Diao Chan
Deadliest of the Four Beauties of Ancient China.
About the Four Beauties of China:
In Chinese culture, there are four famous beautiful woman of China.
They are thought to be the most beautiful and significant woman of China's ancient history.
Although the stories about these woman are based on fact, they are also steeped in legend.
These woman have remained famous through history because of the drastic effects on the emperors, kings, and kingdoms with whom they were bound.
Some of the beauties brought kingdoms and dynasties to their knees.
Most of the beauties had lives that ended in tragedy or mystery.
The legend and history of these woman has inspired Chinese artists for generations to create paintings that depict these four famous beauties of ancient China.
More about the beauty depicted on this scroll:
The woman in this painting is known as "Diao Chan Xi Hua"
She is usually just referred to as "Diao Chan", and she was a key player in the epic novel, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Just like "Homer's Odyssey", nobody seems sure if the facts in the novel are truth, or fiction. But the legend of this woman is so strong that she lives on, regardless of whether she actually existed.
Her Story:
Diao Chan's legend is that she was so beautiful the she could cause men who were the closest of
During Three Kingdoms Period of China (220 A.D. - 280 A.D.), a man named Dong Zhuo was becoming the tyrant of the land; doing everything he could to gain more power.
After leveling false accusations against an official with whom he found
displeasure, and then having that official beheaded on the spot, many were concerned for the future of the kingdom.
Diao Chan in an effort to have the evil Dong Zhuo removed from power, allowed herself to become betrothed to a warrior named Lu Bu. At the same time, she was offered as a concubine to Dong Zhuo. The plan was to infuriate the two men so much, that Lu Bu would finally kill Dong Zhuo. Every chance she had, she would fuel the fire between these two men. It is said that these men were so blinded by her beauty that they could not see the plot and trap that she had laid before them. With both men filled with rage, the warrior Lu Bu joined a plot to assassinate Dong Zhuo.
The plot was successful. Dong Zhuo was killed. His clan put into disarray, and taken from power.
For her part in manipulating the two men, Diao Chan was murdered by the surviving members of Dong Zhuo's clan.
You can draw your own conclusions about the lessons to be learned from this tale. If you want the whole story, you will have to read the book yourself.
About this wall scroll
The artwork was painted on xuan paper (often called "rice paper" in the west). The raw artwork was delivered to our Asian art mounting shop in Beijing. There it was built into a completely handmade silk wall scroll by a skilled craftsmen (one of the best in China). The result is a wall scroll that will last many years, and is leaps and bounds above the "tourist trash" wall scrolls that you find in the markets and gift shops around China.
About the amazing artist behind this great artwork:
If you have navigated much of our website, you already know this is a great all-around artist that does wonderful work in many categories. But of course, there is a story...
I was supposed to be on vacation, and I just wanted to see the karst mountain landscapes of the Li River near Guilin. As luck would have it, I stumbled across a very inspiring artist.
In fact, this man is probably the most courageous person that I have ever met. He certainly has my respect and admiration.
While he is a wonderful and talented artist, that is only part of his story
His full name is Ou-Yang Guo-De. He and his sister now live in Guilin. He keeps himself busy painting, while his sister sells his art at a small gallery not far from the center of the city.
When they were very young, their mother died. Their father didn't make much money, and with their mother gone, he had to remarry quickly for financial reasons (very common in Chinese culture under those circumstances and that time in history). Their father found a new wife in a village, and they all moved into the woman's family home.
Part of young Ou-Yang Guo-De's chores included collecting corn cobs that fell from the passing train cars at nearby railroad tracks. The corncobs are burned and used as fuel for cooking, and even heating homes in poorer villages where people cannot afford coal.
One day, when he was about 11 years old, Ou-Yang Guo-De came upon a train that had stopped on the tracks. Under the train he saw a bounty of corncobs. He climbed under the train to get the precious cobs when tragedy stuck. The train began to move, and literally cut him in half...
The details he told me about this event were so vivid that they are a bit too graphic for a happy art listing. He still remembers everything that happened until he lost consciousness, expecting to die.
Though pieces of his story are missing from when he was unconscious, there must have been a miracle involved because somehow he survived. The nearest hospital was far away, and while he has no idea how he got there before bleeding to death, that's were he woke up. But both of his legs and his left arm were gone forever.
In China, the most likely occupation for a disabled person like him would be to become a beggar on the street, but not Ou-Yang Guo-De!
He continued to study and go to school, and went to work at an umbrella and parasol factory. He showed a lot of natural artistic talent, so the factory owner sent young Mr. Ou-Yang to art school for two years. After graduation, he went to work hand painting beautiful scenes on rice paper and silk parasols.
After many years at the factory, working for low wages, he decided to make a change. He took a leap of faith and went out on his own as an artist. It was a little rough at first, but it turned out to be a good decision.
He has done well, and has quite a following. Also, he is a little famous for more than his art. You see, a few years ago, he was given an award by the government of China for being an example of what disabled people should aspire to.
But there is something about him that is different. This guy totally loves life. He is truly happy and good-natured. He laughs and tells jokes and is the life of the party. He is not a social outcast, but rather a social phenomenon. He is surrounded by a lot of friends because I think his friends feed off of his enthusiasm for life - I certainly felt it myself.
I spent several days with the artist, and I may be forever changed. Whenever I think I am in a tough spot, or difficult circumstance, all I have to do is think about Mr. Ou-Yang. If he can overcome what he did, then I can overcome my petty problems.
