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Examination of the Image of Diao-Chan

Abstract

\u27Sanguo-Yanyi\u27 is a fictional novel based on historical facts. Many of the characters actually existed in the history. On the other hand, being a fiction, some fictitious characters were desired in order to produce dramatic developments in the story. A typical example of the latter is Diao-Chan. Using her inborn beauty and brilliant conversations, she estranged the military clique, Dong-Zhuo, and his adopted son, Lü-Bu. She successfully achieved the \u27Lian-huan-ji\u27 on the order of Wang-Yun, aide to the Emperor, and was brilliantly active for a while. But after destroying Dong-Zhuo as planned, she didn\u27t attract much attention and disappeared from the scene unnoticed. However, in media other than novels, such as plays and narratives, Diao-Chan had other appearances. In this paper, using newly discovered materials from Monasterio del Escorial in Spain, the image of Diao-Chan after the \u27Lian-huan-ji\u27 is carefully pursued in the attempt to throw light on a different Diao-Chan from the one portrayed in the novel

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