Synonyms:
Điêu Thuyền
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.
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