An Old Story About Wang Zhaojun
Wang Zhaojun is one of the four beauties of the ancient China, who was born in Hubei province,during the Han dynasty about 2000 years ago.
Zhaojun’s mother didn’t have a children until she was 40 years old ( she was childless untill..). One night, she dreamt that a bright moon made its way into her belly. Several months later, Zhaojun was borned .On her birthday, the moon shone brightly over the spring water ,the mountain was covered with the bright white moonlight. So her father gave her the nickname Haoyue (bright moon).
When she grew up, she was the most beautiful girl in her province, and was selected into the palace as a maid, looking forward to be summoned by the emperor. But the emperor had so many beauties that he couldn’t meet everyone. He made a rule: he commanded the court painter to draw portraits of all the beauties so that he could select the most beautiful girls to be his imperial concubines.
The painter named Mao Yanshou was a greedy guy : he would request money from the beauties if they wanted him to draw them more beautiful than they were.
Wang Zhaojun considered herself a great beauty , and was adamant not to give money to the painter.
He was so angry that he drew a big mole under her eye, changing the beauty to the ugliest( one). She missed the selection,and was left out for 3 years, never seeing the emperor. The girl was sad, waiting for the chance that would change her life.
In 33 years BC, the northern Xiongnu leader, HuHanXie khan, sent a petition to the Han court, requesting for a Han beauty for his wife . Zhaojun agreed to it and was then handed over to them after the emperor consented.
On the day Zhaojun was to leave, the emperor saw her and was captivated by her beautiful face, but it was but too late. The beauty would leave him forever. They missed each other. The emperor was so furious that he killed the painter immediately right after that.
Zhaojun rode a horse, playing a pipa and singing sad songs about her longing for home. The song reached into the sky to the ears of a flock of geese, and touched them. When they saw the beauty on a horse, all of them forgot to fly and swooped down on the ground.
She spent 3 months travelling, and when she reached there, she married HuHanXie Khan who was teens years older than her.( ten years her senior)
One year later, her husband died and she married the son of an old Khan. She bore them 3 children in total . One of her children would be a Khan later. She died in 23 BC at the age of 33.
Throughout her life, she experienced alot of frustrations, but she never gave up.
Her marriage prevented war been declared with the faraway Han court ,and people had peaceful lives for hundreds of years after that. She was a great beauty of the ancient China.
