Zhao jun—one of the Four Great Beauties in Ancient China

Wang Zhaojun was born to a prominent family of Baopin village, Zigui country (now Zhaojun village, Xingshan county,Hubei) in the south of the Western Han empire. Since the daughter gives birth when her father is aged, her father regards her as the pearl in the palm. Wang zhaojun was endowed with dazzling beauty with extremely intelligent mind. And she is adept in pipa and master all the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar – GuqinGo,Calligraphy and Chinese painting. In 36 BC,Emperor Yuan chose his concubines from the whole state. Because of Zhaojun’s fame in the county, she was the first choice for the concubine from Nan county.Emperor Yuan issued the edict that Zhaojun should enter the harem soon. Although Zhaojun’s father said that my daughter was too young to enter the harem, he still cannot violate the decree. Finally this daring and determined young woman farewell her hometown and entered the harem of Emperor Yuan in early summer. According to the custom in the palace, when choosing a new wife, the Emperor was first presented with portraits of all the possible women. It is said that because of Zhaojun's confidence of beauty and temperament, she refused to bribe the artist Mao Shouyan as other women do.As a reprisal, Mao shouyan painted a mole of widowed tears on Zhaojun’s portrait.As a result, during her time in the Lateral Courts, Wang Zhaojun was never visited by the emperor and remained as a palace lady-in-waiting. Wang Zhaojun's portrait was either never viewed by the Emperor, or was not in its true form, and therefore the Emperor overlooked her

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