One of the 四大美女, known from 三国演义, where the minister Wang Yun uses her to turn the warrior 吕布 against the warlord 董卓. No historical record of her has been found.
Diaochan symbolises the beauty that makes the moon hide (bi yue).
Tips
culture
She is the 闭月 'moon-hiding' beauty of 闭月羞花: legend says the moon slipped behind a cloud when she looked up at it. Wang Yun's plot with her is the 连环计, 'chained stratagem', a name also found among the 三十六计 (Thirty-Six Stratagems).
memory
貂 is 'marten' and 蝉 'cicada'. In the Han dynasty 貂蝉 named the cap of the emperor's close attendants, trimmed with a marten tail and a gold cicada, and her name is thought to come from it.
