Yang Yuhuan,often known as Yang Guifei,and known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen (太真),was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years. She is known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.
Yang Guozhong,néYang Zhao (楊釗),was a Chinese politician who served as principal chancellor of the Tang dynasty from 752 to 756,late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Known in his youth as a gambler and wastrel,Yang rose rapidly to political power after his distant cousin,Yang Yuhuan,became Emperor Xuanzong's favorite consort in 744. His familial ties and skills as a financial administrator helped him navigate the tumultuous court politics of the late 740s and early 750s to become the emperor's leading chancellor in 752. While Yang enjoyed Emperor Xuanzong's trust,his competence as chancellor was questioned and he became entangled in a fierce rivalry with an erstwhile political ally,the general and imperial favorite An Lushan. Yang was blamed for precipitating An's cataclysmic rebellion in 755. In the following year,he forced the Tang army of Geshu Han,then holding favorable defensive positions in Tong Pass,to confront the rebel army,leading to a rout of Tang forces and the fall of the imperial capital,Chang'an. Yang attempted to flee to his base in Chengdu with Emperor Xuanzong,but when the imperial party stopped at Mawei Station in modern Shaanxi,Yang and his family,including Yang Yuhuan,were massacred by imperial guard soldiers who blamed them for the chaos.
Wang Qiang,commonly known by her courtesy name Wang Zhaojun was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Born in Baoping Village,Zigui County in the Western Han dynasty,she was sent by Emperor Yuan to marry Chanyu Huhanye of the Xiongnu Empire in order to establish friendly relations with the Han dynasty through marriage.
Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Although based on a minor historical personage,she is mostly a fictional character. She is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms,which romanticises the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel,she has a romance with the warrior LüBu and causes him to betray and kill his foster father,the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. She was praised in tales as a woman of unrivaled beauty who did what no other hero in China was able to accomplish:put an end to Dong Zhuo's regime of terror and the eventual end of LǚBu;triggering the events that would lead to the formation of the Three Kingdoms:Cao Wei,Eastern Wu,and Shu Han.
Xi Shi was,according to legends,one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji,the capital of the ancient State of Yue.
An Lushan was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang,personal name Li Longji,was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China,reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Through two palace coups,he seized the throne and inherited an empire still in its golden age. He was initially assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong,Song Jing and Zhang Yue who were already serving as government officials before Xuanzong ascended the throne. However,under Emperor Xuanzong,the empire reached its turning point and went into sharp decline and near collapse,due to numerous political missteps throughout his long reign,such as over-trusting Li Linfu,Yang Guozhong and An Lushan,with Tang's golden age ending in the An Lushan Rebellion.
Fuchai,sometimes also written Fucha,was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow,Ji,and Huai River systems of the North China Plain with central China's Yangtze River,but he is most remembered in Chinese culture for the role he played in the legends concerning Goujian,the revenge-seeking king of Yue.
Emperor Suzong of Tang,personal name Li Heng,néLi Sisheng (李嗣升),known as Li Jun (李浚) from 725 to 736,known as Li Yu (李璵) from 736 to 738,known briefly as Li Shao (李紹) in 738,was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong.
Diao Chan is a 1938 Chinese sound film directed by Bu Wancang and produced by Zhang Shankun's Xinhua Film Company. The film is a portrayal of one of the "Four Beauties" of ancient China,in this case the titular Diaochan,from the late Eastern Han Dynasty era. Like Diaochan,the film is also known by the literal translation of her name,the Sable Cicada.
Princess Yang Kwei Fei is a 1955 Japanese historical film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was a co-production between Daiei Film and Shaw &Sons,Hong Kong. It is one of Mizoguchi's two colour films,the other being Tales of the Taira Clan,made the same year.
The Great Revival,also known as Wo Xin Chang Dan,is a Chinese television series based on the conflict between the Yue and Wu states in the Spring and Autumn period. The Chinese title of the series is a Chinese idiom derived from King Goujian of Yue's perseverance in overcoming the odds to revive his fallen state of Yue and conquer the rival state of Wu. The series was first broadcast on CCTV-8 in mainland China in January 2007.
Bao Si was the concubine of the ancient Chinese sovereign King You of Zhou. She was considered one of the most beautiful Chinese women ever.
The Palace of Eternal Life,also translated as The Palace of Eternal Youth,is a play written by Hong Sheng in the Qing dynasty. He absorbed certain material from the long narrative poem The Song of Everlasting Sorrow written by Bai Juyi and the zaju Rain on the Paulownia Tree (梧桐雨) written by Bai Renfu. The Palace of Eternal Life is acclaimed as one of the China's "Four Great Classical Dramas",along with The Peony Pavilion,The Peach Blossom Fan and Romance of the Western Chamber. The performance is focused on the everlasting love story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his favorite consort Yang Guifei.
The Legend of Yang Guifei,also known as The Secret History of Concubine Yang,is a Chinese television series loosely based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by You Xiaogang and starred Yin Tao and Anthony Wong as the couple. It was first broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV from April to May 2010.
Da Tang Fu Rong Yuan is a Chinese television series based on a novel by Nangong Bo (南宫博) about the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by Zhou Xiaowen and starred Fan Bingbing and Winston Chao. It was first broadcast on CCTV-8 in mainland China in 2007.
Consort Mei,born Jiang Caipin,is a fictional imperial consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Her name is not found in any official history book and only in "Biography of Consort Mei" (梅妃傳),preserved in a Yuan dynasty anthology and attributed to the Tang dynasty writer Cao Ye (曹鄴). In 1927,Lu Xun determined that the work was a Song dynasty forgery and should be considered no more than fiction. Later researchers have pointed out that her purported hometown,in the present-day coastal city of Putian,was actually under water during Emperor Xuanzong's time.
Lady of the Dynasty is a Chinese epic romance war film directed by Cheng Shiqing and featuring Fan Bingbing,Leon Lai and Wu Chun. The film also had a director group including Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang. The film was released on 30 July 2015.
Huhanye,born Jihoushan,was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire,the son of Xulüquanqu Chanyu. He rebelled in 59 BC with the aid of Wushanmu and Woyanqudi Chanyu soon committed suicide,leaving the Xiongnu torn apart by factional strife. By 55 BC,only Huhanye and his brother Zhizhi Chanyu were left.
