{ "contentStorage": "postgres", "title": "Diaochan", "description": "Diaochan is a fictional character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a concubine of Lü Bu who in the story is Wang Yun's adopted daughter and uses a beauty trap to set Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against each other. Chinese Wikipedia stresses that the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han record only that Lü Bu had an affair with a maid of Dong Zhuo and never give the name Diaochan.[^wikidata][^zhwiki]", "url": "/en/people/diao-chan.html", "entity": { "id": "person_cn_q1137442", "type": "person", "title": "Diaochan", "slug": "diao-chan", "aliases": [ "貂蝉" ], "summary": "Diaochan is a fictional character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a concubine of Lü Bu who in the story is Wang Yun's adopted daughter and uses a beauty trap to set Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against each other. Chinese Wikipedia stresses that the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han record only that Lü Bu had an affair with a maid of Dong Zhuo and never give the name Diaochan.[^wikidata][^zhwiki]", "status": "published", "categories": [ "category-literature", "category-people", "category-fictional-characters" ], "tags": [ "tag-fictional-character", "tag-classics", "tag-four-great-classics" ], "sources": [ { "id": "wikidata", "title": "Wikidata Q1137442", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1137442" }, { "id": "zhwiki", "title": "貂蝉（维基百科）", "url": "https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B2%82%E8%9D%89" } ], "createdAt": "2026-10-25T00:00:00+08:00", "updatedAt": "2026-10-29T17:23:38+08:00", "updatedBy": "user:admin", "revision": 8, "body": "Diaochan is a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Wikidata's Chinese label is 貂蝉, and it lists the other forms 貂蟬, 任紅昌 and 刁蟬. Its description is a fictional character of the novel, a concubine of Lü Bu, and the dynasty of the work's setting is Han. The Chinese Wikipedia article is also titled 貂蝉, so the heading stays as it is.[^wikidata][^zhwiki]\n\n## No such name in the histories\n\nChinese Wikipedia points out that the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han record only that Lü Bu had an affair with a maid of Dong Zhuo, and never give the name Diaochan. The Biography of Lü Bu says that Dong Zhuo often had Lü Bu guard the inner gate, and that Lü Bu, who had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids, feared discovery and was uneasy. When the minister Wang Yun secretly planned to kill Dong Zhuo, he used Lü Bu as his inside man and the maid is not mentioned, nor does Pei Songzhi's commentary say anything about her. The Book of the Later Han changes the word for maid to another word written with the character fu. Some researchers guess that fu is close in form to ren, which may be how Diaochan came to be given the surname Ren, while others hold that ren must be a miswriting of fu.[^zhwiki]\n\n## Where the name comes from, and the variants\n\nThe article says that in Qin and Han times diaochan was the name of a male official's cap and dress, and in the Han it was the dress of the emperor's close attendants, which is thought to be the source of the name. A Yuan zaju play has her as the daughter of Ren Ang, with the childhood name Hongchang, a village girl from Shanxi. The article also cites the Qing writer Ping Buqing, quoting a passage preserved in the Kaiyuan zhanjing in which Cao Cao is said to have offered a Diao Chan to confuse Dong Zhuo. If true, Diao Chan would have been a real person, but the book cited, the Hanshu tongzhi, is long lost and the passage is not in the surviving text, so it cannot be established whether Diao Chan and Diaochan are the same person or whether it was her real name. Since these accounts do not agree and have no secure common basis, this entry does not replace the heading with any of them.[^zhwiki]\n\n## In Romance of the Three Kingdoms\n\nIn the novel she is a maid of the minister Wang Yun, later his adopted daughter, sixteen years old and beautiful, with a wish to serve the state. Learning that Wang Yun is helpless against Dong Zhuo's misrule, she offers herself to deal with the traitors. With a beauty trap she wins the affection of both Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, who called each other father and son, and drives a wedge between them, and she later helps bring Lü Bu to join Wang Yun in killing Dong Zhuo. After Lü Bu flees Chang'an the novel says little of her. Chapter 16 says that Lü Bu later took Diaochan as a concubine and that she bore no children. In chapter 19, while Lü Bu is fighting Cao Cao, his adviser Chen Gong urges him to take light troops to cut Cao Cao's grain route, and Lü Bu, undecided, asks his wife and concubines. Diaochan advises him not to go out in person, so he resolves to hold the isolated city, drinking day and night with his wife Lady Yan and Diaochan. Morale collapses, the officers drift away, and Lü Bu is finally destroyed by Cao Cao. After this she does not appear again.[^zhwiki]\n\n## Later retellings\n\nThe article says that contemporary researchers note her background grew from simple to complex through successive works, and that before the novel some versions made her Lü Bu's lost wife. Folk drama often links her to Guan Yu. In one play she is released by Guan Yu under the moon and is never heard of again. Another borrows the story of Jiang Taigong beheading the masked Daji, and presents Guan Yu fearing that her beauty would bring chaos to the realm. In a Ming play she becomes Guan Yu's concubine. The article lists texts from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing periods, and later stage, film, television, game and comic adaptations.[^zhwiki]\n\n## Disputed hometown\n\nThe article records a dispute over Diaochan's hometown among Lintao and Kangle in Gansu, Xinzhou in Shanxi and Mizhi in Shaanxi, and notes that such disputes over famous people's hometowns are common on the mainland and that Diaochan, though fictional, is no exception. On 28 April 2011 Lintao county announced that it had registered Diaochan and Diaochan's hometown as trademarks, and Mizhi county objected.[^zhwiki]\n\n## Basic facts\n\n- Description: fictional character in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, concubine of Lü Bu[^wikidata]\n- Other forms: 貂蟬, 任紅昌, 刁蟬[^wikidata]\n- Dynasty or state of the work's setting: Han[^wikidata]\n- Appears in: [[work_cn_q70806|Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]", "url": "/people/diao-chan.html", "lang": "en", "availableLangs": [ "zh", "en" ], "disambiguation": "Character in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "isFictional": true, "personCategory": "literary character" }, "entities": null, "tags": [ { "id": "tag-fictional-character", "slug": "fictional-character", "name": "Fictional character", "description": "Fictional or literary characters from classic works.", "names": { "ar": "شخصية أدبية", "de": "Literarische Figur", "en": "Fictional character", "es": "Personaje literario", "fr": "Personnage littéraire", "hi": "साहित्यिक पात्र", "id": "Tokoh sastra", "it": "Personaggio letterario", "ja": "文学上の人物", "ko": "문학 인물", "ms": "Watak sastera", "nl": "Literair personage", "pt": "Personagem literária", "ru": "Литературный персонаж", "th": "ตัวละครวรรณกรรม", "tr": "Edebî karakter", "vi": "Nhân vật văn học", "zh": "文学人物", "zh-hant": "文學人物" }, "descriptions": { "ar": "شخصيات خيالية أو أدبية من الأعمال الكلاسيكية.", "de": "Fiktive oder literarisierte Figuren aus klassischen Werken.", "en": "Fictional or literary characters from classic works.", "es": "Personajes ficticios o literarios de obras clásicas.", "fr": "Personnages fictifs ou littéraires d'œuvres classiques.", "hi": "शास्त्रीय कृतियों के काल्पनिक या साहित्यिक पात्र।", "id": "Tokoh fiktif atau sastrawi dari karya klasik.", "it": "Personaggi fittizi o letterari di opere classiche.", "ja": "古典名著に登場する架空または文学化された人物。", "ko": "고전 명저에 등장하는 허구적·문학적 인물.", "ms": "Watak rekaan atau bersifat sastera daripada karya klasik.", "nl": "Fictieve of literaire personages uit klassieke werken.", "pt": "Personagens fictícias ou literárias de obras clássicas.", "ru": "Вымышленные или литературные персонажи классических произведений.", "th": "ตัวละครสมมติหรือเชิงวรรณกรรมจากวรรณกรรมคลาสสิก", "tr": "Klasik eserlerdeki kurmaca veya edebî karakterler.", "vi": "Nhân vật hư cấu hoặc mang tính văn học trong tác phẩm cổ điển.", "zh": "古典名著中的虚构或文学化人物。", "zh-hant": "古典名著中的虛構或文學化人物。" }, "count": 1026 }, { "id": "tag-classics", "slug": "classics", "name": "Classics", "description": "Classic works and novels of pre-modern China.", "names": { "ar": "كلاسيكيات", "de": "Klassiker", "en": "Classics", "es": "Clásicos", "fr": "Classiques", "hi": "शास्त्रीय कृतियाँ", "id": "Karya klasik", "it": "Classici", "ja": "古典名著", "ko": "고전 명저", "ms": "Karya klasik", "nl": "Klassiekers", "pt": "Clássicos", "ru": "Классика", "th": "วรรณกรรมคลาสสิก", "tr": "Klasik eserler", "vi": "Tác phẩm cổ điển", "zh": "古典名著", "zh-hant": "古典名著" }, "descriptions": { "ar": "الأعمال الكلاسيكية والروايات في الصين ما قبل الحديثة.", "de": "Klassische Werke und Romane des vormodernen China.", "en": "Classic works and novels of pre-modern China.", "es": "Obras clásicas y novelas de la China premoderna.", "fr": "Œuvres classiques et romans de la Chine prémoderne.", "hi": "पूर्व-आधुनिक चीन की शास्त्रीय कृतियाँ और उपन्यास।", "id": "Karya klasik dan novel Tiongkok pra-modern.", "it": "Opere classiche e romanzi della Cina premoderna.", "ja": "中国古代の古典的な著作と小説。", "ko": "중국 고대의 고전 저술과 소설.", "ms": "Karya klasik dan novel China pramoden.", "nl": "Klassieke werken en romans uit het premoderne China.", "pt": "Obras clássicas e romances da China pré-moderna.", "ru": "Классические произведения и романы традиционного Китая.", "th": "วรรณกรรมและนวนิยายคลาสสิกของจีนก่อนยุคใหม่", "tr": "Modern öncesi Çin'in klasik eserleri ve romanları.", "vi": "Các tác phẩm và tiểu thuyết cổ điển của Trung Quốc tiền hiện đại.", "zh": "中国古代经典著作与小说。", "zh-hant": "中國古代經典著作與小說。" }, "count": 1077 }, { "id": "tag-four-great-classics", "slug": "four-great-classics", "name": "Four Great Classical Novels", "description": "Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, and their characters.", "names": { "ar": "الروايات الكلاسيكية الأربع العظيمة", "de": "Vier klassische Romane", "en": "Four Great Classical Novels", "es": "Cuatro grandes novelas clásicas", "fr": "Quatre grands romans classiques", "hi": "चार महान शास्त्रीय उपन्यास", "id": "Empat Novel Klasik Besar", "it": "Quattro grandi romanzi classici", "ja": "中国四大名著", "ko": "중국 4대 명저", "ms": "Empat Novel Klasik Agung", "nl": "Vier grote klassieke romans", "pt": "Quatro grandes romances clássicos", "ru": "Четыре классических романа", "th": "สี่สุดยอดวรรณกรรมคลาสสิก", "tr": "Dört Büyük Klasik Roman", "vi": "Tứ đại danh tác", "zh": "四大名著", "zh-hant": "四大名著" }, "descriptions": { "ar": "حلم المقصورة الحمراء، ورومانسية الممالك الثلاث، وعلى ضفاف الماء، ورحلة إلى الغرب وشخصياتها.", "de": "Der Traum der 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"nl": "De droom van de rode kamer, De Drie Koninkrijken, De waterkant, De reis naar het westen en hun personages.", "pt": "O Sonho da Câmara Vermelha, Romance dos Três Reinos, À Beira d'Água, Jornada ao Oeste e seus personagens.", "ru": "«Сон в красном тереме», «Троецарствие», «Речные заводи», «Путешествие на Запад» и их персонажи.", "th": "ความฝันในหอแดง สามก๊ก ซ้องกั๋ง ไซอิ๋ว และตัวละครในเรื่อง", "tr": "Kızıl Köşkün Rüyası, Üç Krallık Romansı, Su Kenarı, Batıya Yolculuk ve karakterleri.", "vi": "Hồng lâu mộng, Tam quốc diễn nghĩa, Thủy hử, Tây du ký và các nhân vật.", "zh": "《红楼梦》《三国演义》《水浒传》《西游记》及其人物。", "zh-hant": "《紅樓夢》《三國演義》《水滸傳》《西遊記》及其人物。" }, "count": 572 } ], "relations": [ { "id": "relation_cnworks_depicts_q70806_q1137442", "fromId": "work_cn_q70806", "relationType": "depicts", "toId": "person_cn_q1137442", "sourceRefs": [ { "entityId": "work_cn_q70806", "sourceId": "wikidata" } ], "label": "Related works", "targetId": "work_cn_q70806", "targetTitle": "The Romance of the Three 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