| Diaochan | |
|---|---|
 Qing dynasty's Romance of the Three Kingdoms illustration of Diaochan | |
| First appearance | "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" |
| Created by | Luo Guanzhong |
| Based on | one ofDong Zhuo's courtesans |
| In-universe information | |
| Significantother | Dong Zhuo Lü Bu |
| Diaochan | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 貂蟬 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 貂蝉 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Diaochan was one of theFour Beauties of ancient China. Largely a fictional character, she is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novelRomance of the Three Kingdoms, in which she becomes a key instrument in a scheme devised byWang Yun, seducingLü Bu and thereby provoking the formidable warrior to betray and kill his adoptive father, the tyrannical warlordDong Zhuo. Diaochan is often portrayed as an admirable woman who succeeded where other men had failed in bringing about the downfall of Dong Zhuo; however, in some tales, she is presented as afemme fatale and executed byGuan Yu following Lü Bu’s downfall.
Chinese historical records indicate that Lü Bu had a secret affair with one of Dong Zhuo'scourtesans and he constantly feared that Dong Zhuo would find out. This was one of the reasons why he betrayed and assassinated Dong Zhuo in May 192. However, the courtesan's name was not recorded. The name "Diaochan" first appeared inSanguozhi Pinghua as thecourtesy name of Lü Bu's wife. A laterzaju Duoji (now lost) explained the name, which literally means "sablecicada", as derived from the sable tails and jade decorations in the shape of cicadas which adorned the hats of high-ranking officials in the Eastern Han dynasty.[1]
In earlier stories, Diaochan was described as Lü Bu's wife who had been accidentally separated from Lü Bu during the political disorder and was unaware of the conspiracy against Dong Zhuo. Later stories removed this background and had her more actively participating in the scheme. Narrations about Diaochan's ultimate fate appeared in Yuan dynastyzaju. The titles of these lost works suggest Diaochan, viewed as afemme fatale, was decapitated byGuan Yu after Lü Bu's death, which was inherited by some of later Ming or Qing operas featuring Diaochan.[1]
In theYuan dynasty playLianhuan Ji (連環計), Diaochan is said to be the daughter of Ren Ang (任昂), and her real name is Ren Hongchang (任紅昌). She is in charge of taking care of the Sable Cicada Hat (貂蟬冠), so she becomes known as "Diaochan" (literally "sable cicada"). She is introduced to Guan Yu by Zhang Fei after Lü Bu's death. Instead of accepting her as the spoils of war, Guan Yu decapitates her with his sword. This event is not mentioned in historical records or the historical novelRomance of the Three Kingdoms, but is propagated through mass media such as operas and storytelling.[2]
Diaochan's eventual fate differs in various accounts, but mainly along the following types:
In the 14th-century historical novelRomance of the Three Kingdoms, Diaochan assists the officialWang Yun in a plot to persuadeLü Bu to kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlordDong Zhuo. Wang Yun presents her to Dong Zhuo as a concubine, but also betrothes her to Lü Bu at the same time. Diaochan uses her beauty to turn Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against each other by inciting jealousy between them.
While Dong Zhuo is out one day, Lü Bu sneaks into his bedroom in the hope of seeing Diaochan. Diaochan pretends to be very upset and attempts suicide by throwing herself into the pond, saying that she is ashamed to see Lü Bu because she had been violated by Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu is heartbroken and promises that he will not let her suffer further at the hands of Dong Zhuo. Just then, Dong Zhuo returns and sees them embracing each other. As Lü Bu flees, Dong Zhuo chases him and hurls a spear at him, but misses. On the way, Dong Zhuo meets his adviser,Li Ru, who suggests to him to let Lü Bu have Diaochan, so as to win Lü Bu's trust. Dong Zhuo goes back to Diaochan later and accuses her of betraying his love, saying that he intends to present her to Lü Bu. Diaochan replies indignantly that Lü Bu embraced her against her will and attempts suicide to "prove her love" for Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo is moved and dismisses the idea of relinquishing her.
Lü Bu is outraged and goes to Wang Yun's house to vent his frustration. Wang Yun then uses the opportunity to instigate Lü Bu to join the plot to kill Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu kills Dong Zhuo when the latter shows up at a ceremony forEmperor Xian to abdicate the throne to him; the ceremony is actually a trap set by Wang Yun and Lü Bu. After Dong Zhuo's death, Lü Bu marries Diaochan and fleesChang'an with her when he is defeated by Dong Zhuo's former followers.
Later in the novel, Diaochan has only a cameo in theBattle of Xiapi, and is not mentioned again thereafter.
Diaochan appears a playable character inKoei'sDynasty Warriors andWarriors Orochi video game series. In the video gameWo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Diao Chan is the fake identity of sorceress Hong Jing. She also appears in themanga seriesSouten Kouro. In the card gameMagic: The Gathering, there is a Legendary Creature card called "Diaochan, Artful Beauty".[5] Similarly, Diaochan appears as an alternate skin for the rogue class in the card gameHearthstone, titled Diao ChanValeera. She also appears as a character inTotal War: Three Kingdoms.
Notable actresses who have portrayed Diaochan in films and television series include: Violet Koo inDiao Chan (1938); Lin Dai inDiao Chan (1958);[6]Nina Li inThe Beauty Diu Sim (1987);Chen Hong inRomance of the Three Kingdoms (1994) andDiao Chan and Lü Bu (2001); Irene Chiu inGuan Gong (1996);Sharla Cheung inDiao Chan (2002);Chen Hao inThree Kingdoms (2010);Liu Yifei inThe Assassins (2012);Gulnazar inGod of War, Zhao Yun (2016) andDynasty Warriors (2019);Naomi Watanabe andSuzu Hirose inThe Untold Tale of the Three Kingdoms (2020).
