Wang Chao-Chun was one of the Four Great Beauties of China, who lived during the Han dynasty. The Han emperor had just negotiated a peace with the barbarians, and he was going to give one of his concubines king as a peace offering. With more that 5,000 concubines to choose from, the emperor commissioned portraits of each so that he might select the ugliest of them to become the new barbarian queen. One of the painters, a corrupt man, solicited bribes from all the women he painted. When it was Chao-Chun's turn to be painted, however, she refused to submit to this extortion. Out of malice he painted a large birth on the face of her portrait, and she was chosen to be the peace offering. The day came when the barbarians arrived to escort their new queen home, and when Wang Chao-Chun emerged; everyone could plainly see she was the most beautiful woman present. The emperor wanted to renege on his promise, but his ministers convinced him it would bring further warfare and bloodshed. Reluctantly he had to let her go, but because of her courage and self-sacrifice, she brought peace to the two nations for many years to come.