, or whether he consciously avoided talking about it for some reason, is impossible to verify.

Over the years, how many people have investigated and searched for Diao Chan's whereabouts, and some people say that she was transferred to Guan Yu by Zhang Fei, but was killed by Guan Yu. Some people also say that Minchan understands righteousness and self-rejection. Others say that she fled to observe the festival and was unmarried, or that she cut her hair to become a nun, and some even said that she became the wife and concubine of an important person. But either way, people hope she's safe. She came from a poor background and has always been a handmaid of the powerful. At a time when the country's security was in danger, he stepped forward and became a victim. But her essence and character are still innocent and kind. People don't want such a beautiful and kind woman to encounter the misfortunes of troubled times.

However, when people were worried about the fate of Diao Chan, they found that the character Diao Chan did not exist in history. The plots we see about Diao Chan's separation between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu are all narrated in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". However, the name and figure of Diao Chan have never appeared in the official history. In the history books, it is only recorded that Lu Bu had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids, and was almost killed by Dong because of this, Lu Bu secretly hated Dong Zhuo in his heart, and later Wang Yun used this incident to separate the relationship between the two of them, and this concubine gradually evolved into the Diao Chan in folklore. Moreover, the killing of Dong Zhuo recorded in the history books has nothing to do with Minchan.

If we take a look at the life experiences and fate endings of the four beauties, we will find that the life experiences of Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun and Yang Yuhuan are clearly and exhaustively recorded in the history books. However, only Minchan's life experience and ending are very vague, and she is also the only beauty who has no historical records and only exists in the drama. Folklore has it that she is a native of Xinzhou, Shanxi, and is a fellow villager with the famous general Guan Yu. Some people also made another inference based on physical objects and historical materials, saying that she was very likely to be a native of Handan, Hebei Province. But some people say that Diao Chan is a native of Lintao in Gansu or a native of Mizhi in northern Shaanxi. If Mink Chan is really a fictional character, then there is no need to explore where she is from. Regardless of whether she is a fiction of Luo Guanzhong or not, we still hope that she really played on the stage of the Three Kingdoms era, and let future generations remember her existence forever.

Finally, let's pay tribute to her with the episode in the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms":

What do you say that Yiwu Chunshen doesn't know the will of heaven and people's hearts,

The Zen platform became a guillotine.

Where to find the emperor's dream?

Far from the rich and prosperous,

Say goodbye to the dragon and the tiger.

lived up to the splendid years,

Missed cardamom youth.

In order to repay Situ's righteous and deep kindness,

Spelling this is like a flower like a jade body.

I will never see a child again,

I didn't hear the voice anymore.

The sable cicada has gone with the breeze,

Turned into a white cloud!