貂蝉 (Diāochán): Diaochan, one of the Four Great…

Meanings

1 Diaochan, one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China
2 legendary figure in 《三国演义》 used to set Lü Bu against Dong Zhuo

Characters

貂

Examples

貂蝉是中国古代四大美女之一。

Diāochán shì Zhōngguó gǔdài sì dà měinǚ zhī yī.

Diaochan is one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China.

貂蝉是闭月的象征。

Diāochán shì bì yuè de xiàngzhēng.

Diaochan symbolises the beauty that makes the moon hide (bi yue).

Tips

culture

Diaochan is the 'moon-hiding' beauty of 闭月羞花: the trope says even the moon hid behind a cloud when she looked up. She is probably fictional — unlike the other three beauties she has no confirmed historical record — but appears in 《三国演义》 as minister Wang Yun's ward, used in a 'chained beauty trap' (连环计) to break Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu.

memory

貂 is 'marten/sable' and 蝉 is 'cicada' — the name evokes the sable-tail ornaments and cicada-shaped gold hairpins worn by Han palace officials, hinting at her courtly origin.