OverviewWong Tai Sin Sign 59
- Name
- The King of Wu's Infatuation with Xi Shi
- Grade
- Poor
- Use
- Start with the poem and story, then choose the life topic that matches your question.
Sign 59
Wong Tai Sin Sign 59 · The King of Wu's Infatuation with Xi Shi
吳王寵西施
Sai Si, a washer-maid, was married to the Lord of Wu.
Her matchless beauty brought the King ruin in full.
Tung Si, though ugly, tried to imitate her bewitching smile.
How can a poor pheasant disguise in a phoenix's style?
Traditional fortune poem
The King of Wu's Infatuation with Xi Shi
This story comes from ancient China's Spring and Autumn period. Xi Shi was one of the legendary Four Beauties, originally a humble washerwoman by the river. The rival state of Yue sent her as a political gift to the King of Wu, knowing his weakness for beautiful women. She was so stunning that the king became completely obsessed, neglecting his duties and kingdom. Meanwhile, Dong Shi, an ugly woman from the same village, saw how Xi Shi's frown made her even more beautiful and tried copying her expressions. The result was ridiculous rather than alluring. The story warns about the dangers of superficial attraction and poor imitation. Wu eventually fell to Yue's armies while the king was distracted by Xi Shi's beauty.
Six Short Readings
Career
Your career situation mirrors this ancient warning about authenticity versus imitation.READLove
The verse hands you two mirrors and asks which one you're standing in front of.READHealth
The figure of Xi Shi at the heart of this stick is not a warning about beauty itself, but about what happens when surface and substance pull in opposite directions.READStudy
The verse hands you two figures, and neither of them is flattering.READFamily
The verse sets two figures against each other: Xi Shi, whose beauty unmade a kingdom, and Dong Shi, who borrowed that beauty and only made herself absurd.READThe whole situation
The figure of Xi Shi sits at the centre of this stick, but the verse's real attention is on Dong Shi, the village woman who watched a beauty frown and decided the frown itself was the secret.READ
Your career situation mirrors this ancient warning about authenticity versus imitation.READLove
The verse hands you two mirrors and asks which one you're standing in front of.READHealth
The figure of Xi Shi at the heart of this stick is not a warning about beauty itself, but about what happens when surface and substance pull in opposite directions.READStudy
The verse hands you two figures, and neither of them is flattering.READFamily
The verse sets two figures against each other: Xi Shi, whose beauty unmade a kingdom, and Dong Shi, who borrowed that beauty and only made herself absurd.READThe whole situation
The figure of Xi Shi sits at the centre of this stick, but the verse's real attention is on Dong Shi, the village woman who watched a beauty frown and decided the frown itself was the secret.READ