“She was so beautiful, even flowers got shy ”

Meet Yang Guifei, one of China’s legendary Four Beauties. She was more than just a pretty face—she danced, played music,and loved lychees so much that the emperor had them delivered by express horse!

But her life wasn’t all romance and poetry. In the middle of a rebellion, the emperor was forced to make a heartbreaking decision that turned her love story into a tragedy.

In this short cultural story, learn what “羞花” (shaming the flowers) really means, and take a journeythrough Chinese idioms, history, and legends. 👉Perfect for Chinese language learners and history lovers!

(Exercises HERE）

我们常用“闭月羞花、沉鱼落雁”这两个成语来形容一个女人很美。其实，这说的是中国古代四大美女的故事。今天我们就来说说其中的“羞花”——杨贵妃。

杨贵妃原名杨玉环，是唐朝皇帝唐玄宗最宠爱的妃子。传说有一天，她在花园里赏花，风吹过，她的样子比花还美，花儿看到她都“害羞”地低下了头。所以，人们用“羞花”来形容她的美貌。

除了长得美，杨玉环还会跳舞、弹琴，是一个很有才华的女子。她特别爱吃荔枝，唐玄宗为了让她每天都能吃到新鲜的，就让人从几千里外快马运来。有一首诗这样写道：“一骑红尘妃子笑，无人知是荔枝来”。

后来，唐朝发生了战争，皇帝带着杨贵妃一起逃难。路上的士兵觉得国家变乱都是因为她。为了让士兵安心，唐玄宗最后在马嵬坡下令赐死了杨贵妃。

如果你去西安旅游，可以去华清宫，那里是他们以前住的地方。也可以去马嵬坡遗址公园，详细了解杨贵妃的故事。