Diao chan—one of the Four Great Beauties in Ancient China

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Diaochan assisted the official Wang Yun in a plot to persuade Lü Bu to kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun presented her to Dong Zhuo as a concubine but at the same time, Wang also betrothed her to Lü Bu. Diaochan used 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 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 as 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. Lü Bu flees while Dong Zhuo chases him with a spear, hurling the weapon at him but misses. On the way, Dong Zhuo meets his advisor, Li Ru, who suggests to him to give up Diaochan and let Lü Bu have her instead, so as to win Lü'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, even attempting 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 to vent his frustration. Wang then seizes the opportunity to instigate Lü Bu into joining the plot to kill Dong Zhuo, to which Lü agreed. Lü Bu kills Dong Zhuo while the latter is on his way to a "coronation ceremony;" actually a trap set by Wang Yun and Lü. Dong Zhuo's followers led by Li Jue and Guo Si overrun the capital city Chang'an later to avenge their lord and Lü Bu is defeated in battle and forced to flee. Diaochan's eventual fate differs in various accounts. Some said that she was killed by Dong Zhuo's followers along with Wang Yun after Lü Bu escaped while others claimed that she followed Lü Bu while he roamed the land with his army until he seized Puyang from Cao Cao. In some adaptations of the novel, Diaochan was killed along with Lü Bu after the latter was defeated by Cao Cao and Liu Bei's forces at the Battle of Xiapi.

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