The Two Qiaos of Jiangdong () were two sisters of the Qiao family who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

of China.

In historical records

The Qiao sisters' names were not recorded in history, so in later times they are simply referred to as Da Qiao (literally "older Qiao") and Xiao Qiao (literally "younger Qiao"). They were from Wan County (皖縣), Lujiang Commandery (廬江郡), which is in present-day

Anqing Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

. Da Qiao married the warlord

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when ...

, who established the foundation of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period; Xiao Qiao married

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

, a general who served under Sun Ce and later under his successor

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

.(頃之，策欲取荊州，以瑜為中護軍，領江夏太守，從攻皖，拔之。時得橋公兩女，皆國色也。策自納大橋，瑜納小橋。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54. Sun Ce jokingly told Zhou Yu: "Although Elder Qiao's daughters are exceptionally beautiful, with us as their husbands, it should be a happy enough match."

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

The Qiao sisters are featured as characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'', which romanticises the historical events before and during the

period. In the novel, the Chinese character for "Qiao" in their names, 橋/桥, is replaced with 喬/乔. In the novel, the Qiao sisters are the daughters of a certain ''Qiao Guolao'' (喬國老; literally "State Elder Qiao"), possibly referring to

Qiao Xuan Qiao Xuan (110 – 6 June 184), courtesy name Gongzu, was an official who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Family background Qiao Xuan was born in the Eastern Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor An ( 106–125 CE). He wa ...

's biography in the third-century historical text ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' did not mention the name of the Qiao sisters' father, who was simply referred to as ''Qiao Gong'' (橋公; literally "Elder Qiao" or "Lord Qiao"). Historically, Qiao Xuan died in 184, while the Qiao sisters married Sun Ce and Zhou Yu around 199, so it was not possible that Qiao Xuan was still living when the marriages took place. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Qiao Xuan was the "Qiao Gong" mentioned in Zhou Yu's biography. In Chapter 44 of the novel,

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

tells

that

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

's desire to have the Two Qiaos for himself is evident in "Ode to the Bronze Sparrow Platform" (銅雀臺賦), a poem written by Cao Cao's son

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style ...

. An enraged Zhou Yu then hardens his decision to convince

to ally with

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

against Cao Cao. (See for details.)

In popular culture

The Qiao sisters are featured as playable characters in

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel o ...

'' and '' Warriors Orochi'' video game series. The anime ''

Koihime Musō is a series of Japanese adult visual novels and strategy video games primarily developed and published by BaseSon for the Windows and is based on the classic 14th century Chinese novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong. ...

'' and ''

Ikki Tousen , also known as ''Battle Vixens'' in North America, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūji Shiozaki. Loosely based on the classic 14th century Chinese novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', the series revol ...

'' make references to Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao as well, in which they are known by their respective names in Japanese – Daikyō and Shōkyō. Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chi-ling starred as Xiao Qiao in the 2008 Chinese epic war film '' Red Cliff'' directed by

John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...

. In the film, it is surmised that Cao Cao's infatuation with Xiao Qiao is the reason why he invaded Sun Quan's lands and initiated the battle. Chinese actress Huang Yi portrayed Xiao Qiao in '' Just Another Pandora's Box'', a spoof of ''Red Cliff''. Cai Hancen and

Tsai Yi-chen Tsai Yi-chen (), born 23 August 1987, stage named Wu Xiong (五熊). She is a Taiwanese actress who is best known for her minor performance in Taiwanese series, KO One, as Tsai Wu Xiong, and for her lead performance in '' Summer x Summer'' a ...

portrayed Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao respectively in the 2009 Taiwanese television series ''

K.O.3an Guo ''K.O. 3an Guo'' () is a Taiwanese television series starring George Hu, Xiu, Kirsten Ren, and three out of four members of Fahrenheit as special guests, who starred in the prequels. The title is pronounced as ''K.O.-san-guo''. It is the thi ...

'', a spoof of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' in a modern high school setting. Chinese actresses Liu Jing and Zhao Ke portrayed Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao respectively in the 2010 Chinese television series ''

''. The Qiaos are featured as "gods" in the Japanese mobile game '' Puzzle & Dragons'', as part of the Three Kingdoms God series. 小乔墓 - panoramio

The Two Qiaos are featured in Sega's '' Total War: Three Kingdoms'' after 19 March 2020, when the developer Creative Assembly released a DLC under the title of ''A World Betrayed'', which gives the Two Qiao official portraits and 3D models with unique abilities.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qiaos, Two 2nd-century births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Sun Ce and associates Sibling duos

In historical records

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In popular culture

See also

References