Zhao Feiyan

Who was Zhao Feiyan?

Zhao Feiyan, formally Empress Xiaocheng, was an empress during the Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Cheng. She was known in the Chinese popular mindset more for her beauty than for the palace intrigue that she and her sister, the also beautiful Consort Zhao Hede engaged in, but unlike most of the famous beauties in Chinese history, she was often vilified by historians. She was often compared and contrasted with Yang Guifei, the beautiful concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, because she was known for her slender build while Yang was known for her full build. This led to the Chinese idiom huanfei yanshou, which describes the range of the types of beauties, later also used as a figurative expression on literary styles that can be either verbose or sparse but both equally effective.